Transportation agencies and planners should rely on communication and partnerships as they respond to immediate needs and assess long-term effects associated with the coronavirus. That was the assessment by Anne Strauss-Wieder, director of freight planning for the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
Strauss-Wieder discussed COVID-19’s impact on the supply chain during a webinar (click to go to webinar) hosted by the Transportation Research Board on April 8. NJTPA is a metropolitan planning organization representing 6.7 million people in the 13 counties that make up northern New Jersey.
A part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, Strauss-Wieder emphasized the importance of building on existing coalitions and relationships. She said planning organizations and state agencies should think in terms of which partners they can get together with on conference calls to address immediate issues — and noted that these partners can represent industries other than logistics.