Promoting security travel and trade Transportation Border Working

Promoting security, travel, and trade Transportation Border Working Group – April 2008

OVERVIEW Current Activities to Meet the Need • Communicate need Program Review • Strategic Resource Assessments • Border Wait Time Study • Funding successes and challenges • Maintain program priority Next Actions • Stakeholder outreach • Memorialize the GSA-CBP-DOT partnership • Extend efforts into new service areas 2

CURRENT ACTIVITIES TO MEET THE NEED Communicate Need Work together to communicate the need within the ports as a coordinated effort. Infrastructure (ports and roads) Technology Personnel 3

PROGRAM REVIEW Strategic Resource Assessments Current LPOE Portfolio Inventory Strategic Resource Assessments • LPOE Facility Ownership FY 2008 Refresh GSA-owned – Align facility investments with CBP’s mission – Target available resources to the areas of greatest nee – Plan, budget, and execute facility investments objectively and fairly 4 22. 5 14% 43 27% NPS-owned SRAs allow CBP to achieve the following: 58% CBP-owned – Expansion to air and sea ports 96. 5 GSA-leased – LPOE underway • Total 1 1% Total Facilities 163

STRATEGIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS Identifies and prioritizes facility requirements: Criteria and Weights • Premised on the CBP operational strategy and objective assessment criteria • Utilizing a deliberate process of data analysis and stakeholder coordination – California Border Master Plan – Border Wait Time Study 5

BORDER WAIT TIMES In early April 2008, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) met with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to: – Discuss current initiatives on standardizing border wait time measures; – Determine procedures for expanding port of entry technologies to monitor traffic wait times at the border; – Federal highway regulations and protocols for expansion of the FHWA and Canadian Border Security Administration (CBSA) traffic monitoring technologies. 6

BORDER WAIT TIMES • FHWA currently conducting various projects designed to quantify crossing and delay times at major U. S. land ports of entry between Canada and Mexico. • Goal for CBP and FHWA is to develop and implement a system that would enable crossing times to be more easily and precisely measured. • FHWA current studies focused on measuring border delays and crossing time for freight. • CBP hopes to align with FHWA, Canadian and Mexican counterparts to identify and develop a technology that can also be applicable to supporting the measurement of passenger vehicle crossing times. 7

TRAFFIC MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES Several traffic monitoring technologies currently in use/being analyzed are: – Variable sign messages; – Automatic Vehicle Identification (Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)); – Automatic license plate readers; – Mobile phone location; – Inductive loop technologies; – Global Positioning Systems. 8

CURRENT CBP INITIATIVES FOR REDUCING BORDER WAIT TIMES CBP recently convened a Land Border Wait Time Workgroup to address issues related to land border wait times including: – Facilities and infrastructure improvements; – Recruiting and retention of inspectional staff; – Wait time measurement methodologies; – Time and motion studies of inspectional processes; – Outreach to the public and other stakeholders; (continue on next screen) 9

CURRENT CBP INITIATIVES FOR REDUCING BORDER WAIT TIMES – Review of existing policies to find efficiencies; and – Expansion of Trusted Traveler Programs. – Inventory wait time initiatives (CBP, FHWA, Transport Canada, CBSA, State, etc. ); – Inventory wait time processes at current CBP ports of entry. 10

CBP GOALS • Develop standards and implement a system that would enable crossing times to be more easily and precisely measured. • Deploy a technology to accurately monitor and measure the time required for passenger and commercial vehicles to traverse the crossing. • Collect baseline dataset for cross-border travel times for planning and policy applications. Predictive vs. reactive. • Tie measurements to distribution solution: U. S. Department of Transportation Traffic Management Centers, variable message signs, web sites, (I-95 Coalition), radio, etc. 11

CBP FIELD OFFICES • The CBP Office of Admissibility and Passenger Programs recently obtained a comprehensive inventory of all local infrastructure and wait time monitoring and measurement processes at the local ports of entry. • CBP hopes to use the inventory to determine if and how the highway infrastructure along with the monitoring and measurement of border wait times can be applied uniformly across northern and southern land border POEs. • CBP Field Offices meet regularly with local agencies as part of Border Wait Time Workgroups. 12

COORDINATING AGENCIES Several of these local organizations are: – Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) – Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) – Peace Bridge Authority (PBA) – Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC) – Ministry of Transport Ontario (MTO) – Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) – Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) – Washington Department of Transportation and – The BC Ministry of Transport through the International Mobility and Trade Corridor (IMTC); – Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC); – Washington Department of Transportation (WA DOT); – Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT); and – Federal Motor Carriers and Safety Administration (FMCSA) 13

CBP MODIFICATION PROJECTS • Over the past several years the CBP Field Offices have worked at providing modifications that allow for better separation and “funneling” of commercial and noncommercial traffic, queuing space, prevention of entry without inspection, and the monitoring of border wait times. • Projects have been designed to cut down the congestion of truck and car traffic and to alleviate congestion, eliminate bottlenecks, and enhance safety and security. 14

CBP MODIFICATION PROJECTS Several of these modification projects include: • Bridge and facility expansions (Ambassador Bridge, Sault Sainte Marie International Bridge, and Blue Water Bridge) for arriving passenger and container ship traffic; • Improving roadway and line of sight approaches in conjunction with the toll plaza relocation; • Construction of new commercial Port of Entry designed to reroute commercial truck traffic around the city center and improve traffic flow. • Additional lanes and new passenger processing booths to increase the amount of inspection lanes available at border crossings; • Widening of approaches to POE to allow separation of cars and trucks; • Relocating toll plazas; • Added security fencing from the bridge abutments to the Federal Inspection Services area to prevent entry without inspection; • Variable Messaging Boards (VMB) and portable VMB’s to indicate border wait times/delays and location of NEXUS lanes; • Additional lighting; • Restructuring of the highway entry/exit points. 15

CBP WAIT TIME METHODOLOGY Several methodologies for monitoring and measuring wait times include: • Cameras and highway loops (Peace Arch and Pacific Highway (southbound)). • License Plate Readers; • Variable Message Signs; • Local traffic cameras that record traffic conditions Blaine, WA (then uploaded to the Washington DOT website); • Posting statewide traffic and highway information to the Washington State Department of Transportation and British Colombia Traffic Cameras web sites. 16

CBP INFRASTRUCTURE/WAIT TIME STUDIES Several studies currently underway include: – Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) Study; – Texas-Mexico Border Crossing Study; – Mexico-Domiciled Commercial Passenger Carrier Study; – Measuring Border Delay and Crossing Times at the U. S. /Mexico Border. 17

WAIT TIME STUDY PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVES Principal objectives are to: – Improve border-crossing facilities, operations, and connections to meet existing and future mobility and security needs; – Perform a travel time analysis for passenger and freight flows throughout the Texas/Mexico Border crossings; – Develop a system that is capable of collecting reliable and consistent border crossing time and delay information that can easily be shared; – Assess and compare U. S. and Mexican commercial passenger transport regulations related to driver, vehicle and carrier requirements for in-country and international operations. 18

LPOE FACILITIES MODERNIZATION Critical Needs within an Aging Infrastructure Conditions straining the Infrastructure include: • • • Rapid post-9/11 evolution of CBP mission and operational requirements Current facilities designed to meet legacy missions Some facilities constructed more than 70 years ago On average, facilities over four decades old Traffic volumes are increasing Increased staffing strains existing facilities Operational impact of maintaining status quo • • Current facilities cannot meet demands of today, much less the increased demands of tomorrow Current funding levels will not meet CBP’s funding needs for 40 years Evolving security and law enforcement mission requires modern facilities to detect, deter, and prevent Travel and trade facilitation suffers from aging and inefficient facilities 19

MOVING THE PROGRAM FORWARD Harnessing Additional Resources $4. 9 b need 20

CURRENT ACTIVITIES TO MEET THE NEED Maintain Program Priority • Increase funding for the LPOE program – Leverage early success in LPOE modernization – FY 2008 proved record year for LPOE construction ($339 M) – Jointly planned funding levels would meet CBP’s targets • Reduce time to deliver projects – New design and construction projects will be bundled for more efficient delivery and improved acquisition cycle – Design-Build and prototyping techniques will be utilized to speed development • Improve quality and performance of delivered facilities and services 21

NEXT ACTIONS Moving Forward to Modernize • Continue stakeholder outreach • Memorialize the partnership between CBP, GSA, and DOT • Expand the modernization efforts beyond major construction – Increase the quality and performance of products and services delivered – Show immediate improvements to the CBP Officer working environment • Engage next round of SRAs 22

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