Session 3A: Trucking Logistics: Keeping Up with the eCommerce Revolution

Pennoni Platinum Session

Session Description: Trucks are not new to the transportation system, but the explosion of eCommerce and the ever popular two-day-or-less deliveries have been game-changers for warehousing and trucking logistics. The past, present, and future of accommodating these trucks will be discussed from regional and statewide perspectives, and we will explore the internal operations within the warehouses of major eCommerce companies.

Moderator: Kristen Kostick, PE, Pennoni

• Lehigh Valley Regional Freight Plan, Becky Bradley, Executive Director, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
• Accommodating Trucks in PA while Preserving Safety and the Infrastructure, Matthew Hedge, Central Permit Office Manager, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Central Office
• Evolving eCommerce and Supply Chain Operations, Michael Alderman, Vice President, Market Officer Pennsylvania, Liberty Property Trust

Speaker Bios:

Becky Bradley has more than 17 years of experience in city, regional, economic development, historic preservation, and transportation planning, including significant implementation experience in small town revitalization, roadway re-design, and trail construction. She has been the executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) since August 2013, and is leading a $3.3 billion regional transportation planning program, as well as balancing the needs of the Lehigh Valley’s rapidly growing population through this organization’s county planning responsibilities.

Key accomplishments since joining the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission include: the creation of the region’s first sustainable communities plan, 1LV, in partnership with 13 regional entities; climate and energy elements for the Regional Comprehensive Plan; Northampton County Livable Landscapes: Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan; MoveLV: Long-Range Transportation Plan; and first Lehigh Valley Comprehensive Freight Movement Plan. Currently, Becky is working on the update of the Southwest Lehigh Comprehensive Plan, Regional Comprehensive Plan, Congestion Management Plan, and sidewalk inventory. Recently, $458 million transportation Improvement Program, funding the Lehigh Valley’s roads, bridges and transit, as well as, $1.27 million Transportation Alternatives Program supporting education and implementation of community bicycle and pedestrian projects, was allocated to priority infrastructure projects in the region.

Prior to joining LVPC, Becky was the director of planning, codes and development at the City of Easton, where she was instrumental in the over $500 million revitalization of the community, including the addition of the Lehigh Valley’s first sculpture trail, the state’s first road diet and the opening of over 60 restaurants and shops. She authored a comprehensive smart-development code, which included the nation’s first floodplain ordinance to regulate the FEMA-defined 100- and 500-year floodplains equally. Furthermore, she established and then implemented this city’s Historic District Commission. This work balances the needs of development, environment, and the community, garnering her the 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Special Jury Award for 2009.

Matthew Hedge graduated with a bachelor of arts in applied geography with a minor in emergency management from Millersville University. He is a 2012 graduate of the I-95 Corridor Coalition Freight Academy. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1985–1989 and earned a Presidential Service Badge for service to President Reagan. Matt has been the special hauling permit manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the last seven years and oversees facilitating oversized/overweight movement in Pennsylvania. In that capacity, he is also in charge of maintaining and improving the Automated Permit Routing Analysis System and representing PennDOT’s position on laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to all truck freight movement, including their compliance with federal guidelines. Specifically, he manages the Surface Transportation Assistance Act’s Reasonable Access Program in the Commonwealth. In addition, he is the emergency contact for oversize/overweight moves, and works with surrounding states and federal authorities to facilitate these movements during extreme events like hurricanes and snow storms. Matt is also national chair of the AASHTO sub-committee on highway transports, and member of the Pennsylvania Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Board and the FMCSA Emergency Route Working Group.

Michael Alderman is vice president and market officer Pennsylvania of Liberty’s 27-million-square-foot Lehigh Valley/Central Pennsylvania portfolio. He oversees a dedicated industrial team providing a range of services throughout the Lehigh Valley, central Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland sub-markets including property management, leasing, sales, capital markets, development, and site selection. Prior to joining Liberty in 2012, Mike was senior vice president of the Industrial Services Group at JLL, a real estate consultancy. Prior to JLL, he was chief operating officer at The Union Deposit Corporation, a private real estate organization with an operating history dating to America’s Colonial period. He also served as a partner at Dermody Properties/DP Partners where he was responsible for its portfolio in the eastern region of the United States.