2024 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan

The Atlanta region is growing. According to the ARC 21-County Dashboard, Metro Atlanta’s population will increase to 8.63 million people (a 38% increase) with the number of jobs also increasing to 3.87 million (a 24% increase) by the year 2050 (ARC 21-County Dashboard, 2022 update). As the Atlanta region experiences massive growth over the next 25 years, so will the demand for freight. With this in mind, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is proactively embarking on the 2024 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan to manage the freight movement across the region and ensure efficient investments in freight transportation infrastructure.

Traffic is increasing on the nation’s roadways, railways, ports, and waterways because of growing freight demand. Today, new industrial development, e-commerce growth, and continued supply chain disruptions influence the performance of the region’s transportation network and potential economic gains from the logistics industry. Due to these issues, it is even more important that freight considerations are proactively integrated into policy and infrastructure to ensure safe, reliable, and sustainable freight movement across our intermodal system.

Enhancements to freight transportation systems serve to maintain and improve competitiveness and economic growth in the region. ARC has been strategically focused on freight issues for the last two decades. In that time, ARC has overseen the award-winning 2008 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan, the 2010 Atlanta Strategic Truck Route Master Plan, the 2016 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan Update, and the 2018 Atlanta Regional Truck Parking Assessment Study. In 2019, ARC began working with local partners on Freight Cluster Plans in areas with significant industrial development. Continuing this strategic focus on freight, ARC conducted the 2024 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan.

Plan Purpose

The primary purpose of the 2024 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan is to:

Assess the current plan against the latest understanding of existing freight conditions and latest federal, state, and regional policies
Support the development of an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) compliant Metropolitan Transportation Plan as it relates to any applicable freight provisions
Identify projects of national, state, and regional significance

Plan Goals

Safety: Improve the safety and security of the regional freight system and its users
Operations: Enhance the operations of the freight network
Economy: Acknowledge and support key industries and their positive impact on the regional economy
Sustainability and Resiliency: Create a more sustainable and resilient network that incorporates innovative tools and technologies
Quality of Life: Leverage freight to enhance the quality of life for all people in the metro Atlanta region
Integrated Planning: Ensure the consideration of freight in broader transportation and land use planning processes

Resources

The 2024 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan includes the following resources for public- and private-sector stakeholders, including transportation planners and engineers, land use planners, policymakers, and business leaders.

ARC Freight Dashboard – Provides data about freight movement in the Atlanta region to help explain where and how freight moves.
County Factsheets – Summarize freight jobs, volumes, networks, and other data for each county in the Atlanta region.
2024 Freight Cluster Statistics – Identifies locations of freight clusters in the Atlanta region and provides statistics such as square footage of industrial development, median year built, and other data for each cluster.
Freight Design Guidelines – Provides a design basis to better accommodate freight while mitigating its impacts. There are three types of land use that are addressed: industrial areas, downtowns and small regional centers, and major activity centers. These guidelines focus on public design considerations such as transportation infrastructure, and on private development considerations, such as site design, loading docks, and curb management. This document can support transportation planners and engineers, as well as land use planners and zoning administrators.
Truck Parking Zoning and Guidance – Provides model zoning ordinance language and related guidance for truck stops / short-term truck parking facilities, temporary truck staging, and long-term truck parking.
Classification Counts Summary – Classification counts were collected at various industrial developments throughout the Atlanta region to 1) analyze how the developments differ as they relate to truck types and commuter patterns, and 2) perform a comparative analysis between the collected data and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual. This data can be used to supplement the ITE Trip Generation Manual where needed.
Guidance for Developing Truck Routes – Provides criteria and considerations for designating corridors as local truck routes or applying truck prohibitions.