The University of Toledo University Transportation Center

Focus Area: Infrastructure Utilization

Principal Investigator:

Dr. Peter Lindquist
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Geography and Planning
The University of Toledo
MS 932
2801 W. Bancroft
Toledo, OH 43606
Phone: (419) 530-4287
Fax: (419) 530-7919
Peter.Lindquist@utoledo.edu

Project Dates: 05/01/2008 to 05/30/2009--no cost extension to 09/30/2009

Project Year: Year 2

UT-UTC Designation: UTUTC-IU-6

Abstract:

The purpose of this proposed project is to expand the Great Lakes Maritime Information Delivery System’s information gathering efforts to include AIS vessel tracking and to incorporate these data into the comprehensive maritime database. The Great Lakes Maritime Information Delivery System is a comprehensive data repository and information clearinghouse for the maritime industry in the Great Lakes and Seaway. The main objective for the system is to promote sustainable maritime transportation in the region by serving as an information resource for public policy decisionmaking and for drawing the link between maritime freight movements, economic viability, and environmental quality throughout the region. The system is designed to be a diversified web-based information delivery site that houses a detailed data repository consisting of 1) vessel movements and commodity flows, 2) port and dock functions, 3) regional economic activity, and 4) regional population/socioeconomic patterns. One important element in this phase of the project will be to develop methods and techniques needed to acquire data through the Automatic Identification System (AIS), currently being developed in the GL MTS. The project team will work with third party data providers to obtain vessel movements and port calls down to the specific dock location. These data will then be aggregated into the system's data repository as a means to measure the volume of traffic and cargo flows through the system. In time, the project team can use these data to track trends in ship traffic, identify locations for intermodal connections to landside transportation networks, and to provide an important foundation for developing a Great Lakes Maritime Exchange for the system. This project will also enable the expansion of the information delivery system to provide data pertaining to the economic impact of great lakes shipping on the regional economy, linking the GL MTS to the wider regional intermodal freight system. Users can thus retrieve data concerning such factors as tonnages, value of cargo, scheduled service, ship technologies, dock and port facilities and intermodal connections.

UT-UTC Grant
Match Amount
Total Project 

Final Report