Originally published in the Delta Optimist.

Delta continued its push to move container port expansion away from the area at last week's Union of B.C. Municipalities conference.

Civic politicians and senior staff were to meet with provincial ministers and Premier Christy Clark armed with the results of an inland port impact study carried out earlier this year.

"I think it forms a very strong foundation for moving forward," Sean McGill, director of human resources and corporate planning, told Delta council last month.

Delta has been supportive of the concept of inland terminals dating back to 2008 when civic politicians endorsed a motion to support the continued development of a terminal in Ashcroft, a small town in the Interior.

Mayor Lois Jackson spearheaded two meetings last year to look at the potential benefits an inland port would have on the Lower Mainland and was also part of a delegation that visited Ashcroft last April.

Delta Council has been supportive of the concept of inland terminals since 2008 when Council endorsed a motion to support the continued development of Ashcroft Terminal. Subsequently, in early 2013, Mayor Jackson spearheaded two multi-stakeholder meetings to look at the potential benefits of inland ports for the lower mainland region - specifically, the potential role Ashcroft Terminal could play in relieving truck traffic congestion and land development pressures from Deltaport and the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2.

During the 2013 UBCM annual convention, Mayor Jackson met with several provincial Ministers who expressed interest in exploring this issue further. Some studies on inland ports have already been done; however, they provide a more general assement of the benefits of inland terminals for British Columbia and Canada as a whole. It became apparent, therefore, that a more focused assessment would be required in order to present the benefits of an inland port, such as Ashcroft Terminal, for the Delta and Metro Vancouver area.

Originally published in the Delta Optimist

Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) talks up a good story on sustainability, but they do not walk the talk.

A good example of this is how they are dismissive of the concept of inland terminals being promoted by the mayors of Delta and Ashcroft.

In terms of sustainable development, inland terminals - whereby containers are moved directly by rail to/from an interior terminal for transfer to truck or transshipment - makes good economic and responsible sense.

Inland terminals help to protect valuable agricultural land, increase the productivity of ports, reduce pollution, lessen road traffic and for communities that have to host container ports, they improve the quality of life.

Originally published in the Delta Optimist

You can't fault them for trying. It looks like it's a longshot, but municipal politicians and bureaucrats here in Delta haven't given up on the notion of an inland port. They continue to put together a business case, and certainly have a willing partner in Ashcroft, but it's the folks from Port Metro Vancouver they ultimately have to convince if this is going to become anything more than a noble idea.

Given our strategic location in this country, and the enormous focus our governments are putting on the Asia-Pacific gateway, the pressure on our waterfront, as well as on our upland areas, won't abate anytime soon. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Terminal 2, a second three-berth container terminal currently being proposed for Roberts Bank, isn't the last mega project eyed for our shores.

Recognizing the immense impact a major port could have on the adjacent land base, civic officials are doing what they can to spare the prime farmland of west Delta by advocating for the expansion of the Ashcroft Terminal in the B.C. Interior.

Originally published at GlobeSt.com

At next month’s I.CON: The Industrial Conference in Jersey City, business development specialist Steve Schellenberg of IMS Worldwide will moderate a panel on dynamic growth in emerging markets. The session at NAIOP’s event will focus on two “inland port” areas, the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania and Norfolk, VA. Previewing the panel discussion, Schellenberg spoke by telephone with GlobeSt.com’s Antoinette Martin.

GlobeSt.com: Why the focus on these ‘secondary’ markets at this national NAIOP conference?

Schellenberg: The smart money and smart investor must learn to understand the trends that are driving growth in the Lehigh Valley and Norfolk and identify those markets that have the same potential to succeed. Discussion of port logistics for many years involved only what happens on the water side of the ports. Today, the critical issue for the logistics supply chain is: how to provide an array of options to move freight inland.