The Southern Georgia Regional Commission has been awarded a 2012 Excellence in Regional Transportation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for the Valdosta-Lowndes MPO Freight Transportation Study and Report Series.

Through a series of special studies completed as part of regular regional transportation analysis, the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) keeps track of freight usage in the Valdosta, GA Urbanized Area not only in terms of who is making the most of the rail lines and to what degree, but how freight movements impact the local community in a variety of ways. The project began in 2009 with a Freight Movement Study which posed more questions than it answered. So far, the Commission has succeeded in completing detailed reports on those industries using shift share and location quotient analysis, as well as analyzing how railroad traffic in Valdosta and Lowndes County has impacted the local economy. More reports are planned, including one examining how particular infrastructure projects might reduce the crash rate of commercial vehicles. The SGRC is the Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional transportation planning agency for the Valdosta Urbanized Area, which covers all of Lowndes County and portions of Lanier and Berrien Counties. This report series allows the region to assess freight and goods movement on a manageable scale, keeping all related activity in-house without the need for an outside consultant.

NADO is a Washington, DC-based association that promotes programs and policies to strengthen local governments, communities and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards showcase organizations for noteworthy projects and practices in rural and small metropolitan transportation planning, program delivery, and special initiatives. Award winners received national recognition at the 2012 National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference, April 25 – 27 in Burlington, Vermont. 

According to NADO President Russ Cowley, Executive Director of the Six County Association of Governments in Richfield, Utah: “The Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards highlight the important results of programs and projects like the Valdosta-Lowndes MPO Freight Transportation Study and Report Series. Such initiatives are central to fostering quality of place and facilitating economic vitality in our nation’s communities by promoting effective transportation networks.”

The entire report series can be viewed on the SGRC website at www.sgrc.us/transportation, click on Data and Resources. For more information about the award-winning project, contact the Southern Georgia Regional Commission at 229-333-5277.