On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Danny Wan, president of the California Association of Port Authorities and executive director of the Port of Oakland, presented state lawmakers with a five-part plan to help ease congestion at West Coast ports.
The plan includes identifying and allowing staging areas away from terminals for empty containers to ease bottlenecks at the docks and creating a California Office of Freight with a coordinator that could partner with the industry stakeholders to develop a state freight and goods movement policy and oversee the deployment of federal infrastructure investments.
“California lawmakers must take a holistic approach to addressing the global supply chain crisis,” Wan told various state leaders at a virtual meeting with other California port directors as part of Ports Day 2022, the California Association of Port Authorities annual day of advocacy. “We must increase investments in infrastructure, relieve dock congestion, support agriculture exports, and continue to advocate for enhanced federal funding for our ports.”
California Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who was present with Controller Betty T. Yee, Acting California State Transportation Agency Secretary Elissa Konove and others, pledged her support to continue partnering with ports on policies that would ease supply chain congestion.
“California ports have already taken action to address the pressing challenges facing our supply chain,” she said, applauding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to prioritize a proposed $2.3 billion for supply chain investments in the state budget.
“These funds will help get goods moving by enhancing port infrastructure, zero-emission equipment, workforce training, programs and increasing capacity for commercial drivers’ licenses,” she said.
