Sandra Rothbard participated in the Academic Initiative by working at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey promoting community involvement in freight decision-making. Sandra’s supervisor at PANYNJ was Vince Mantero.

Freight movement is beginning to take its place as a lead issue for transportation planners. Like other transportation areas, freight deals with its own public involvement issues. Due to different levels of education and knowledge of goods movement (amongst the general public, public agencies and freight industry), there is a great deal of misunderstanding when plans and projects are proposed. Transparent and effective community involvement processes are few and far between, while physical plans for freight transportation often lack creativity and amenities for a surrounding community. As a complement to its Goods Movement Plan, the Planning and Regional Development Department within the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey requested research on the problems facing local communities with respect to freight planning and management. Sandra’s research led to a resource guide for the general public, public agencies and the freight industry that highlights ways to prevent and mitigate conflict.

Update

Sandra Rothbard graduated with a Master of Urban Planning degree from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University in 2010. Currently she is a Fellow in the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, where she is working on solid waste issues.