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A site suitability analysis for an inland port to service the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

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A site suitability analysis for an inland port to service the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

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Content 1

A SITE SUITABILITY ANALYSIS FOR AN INLAND PORT TO
SERVICE THE PORTS OF LOS ANGELES AND LONG BEACH

By

Emily M. Frazier

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF SCIENCE
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

December 2014

Copyright 2014 Emily M. Frazier
2

Table of Contents
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 5
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 6
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Containerization and the Growth of the Shipping Industry ...................................... 8
1.2 SSA for Site Selection .............................................................................................. 9
1.3 Study Area .............................................................................................................. 11
1.4 Document Structure ................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 2: Background ..................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Site Suitability Analysis .......................................................................................... 16
2.2: Inland Port Development ....................................................................................... 18
2.3: Southern California Transportation Network ........................................................ 21
2.4: Variables to Determine Ideal Sites for Inland Ports .............................................. 24
2.4.1 Feasibility ......................................................................................................... 24
2.4.2 Industrial Pollution Exposure and Proximity to Sensitive Populations ........... 25
Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 27
3.1 Site Suitability Analysis .......................................................................................... 28
3.2 Data Collection and Pre-Screening ......................................................................... 29
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3.1.1 Establishing Point Data for Potential Sites ...................................................... 33
3.2 Slope and Intersections ........................................................................................... 34
3.3 School Proximity and Population ........................................................................... 34
3.4 Truck VMT Reduction ............................................................................................ 35
3.5 Site Scoring ............................................................................................................. 37
3.5.1 Truck VMT Calculation and Scoring .............................................................. 37
3.5.2. Rail Feasibility Calculation and Scoring ........................................................ 38
3.5.3 School Proximity Calculation and Scoring ...................................................... 40
3.5.4. Population Density Calculation and Scoring .................................................. 42
3.5.5 Parcel Acreage Calculations and Scoring ........................................................ 42
Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 44
4.1 Highest and Lowest Scoring Sites Overall ............................................................. 44
4.2 Influential Variable Results .................................................................................... 48
Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................. 49
5.1 Assumptions and Limitations ................................................................................. 49
5.2 Future Work ............................................................................................................ 50
5.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 52
References ......................................................................................................................... 54
Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 59
4

A 1.1 Maps of Potential Sites and Scores by County ................................................... 59
A 1.2 Table of Final Variable Scores ............................................................................ 66
A 1.3 Table of Potential Site Statistics ......................................................................... 67

5

List of Figures
Figure 1 Five-County Region of Southern California ................................................................................................. 11
Figure 2 Riverside County West School Buffers ......................................................................................................... 17
Figure 3 Alameda Corridor and Rail Line Ownership (ACTA 2014) ......................................................................... 21
Figure 4 Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach ................................................................................................ 22
Figure 5 Rahimi et al. (2008) Traffic Analysis Zones and Transportation Nodes for Southern California ................. 30
Figure 6 Impact of Each Additional Inland Port (Rahimi et al. 2011 pg.44) ............................................................... 36
Figure 7 Ventura County School Buffer ...................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 8 All Potential Sites with Score Range............................................................................................................. 44
Figure 9 Ventura County Potential Sites ..................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 10 Los Angeles County West Potential Sites ................................................................................................... 60
Figure 11 Los Angeles County East Potential Sites .................................................................................................... 61
Figure 12 Orange County Potential Sites .................................................................................................................... 62
Figure 13 Riverside County West Potential Sites ........................................................................................................ 63
Figure 14 Riverside County East Potential Sites ......................................................................................................... 64
Figure 15 Riverside County South East Potential Sites ............................................................................................... 65

6

List of Tables
Table 1 Ideal Inland Port Sizes for Corresponding Population.................................................................................... 32
Table 2 Truck VMT Variable Scores .......................................................................................................................... 38
Table 3 Distance Variable Score and Range................................................................................................................ 39
Table 4 Intersection Variable Score and Range ........................................................................................................... 39
Table 5 Slope Variable Score and Range .................................................................................................................... 40
Table 6 Population Scores and Range ......................................................................................................................... 42
Table 7 Parcel Size Scores and Range ......................................................................................................................... 43
Table 8 Final Overall Scores by County ...................................................................................................................... 45
Table 9 Population Variable Score and Range ............................................................................................................ 47
Table 10 Final Variable Scores .................................................................................................................................... 66
Table 11 Final Site Statistics ....................................................................................................................................... 67

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Abstract
To alleviate some of the environmental and traffic concerns caused by the growth around
the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, research has begun on the establishment of a large
inland port. An inland port (or dry port) stores cargo, transfers containers from drayage trucks to
rail, and largely shifts seaport activities off-site (Roso, Woxenius, and Lumsden 2008). A
location-allocation analysis has been conducted for the Los Angeles region to determine
potential sites for an inland port in terms of distance from the seaports and reduction in vehicle
miles traveled (truck VMTs) (Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008). This study builds on
this research by conducting a site suitability analysis (SSA). First, the study pre-screens
numerous parcels for size and rail line proximity to limit the analysis to viable sites. Next the
study investigates key siting decision variables in greater detail. These include rail line
feasibility, parcel acreage, distance from schools, population density, and total truck VMT
reduction. Using Arc GIS, the data were analyzed and transformed into scores to sum site
desirability based on an even weighting of these criteria. Data for this study were obtained from
multiple geographic information system (GIS) data warehouses including, Census.gov,
egis3.lacounty.gov, ArcGIS Online, and the State of California Geoportal website. This study
reaches three main conclusions. First, a site suitability analysis is needed when it comes to
analyzing a multitude of variables and selecting a proper site for an inland port in an urban
setting. Secondly, there are possible sites where an inland port can be placed and connected via
rail that will minimize overall truck VMTs in the region. Lastly, although many sites scored
high on some of the criteria, no one site stands out as optimal, according to the criteria chosen,
for a heavy industrial facility, such as an inland port, in the Southern California region.

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Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the growth of the shipping industry, inland port
development, and transportation networks. The current structure of the Southern California
industrial and transportation system is explored. The concept of a site suitability analysis (SSA)
as a means of placing an inland port is also described. Issues surrounding industrial development
in an urban environment are discussed along with the usefulness of an SSA to address these
issues and find optimal locations for an inland port in the region.
1.1 Containerization and the Growth of the Shipping Industry
Container shipping appeared in the United States in 1968 when the International
Organization of Standards (ISO) began standardizing container dimensions for shipping, creating
four specific standards: R-668, R-790, R-1161, and R-1897 (ISO 2011) (Roso, Woxenius, and
Lumsden 2008). This sharply reduced manual labor on docks making cargo movement much
more efficient and viable. This led to a shift from transporting small amounts of cargo by truck
to shipping large amounts of cargo by truck, rail, and ship. This increase eventually put strain on
seaport land-use and operations in urban regions (Walter 2004). This issue, in many cases, may
be resolvable by connecting the seaport to a land-based facility. Shifting activities at the seaport
to an inland port and transferring cargo via rail can lead to a more cost-efficient and effective
transportation network.
The upsurge in cargo has also led to increasing automation of the transloading process.
Transloading is moving cargo from one mode of transportation to another, which often occurs at
the ports and at intermodal transfer facilities (ITFs). There are seven ITFs in the Southern
California region, four in operation by Union Pacific Railroad and the remaining three by
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Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) (Polar Inertia 2005). The idea of an inland port
is similar to this, except the majority of transloading, as well as storage, logistics matters, and
other seaport-related activities would happen in the same place—the inland port. This would
reduce the need of multiple ITFs throughout the region and lower congestion in the port areas.
According to Roso (2012), the benefits to having a distant or mid-range inland port
include: less congestion, increased capacity, direct loading from ship to train, interface with the
hinterland (seaport service region), opening up seaside land-use opportunities in the area of the
seaport, less time in congested road terminals, improved seaport access, and regional
development (Roso 2012). The downside to an inland port, as with any industrial facility, is the
increase in potential pollution and congestion in and surrounding the area chosen. This leads to
the necessity and usefulness of a site suitability analysis.
1.2 SSA for Site Selection
An SSA could help with these issues by providing an in depth analysis on the possible
areas and giving the decision-makers the ability to compare each site according to selected
variables. With a SSA, the possibility of one or two optimal sites may arise or even the
possibility of showing that there is no best site for an inland port. It can also show the benefits or
drawbacks of specific factors as it pertains to an inland port. For example, there is a possibility
that removing congestion from the port complex may not give a net benefit for public health.
No previous studies include a SSA of an inland port in the Los Angeles region; though,
one study uses location-allocation to define the optimal general areas in which to locate inland
ports servicing both the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB)
(Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008). This study concludes that further incorporation of a
10

GIS-based algorithm into a location analysis that would involve variables such as emission
exposure and distance to schools (Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008). A SSA can address
considerations such as those mentioned above as well as, parcel size, population density near the
potential site, and the feasibility of access for connecting to the port via rail. Literature suggests
that inland port sustainable development is feasible through proper planning (Kozawa, Fruin, and
Winer 2009). This study conducts a site suitability analysis to determine if integrating an inland
port into the Southern California region is possible.
The primary motivation for this study is to show that integrating vehicle miles traveled and
diesel fuel emissions from container movement in a dense urban setting into freight routing
optimization is feasible. In providing an analysis for a suitable inland port site, informing policy
makers about more sustainable options for port development could reduce truck emissions and
improve the region’s transportation network altogether.
Alleviating the air pollution problems prevalent in the port area would improve the quality
of life in the cities surrounding the ports. Compliance with Proposition 65 has increased the
awareness of the harsh pollutants derived from port activities. The importance of reducing these
pollutants, especially those that cause cancer and reproductive harm is much more pressing now
that there are policies backing major change (Peterson 2011). Incorporating a proxy measure of
by including population density near prospective sites, as well exposure of sensitive populations
(such as school age children) will help in determining most suitable sites to minimize the impacts
of air pollution.
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1.3 Study Area
This study focuses on five counties in Southern California. Rahimi et al. (2008) refers to
the Five County region as comprising of Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside, and San
Bernardino County.

Figure 1 Five-County Region of Southern California
There are two ports located in the region: the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of
Long Beach (POLB)—indicated from left to right in the above map. For over a century, both
POLA and POLB have been vital in shaping the cities surrounding them. These ports not only
serve the five county region of Southern California, but also provide services to the entire nation.
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POLA and POLB are the busiest ports in the United States and among the busiest in the world
(AAPA 2013).
Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the nation with a population of over
10.4 million residents (US Census Bureau 2013) with more than a quarter of California’s total
population of 39.3 million residents. If Los Angeles County, along with its 88 cities, were a
nation—it would have the world’s 19
th
largest economy (LA County 2008). Los Angeles County
covers a total of 4,084 square miles. Orange County is the sixth most populated county in the
nation with roughly 3.1 million residents (US Census Bureau 2013). Measuring 948 square
miles, it is also the smallest county in California. There are 34 cities in the county, three of
which have populations surpassing 200,000 residents (Orange County Government 2014).
Riverside County is located in the southeastern portion of Southern California, covering a
total of 7,303 square miles. It has an estimated population of 2.3 million (US Census Bureau
2013), with a fast-growing economy. The county comprises of 28 cities and is mostly covered
by desert (County of Riverside 2014). Ventura County, with its ten incorporated cities, is the
least populous of the 5-County region with roughly 839,000 residents, most of which reside in
the southern half of the county. Ventura County covers 2,208 square miles. Lastly, San
Bernardino County is the largest of the region covering 20,105 square miles (US Census Bureau
2013). The county alone is larger than four of the smallest states in the United States combined.
San Bernardino County has a population of 2.1 million residents (Board of Supervisors 2014).
With an increase in population comes the need to expand the region’s goods movement
capacity. In 2013 alone, POLA and POLB combined handled roughly 14.9 million TEUs
(twenty-foot equivalent units)—a 37% increase from 2012, more than one-third of the United
13

States’ 43.1 million. Hobart Yard, a 245-acre intermodal rail yard located in the City of
Commerce, California, handles much of the activity from the ports. These activities are
burdensome on the area’s current transportation system and its environment. An inland port
outside of the heavily industrialized area of central Los Angeles County would help to relieve
some of the environmental stress around Commerce and minimize some of the diesel truck
traffic traveling to and from Hobart Yard. Because Hobart Yard is nearing handling more cargo
as a distribution center than it was built for and continues to be a major contributor to the
drayage truck traffic in the area, an inland port connected by rail will likely streamline the trans-
loading process and decrease the need for so many trucks in this specific area (Meeks 2013). A
SSA can help in determining the impact an inland port will have, especially on places such as
Hobart Yard and cities currently strained with heavy industrial activity.
1.4 Document Structure
The organization of the remainder of this study is as follows. Chapter 2 discusses
literature concerning inland port development and the process of a site suitability analysis (SSA).
This chapter also details aspects of an optimal inland port covering: feasibility, proximity, and
industrial pollution exposure. Chapter 3 identifies and describes methods used in the current
study. A review of the results from the analysis are in Chapter 4. Lastly, Chapter 5
contextualizes the results and discusses what these results represent for future studies.
In the background of the current study, the process of a SSA is illustrated and defined.
Inland port development as a whole is discussed along with current global examples of seaports
in urban settings and existing inland ports. In addition, the Southern California transportation
network including policies on the reduction of pollution and congestion are detailed. Lastly,
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there is an overview of aspects of an optimal inland port as stated by previous literature and
reasoning behind the use of the variables chosen in the SSA.
The methodology of this study is separated into three parts. First, a prescreening process
was used to create a manageable list of possible sites to be scored in the SSA. Then, the SSA is
conducted with a list of specific variables to assist in determining the best site for an inland port.
A sensitivity analysis is used to help weight the variables by importance in terms of financial and
environmental costs.
The results chapter gives an overview of the outcomes of the methodology detailed
above. The results for the prescreening, SSA, and sensitivity analysis are examined. The
process of using weighted and un-weighted scores are examined in this section.
The outcomes of the analysis and the study as a whole are discussed in the final chapter
of this study. The conclusions from the SSA and sensitivity analysis are illustrated and
contextualized. Assumptions and limitations of the methods used for the current study are then
discussed. To conclude, areas where future work can be done are explained.
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Chapter 2: Background
To understand the potential of an inland port (also referred to as a dry port) in the Southern
California region a site suitability analysis (SSA) is required. No prior literature reviews the
implementation of an SSA to determine the placement and potential of an inland port for the
Southern California region, the United States, or globally. Much of the literature in the area of
inland ports and transportation geography highlights the necessity of relieving congestion
pressures at seaports, requirements for an optimal inland port, and the financial costs involved
when placing an inland port in any region.
A location-allocation analysis, which focuses on the distance and vehicle miles travelled
(truck VMTs) between origin and destination areas, has been conducted but is not sufficient to
understand the factors involved when placing a large-scale inland port. To examine how an
inland port would fit into Southern California’s transportation and industrial setting, it is
important to understand port development, the layout of the Southern California region, and an
array of factors that contribute to industrial development.
Section 2.1 summarizes a site suitability analysis and its importance to this study.
Section 2.2 highlights requirements for an inland port to service a high-density population and
previous literature in this area. Section 2.3 details the Southern California transportation
network and urban layout, lastly Section 2.4 summarizes variables necessary to consider for an
ideal inland port, including: feasibility, proximity, and industrial pollution exposure.

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2.1 Site Suitability Analysis
By investigating the best location for an inland port, an SSA (also referred to as a multi-
criteria analysis) takes into account answering the question “where are appropriate locations (if
any) for inland ports in the Southern California region?” This type of analysis applies a number
of social and physical factors into defining the optimal site (or sites). When it comes to inland
ports, multiple variables affect their proper implementation. Key factors include the necessity
for inland port development to shift freight loads to more effective and environmentally friendly
transportation modes (such as rail), relief of congestion in the neighborhoods surrounding the
seaports, relief of congestion in the regions hosting the seaports, and enabling the improvement
of logistics for the shippers involved (Roso, Woxenius, and Lumsden 2008).
Within ArcGIS, modeling and investigating a large number of factors all at once is
possible. This way, sifting through and analyzing thousands of sites quickly then selecting a
handful of sites for scoring is much less time consuming and much more efficient than
completing the analysis manually.
Deriving information from multiple data layers using ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension
helps in determining whether the chosen site is the most suitable (ESRI 2013). Conducting an
SSA is possible on both a small or large scale, from determining the best location for an
elementary school in a residential community to finding the best location for a new airport in a
region. For instance, in the case of the elementary school, inputting and analyzing spatial factors
such as population density, average family size, crime rates, proximity to public transportation,
and public safety facilities may help to determine optimal sites.
17

Figure 2 is a map of Riverside County K-12 schools with quarter-mile buffers and the
locations of the potential inland port sites. This map conveys one aspect of a SSA.

Figure 2 Riverside County West School Buffers
Using an SSA organizes the process of reviewing individual variables into a combination
overlay of all of the variables. A downside to this process is the weighting aspect. Assigning
weights to variables in an SSA are often subjective to the researcher and decision-makers,
removing the public from the decision-making process entirely. A possible remedy would be
public surveys for variables in which those directly affected could participate in determining
what is most important—such as the environmental costs of a new industrial facility. With any
decision, not everyone will be completely satisfied and a SSA will not fix this, but it is hoped
18

what a SSA will lead to a better understanding of the process and factors going into the final-
decision, making it, at the least, fair and complete (Malczewski 2004).
Another issue is that scores in SSA rely upon the quality of underlying science. A good
example of this in this study is the issue of choosing a ‘safe’ distance for the inland port to be
placed away from a school. Detailed research in terms of pollution effects on school-aged
children and the spread of polluted air for specific sites would be necessary to score precisely for
distances. This study uses distance buffers as a proxy for more specific scoring.
2.2: Inland Port Development
Effectiveness and efficiency are keys in the development of an inland port. In a region as
heavily populated and heavily polluted as Southern California, sustainability should also be a
major factor. It is important when developing an inland port to take into consideration the
region’s current rail network, industrial and logistics sites, and the potential sites for the new port
(Bergqvist 2013).
China’s large-scale economic growth and port development to support this growth have
been a topic in the international trade community for the past decade (Zeng, et al. 2013).
Developments in China’s terminal areas face a number of challenges, similar to those in
Southern California. A growing population, an expanding transportation sector, and a demand
for a cleaner environment are all reasons both areas have been a renaissance in construction of
goods movement infrastructure in when it comes to the current goods movement system. The
idea of an inland port is somewhat new to China. However, China built its first inland port in the
year 2002 (Zeng, et al. 2013). Since then, there have been 28 inland ports built by seaports (21
of which built and supported by Tianjin Port—the largest in Northern China), and 13 developed
19

independently throughout China to improve the transportation system throughout the country
(Zeng, et al. 2013) (Ministry of Transport of PR China 2014).
Zeng et al. (2013) detail the challenges and motivations behind inland port development
in China. The first mentioned motivation is capacity and competition. Due to increased growth
in population and increased volume in cargo being both imported and exported through the ports,
there is a need for expansion. Taking this expansion off-site can help relieve congestion on the
transportation network and free-up valuable land around the seaports. Another motivation for an
inland port is a reduction in logistics costs. These include unstable fuel costs, driver and labor
shortages, and economic instability within private shipping companies (Zeng, et al. 2013).
Shifting from truck transport to rail transport would lower these types of costs in China as well
as in Southern California. Zeng et al. (2013) do not give a complete analysis of what factors are
necessary to mitigate many of the challenges they detail in their research, but discuss further
potential research opportunities within the field such as the implementation of a dry (inland) port
network (Notteboom and Rodrigue 2005) (Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008).
Notteboom and Rodrigue (2005) discuss the evolution of a port network and introduce
the idea of a port regionalization phase, which emphasizes the spatial development of existing
seaport systems. Regionalization is a term used to describe spreading the reach of a seaport to
the hinterland, not simply the port city. The port regionalization phase is led by two factors. The
first are the local constraints which effect growth and efficiency around the port area. Often
times, the immediate area at the seaport are restricted by space and competition from other
industries such as tourism at beaches or private companies looking to build near the coast.
Efficiency is limited when congestion hinders goods movement to and from the ports.
20

Second, the global changes which involve regional production systems and large
consumption markets such as an increased demand for global imports or exports (Notteboom and
Rodrigue 2005). The authors discuss deeply the idea of a port regionalization phase in port
development and the necessity of organizing a transportation network that favors rail and
interconnectivity between the seaports and inland facilities. Although Notteboom and Rodrigue
(2005) do not discuss an analysis for specific locations, they highlight the need to consider
spatial aspects of developing an inland port.
Bergqvist (2013) shows a site selected in Arriyadh, India for a proposed inland port. He
illustrates a simple assessment of the current site as it compares to the new site using a binary
selection process: either the site meets the criteria or it does not. His research fails to analyze
any other site or to give any in depth reasoning for selecting the proposed site, aside from the
fact that it may run along a new proposed rail line. Bergqvist’s assessment is definitely a step in
the right direction towards a full SSA, but excludes key details in analyzing necessary variables
for an inland port.
Criteria for sites for inland port development, as derived from the mentioned studies,
include the ability to integrate the facility into the current transportation network (Notteboom
and Rodrigue 2005) and close proximity to railways. In addition, the capacity to take on large
amounts of cargo requires a considerable site size (Zeng, et al. 2013), placement far from the
seaport and well into the region to capitalize on the use of rail, and the ability for expansion
around the site to coincide with a growing population and demand for goods movement
(Bergqvist 2013). Proper implementation of these criteria involves an analysis able to take all of
these factors and more into account when selecting a site.
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2.3: Southern California Transportation Network
Currently, Los Angeles County is handling much of the cargo coming from the ports (City
of Los Angeles 2013). Connecting POLA and POLB from the ports to the rest of the region are
Interstate 710, Interstate 110, and the Alameda Corridor (POLB 2013). Figure 3 shows the
Alameda Corridor and the nearby rail line ownership (ACTA 2014). Figure 4 shows a close-up
of the port area and surrounding rail and roadway network. The Alameda Corridor is a length of
railway in a subterranean trench extending from the ports to Downtown Los Angeles 20 miles
north adjacent to Alameda Street. The creation of the Alameda Corridor was built in response to
the increase in ground transportation from the port areas and it eliminates grade conflicts with
roadways along its entire length (ACTA 2014).

Figure 3 Alameda Corridor and Rail Line Ownership (ACTA 2014)
The main part of the project, the Mid-Corridor Trench, carries freight through a ten-mile
stretch separated from passenger trains and road traffic, meant to reduce congestion in the area
22

approaching Downtown Los Angeles. The benefits of having the Alameda Corridor in place
include more efficient freight rail movements, reduced traffic congestion, improvements to the
adjacent Alameda Street, less train emissions, reduced vehicle emissions at railroad crossings,
and less noise pollution in the area as a result of the majority of the corridor being in a trench
(ACTA 2014).
Figure 4 Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach
The roads in and around the port are exceedingly congested. This congestion leads to
lower land-value, increased diesel truck emissions, and increased pollution overall. Because a
large amount of industrial and goods movement activity is already taking place in the cities of
Commerce and Industry, the placement of an inland port somewhere else in the region to lighten
23

the load is ideal. Similar to the challenges stated for China, the seaport area around POLA and
POLB are restricted when it comes to space for industrial development.
The controversy around the implementation of the Southern California International
Gateway (SCIG) Project is illustrative of the difficult issues of development in the seaport area.
SCIG involves the construction of a new near-dock intermodal rail yard within four miles of the
ports, connected to the Alameda Corridor. It is proposed that the construction of SCIG would
eliminate 95% of the truck traffic between the ports and Hobart Yard and provide direct rail
access to the Alameda Corridor—enabling Alameda Corridor to reach its full train capacity
potential as a result (Los Angeles Harbor Department 2013). Having a near-dock rail yard to
complement on-dock rail yards adds the logistical advantage of combining cargo from various
marine terminals before shipping it via rail to the rest of the region.
The Los Angeles Harbor Department (2013) states “near-dock facilities are able to provide
needed intermodal capacity with greatly reduced trucking impacts, compared to the more remote
off-dock facilities… causing much intermodal cargo to be drayed over 20 miles to the rail yards
near downtown Los Angeles (p. 27)”. From this quote, one can infer the controversy
surrounding trucks in the region and in the port area. If inland ports allowed the cargo to be
loaded onto rail at the on-dock facilities, then there would not be a need for container trucks in
the immediate area port at all. Even then, there would be less of a need for a near-dock facility
since the cargo can be sent directly to an inland port for storage, service, further handling,
maintenance, and trans-loading.
According to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (2012), an assessment of SCIG
shows the project is not yet necessary. The idea is that on-dock rail should be the main priority
24

due to the current cargo load and potential growth of the seaports. The assessment defines two
potential types of growth scenarios: low-growth at 4.3% and high growth. The first scenario
concludes that existing on-dock rail will be adequate to handle the current cargo load in 2035.
The high-growth scenario concludes that existing on-dock rail will not be adequate by 2035 but
that this conclusion is overly optimistic since the estimated deficit would be nearly 1.8 million
TEUs (in terms of handling capacity). Furthermore, it states that by that time, newer technology
would open up the opportunity for a more efficient and cost-effective option than SCIG (Green
LA Port Working Group 2012).
There are currently four on-dock rail yards at POLA owned by American President Lines
Limited (APL), Maersk, Yang Ming (China) Shipping, and one owned jointly by Terminal Island
Container Transfer Facility (TICTF), Evergreen, and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Line (POLA
2014). POLA, transcontinental railroads, and its customers cooperatively design the on-dock rail
yards. These rail yards connect to the Alameda Corridor and could be expected in the future to
connect to an inland port for increased efficiency.
2.4: Variables to Determine Ideal Sites for Inland Ports
This section reviews the variables used in the methodology of the current study. Section
2.4.1 addresses the feasibility factor of placing an inland port along with connecting it by rail to
the seaports. Section 2.4.2 details the issue of industrial pollution and exposure to sensitive
populations, using schools and dense populations as a proxy for this.
2.4.1 Feasibility
Efficient use of an inland port is its connection to a seaport by rail. Because POLA and
POLB have existing on-dock and near-dock rail yards, connecting the current system to an
25

extended network will save on costs and increase overall effectiveness. Finding a site near an
existing rail line would be the ideal. This way the decision-makers would only need to invest in
a rail spur (a rail line connection) to the inland port instead of building a new line altogether.
The distance variable indicates the geodesic distance in miles from the nearest rail line to the
potential site. If this is the case, then the shorter the distance from an existing line to a potential
site, the cheaper.
Certain aspects of the terrain in the area contribute to the financial costs of connecting the
seaports to an inland port by rail. The slope variable represents changes in terrain and elevation
that would add to the total financial costs of building a rail line. Another obstacle is the number
of roadway intersections the rail line may have to cross. When builders need to cross a road they
can build a bridge over it, build a trench underneath it, or build through it and create street
intersection with traffic controls in place, all of which add to the cost of labor, time, and
finances, or create traffic safety concerns. Incorporating these variables into the SSA assists in
evaluating the feasibility aspect of potentially building a rail line or connecting current lines with
a rail spur.
2.4.2 Industrial Pollution Exposure and Proximity to Sensitive Populations
Poor air quality is an issue that has been plaguing California for years. The Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and California Environmental Protection
Agency (CalEPA) developed the CalEnviroScreen to evaluate air quality and pollution for the
state of California (CalEPA 2013). The model determines scores for pollution burden (exposures
and environmental effects) coupled with population characteristics (sensitive populations and
socio-economic factors). The model combined the weights of the factors to determine the
CalEnviroScreen score. The results of this model for the traffic density, diesel truck particulate
26

matter, ozone pollution, and PM2.5 pollution, and toxic releases from facilities variable
correspond closely to the industrial and transportation layout of the five county region. The
state's growing population has led to a number of environmental problems including diesel
particulate matter, traffic density, toxic release from facilities, PM2.5 pollution, and ozone
pollution (as mentioned as study factors above). As it relates to this study, it is important not to
burden an area with additional pollution, especially areas already heavily burdened with these
environmental issues. Exploring this issue deeper requires analysis that is much more intensive
than a SSA. Yet, to include this issue within the study, proximity to schools and dense
populations are used as a proxy for per capita exposure and exposure of one sensitive population
(children) to air pollution.
Interpreting population as an indicator of a high-demand service area is also a possibility
(Henttu and Hilmola 2011). Although important, it is not used in this sense in the current study
because the region in itself is populous enough to consider it high-demand, so exploring this
further is not necessary for the SSA.

27

Chapter 3: Methodology
Conducting a site suitability analysis involves gathering appropriate data for screening, scoring,
and selecting sites. The foundation for this study is the Rahimi et al. (2008) model, which
identifies transportation nodes (TNs) and traffic analysis zones (TAZs) shown in Figure 5 in
section 3.2. The location-allocation analysis offers both a suggestion of general areas where it is
optimal to place inland ports in the 5-county areas as well as underlying data and a formula to
calculate truck VMT reductions by location.
Each parcel in the selected counties is pre-screened according to size (acreage) and
proximity to existing rail lines. After that, sites were scored according to reduction in vehicle
miles travelled (truck VMTs), distance from an existing rail line, the number of intersections
crossed, slope of the land crossed, proximity to schools, and proximity to dense populations.
With the application of the screening criteria, parcels were narrowed down from thousands to a
manageable number of roughly thirty overall. After screening, sites were scored based on how
closely they matched the ideal for each criterion. The goal was to identify five to ten high-
scoring sites in the Southern California region for possible placement of an inland port.
Section 3.1 describes the typical process of conducting an SSA. Section 3.2 details the
pre-screening process. Section 3.2 reviews the slope and intersection variables of the SSA.
Section 3.3 details the screening for school proximity and population density, respectively.
Finally, section 3.4 reviews the screening for truck VMT reduction as discussed in the Rahimi et
al. (2008) study.
28

3.1 Site Suitability Analysis
A site suitability analysis (SSA) is typically used to evaluate the best location to build
something or conduct a study. It can be used to predict risk areas for a number of issues such as
fires or landslides. An SSA can also be used to identify where something may likely be found,
such as an endangered species (Mitchell 2012). For this study an SSA is used to find the optimal
location for an inland port facility to serve the five-county Southern California region. For an
SSA, first the goal of the analysis is defined. The goal is often posed as a question like "where is
the best location for an industrial facility?" or "what is the best path for a railroad connecting to
distribution centers?” Secondly, the criteria for the SSA are defined. There is a combination of
factors that are relevant to the question being answered. After criteria are defined, data are
collected. For a GIS, the data will consist of various map layers. Next, a model is run with all of
the data organized into the GIS. This produces a number of results that can be verified for
validity. If errors were evident in the model, then the model can be modified and re-ran. Once
the final results in an SSA are verified, then the analysis is documented to potentially be shared
or revisited in the future. Finally, the results can be displayed using maps, tables, and/or charts
for further interpretation or further analysis.
When it comes to attribute data for an SSA, there are four types: nominal, ordinal,
interval, and ratio data. Nominal data describe variables by their name or type (categorical).
Ordinal data describes values in high to low or first to last. Interval data is data also from low to
high but the difference between each value on the scale is the same. For ratio data, there is a
scale from zero to n (some number)—where zero represents a measurable number. For this SSA,
the majority of the data was ratio data (distance, slope, intersection count, population, parcel
size, and truck VMTs.) The school proximity variable was the only data represented as
29

intervals. This leads to categorizing the data. Each of the variables represented as ratio data was
converted into interval data using natural breaks (also referred to as Jenks.) Jenks are based on
natural groupings within the data using this method of groupings helps in maximizing the
differences in each class range.
The data in the current study were not weighted due to limitations mentioned in Section
2.1. Weighting data in an SSA can be done through ranking, rating, a trade-off analysis, or an
analytic hierarchy process (Greene et al. 2011). Ranking the criteria orders then converts the
ranks using a rank sum, reciprocal, or exponent. Rating uses a common scale to rate the criteria,
for example, on a scale between zero and one. A trade-off analysis evaluates trade-offs between
sets of criteria to determine values where both are considered equally important. Finally, an
analytic hierarchy process equates criteria on a loose scale and then calculates relative weights
based on total calculations of all of the ratios combined (Greene et al. 2011).
3.2 Data Collection and Pre-Screening
This study recovered and relied upon a set of 100 transportation nodes (TNs) that average
origin and destination data for trucks in the Five County region of Southern California from the
original Rahimi et al. (2011) report. Traffic analysis zones (TAZs) in the Rahimi et al (2008)
study are areas that show high concentrations of truck destinations to distribution centers. The
TAZs are based on a 2004 truck travel survey of where trucks were coming and going in the
five-county region. Due to the widespread dispersion of trucks throughout the region, TAZs
were combined (no more than five each) to create transportation nodes. TNs represent a single
geographic point for the grouped TAZs. The TNs were used to calculate total truck VMTs from
POLA and POLB to the central locations. It was determined in the Rahimi et al (2008) study
that there were several areas which would optimally reduce truck VMTs by limiting long truck
30

trips. A point was selected from each of the areas and Theissen polygons were created to show
optimal areas where an inland port could be placed. These polygons are not related to County
boundaries.
The original 100 TNs were overlain on top of the five counties by converting the TNs
from a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system to California V FIPS State
Plane 0406 NAD 1983 using ESRI’s ArcGIS. The TNs cover the counties of Los Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura as seen in figure 5 below. The dots in figure 5
represent the 100 TNs. The various colors represent the regions demarcated with the Thiessen
polygons mentioned above. The corresponding squares represent optimal inland port locations
within each region according to the Rahimi et al (2008) study.

Figure 5 Rahimi et al. (2008) Traffic Analysis Zones and Transportation Nodes for Southern
California
Data collection and organization for each county was done in ArcCatalog to create a
geodatabase. The data for Orange County includes county parcel polygons, the county boundary
31

line, and city polygons with labels. Much of the Orange County data was derived from the
county’s public works and information technology department (Orange County Government
2014). Data for Riverside County was obtained from the polylines, zoning data, city polygons,
water bodies, parks, protected zones, farmland, schools, highways, airports, and major points of
interest (County of Riverside 2014). The data for Los Angeles County was downloaded from the
county’s Enterprise GIS site and CalAtlas, which included city polygons, parcels, schools,
hospitals, and other major points of interest (California Department of Technology 2014) (Los
Angeles County Enterprise GIS 2014). Zoning data for Ventura County was not available
through multiple searches, but base data for Ventura was downloaded from CalAtlas as well.
From this data, the study screened to identify land that was either industrial zoned or un-
zoned. The next prescreening step was to check for the two necessary conditions for an inland
port: large sites and proximity to rail lines. Thus, all the parcels were first filtered by size
(acreage) and geodesic distance to existing rail lines. The objective was to find large parcels that
met the size requirement, as opposed to a collection of small parcels, not only to simplify the
process of purchasing land, but also to minimize potential costs of land. Persuading a single
owner to agree to sell their land is less difficult than to convince multiple owners of multiple
parcels to sell their land all at once. Implementing eminent domain (the ability of the
government to expropriate private land for public use with reimbursement) would also be a
possibility, but it would also be less problematic to gain ownership of one properly sized parcel
than going through the process for gaining access to multiple small sized parcels.
Parcel size needs to be 10,000 acres to service a base population of three million residents
(Leitner and Harrison 2001; Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2011). From this, the
presumption is made that for every one million residents, 900 acres of land would be needed for
32

an inland port. A base population of three million residents within the region is necessary to
make sure that the inland port would not decrease in efficiency due to its location in an under
populated area (Leitner and Harrison 2001). The large number of consumers in the Los Angeles
region makes it a good candidate for an inland port facility. Table 1 below lists the ideal sizes
for each county according to their population size as of 2010. A simple filter is necessary to
start, so a base of 900 acres for each county was used in order not to be overly restrictive in the
initial sample of sites.
Table 1 Ideal Inland Port Sizes for Corresponding Population
County Population Size Ideal Size (Acres)
Los Angeles 9.9 million 8910
Orange 3.1 million 2790
Riverside 2.3 million 2070
San Bernardino 2.1 million 1890
Ventura .83 million 747
The figures contained in Table 1 are calculated on a county basis and thus are an
approximation. In reality, inland ports in any of the surrounding counties would serve customers
in L.A. County and perhaps in one or more of the other five counties in the L.A. region. For
example, cargo off-loaded from an inland port in Orange County could have final destinations in
Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County. A limitation of the current analysis
is that the size of the markets for each of the locations identified by Rahimi et al. was not
calculated to derive more specific parcel size. However, in general, it is difficult to find parcels
of even 900 acres, so the county-level approximation has not unduly restricted the candidate
parcels selected for this analysis.
A parameter of five miles from the nearest rail line is used for all counties, except
Riverside County, to screen for distance. Some of the parcels in Riverside County were far from
a rail line, but still under consideration due to their large size and their un-zoned designation.
33

These parcels were also a significant distance from the population—making them safer for
industrial activity. The rail network was downloaded from 2013 TIGER/Line™ Shapefiles, and
then clipped to the extent of each county (US Census Bureau 2013). A line was created from
each of the potential site’s centroids to the nearest point on the rail line. The geodesic (shortest
possible) distance was measured in miles from the point to the rail line.
An exception was made for two points in Riverside County in which the nearest rail line
was in the neighboring county of San Diego. Due to this, a line was drawn from those two
points to the nearest rail line within the borders of Riverside County, which was over 20 miles
away. Another exception was made in Northern Riverside County where the rail line had a
distance of less than a tenth of a mile from the county border in the neighboring county of San
Bernardino. Because the shortest distance to this rail line from the site centroid was 1.04 miles
and the next nearest rail line was 2.75 miles away, a line was drawn to maintain the shortest
distance.
3.1.1 Establishing Point Data for Potential Sites
After the initial three filters, each resulting parcel polygon was converted into a point
using its centroid (center point of area). The resulting centroids along with their corresponding
x, y coordinates and unique identifiers (FID) were displayed in a table in ArcMap. The distance
from the 100 TNs to each of the centroids (potential sites) was determined using the Point
Distance tool. This tool measures the distances from input point features to all of the points in
the nearest features within an indicated search radius. A table was created with the distances
between the two sets of points. Ventura County had a total of 5 potential sites, 7 in Orange
County, 8 in Los Angeles County, and 14 within Riverside County resulting in a point distance
34

table with 500, 700, 800, and 1400 entries respectively for each county (i.e. each point calculated
against each of the 100 TNs).
3.2 Slope and Intersections
To determine the slope between the potential site centroids and the rail line, the lines
were converted to a raster using the ArcGIS Feature to Raster tool using a one-degree digital
elevation model (DEM) from the National Elevation Dataset (USGS 2014) (NIMA 2008). This
tool converts features (such as points, lines, polylines, or polygons) into a raster dataset. The
slope of each raster line was calculated using the slope tool and the overlay of ten-meter contour
lines for the region. The slope tool calculates the maximum rate of change from each cell of a
raster surface.
To determine the number of intersections made by the potential railroad, street layers for
each county were added with the potential rail line layer. Each time the rail line crossed a
primary or secondary road it was counted as one intersection. Dirt and unpaved roads were not
counted as intersections.
3.3 School Proximity and Population
A layer showing K-12 schools for each of the five counties in the region was added to
determine the score of the distance from the potential site to schools. Rings of concentric half-
mile buffers (ten in total) were created using the Buffer tool in ArcMap to score the distance
from the potential sites to a nearby school. If the site fell within one of the rings, it was scored
accordingly to that ring’s weight, (i.e. if it was within the first ring, it received a score of zero for
being too close; if it was outside of the rings, it received a score of ten). The closer the site fell
to a school, the lower its score for the school proximity variable. This was done for each of the
35

counties. An example map for Ventura County is shown below. A table was created to show
each of the sites and the score for the distance to a nearby school variable.
3.4 Truck VMT Reduction
Rahimi et al. (2011) show a potential reduction in truck VMTs with the initial placement
of an inland port and the potential for additional reductions in truck VMTs with the subsequent
placement of additional inland ports (see Figure 5 in section 3.2 and Figure 6 below). Based on
their analysis, six general areas in the 5-County region are identified. These happen to sit in
general in the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, and Ventura. However, potential
sites should not be limited to these 4 counties. Therefore, this study focuses on only those four
counties that the areas are located in for the SSA (excluding San Bernardino County). Not
including San Bernardino County was a limitation of the current study and can be explored more
in the future work.
36

Figure 6 Impact of Each Additional Inland Port (Rahimi et al. 2011 pg.44)
The main goal of Rahimi et al. (2008) is to estimate the benefits gained from reduced
truck VMT patterns using the placement of one or more inland ports (p. 362). To stay in line
with this goal, during the screening step, Rahimi et al. (2008) completed an analysis to verify
that none of the prospective sites would be likely to fall outside of the optimal truck VMT
reduction areas identified for sites in each county. Truck VMT’s were also incorporated into the
SSA as a truck VMT variable for scoring after the candidate sites were identified.
During the screening step, the mean, range, average, and standard deviation was
calculated for each site’s geodesic distance measurements from the 100 TN’s. These
calculations were then used to conduct a difference of means test to find and compare the p-value
between each site. The p-value determines the significance of the compared results. A
difference of means test calculates how significant of a variance there is between a set of means.
If the p-value from the test is greater than 0.05 (the null hypothesis), then the observations are
highly probable to be the same, and in this case, are not likely to increase truck VMTs above the
37

estimates in Rahimi et al.’s optimization model. None of the candidate sites located near the
areas identified in Rahimi et al.’s study were significantly different than the mean of all sites in
those areas.
3.5 Site Scoring
Once the potential sites had been selected and the variables were determined, scores had
to be created for each of the sites. The scores for each site were determined using an overall
percentage of the eight variables. Dividing the data for the majority of the variables was done in
groups using natural breaks. The data is broken up into similar groups that maximize the
differences between each class range (ESRI 2012). The final overall scores for the data were
then converted into percentages.
3.5.1 Truck VMT Calculation and Scoring
The truck VMT variable was scored using the following formula from the Rahimi et al.
(2008) study:
Z = ∑ 𝑤 𝑖 𝑑 ( 𝑂 , 𝑃 𝑖 )
𝑚 𝑖 = 0

In the equation, i represents a TN. The number of TNs is denoted as m, the location of each TN
is represented as Pi, and the weight of each TN is referred to as 𝑤 𝑖 . A choice of O is a location
for an inland port, and then Z represents the optimal location for an inland port that minimizes
the total cost of container movement (Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008). The final truck
VMT score for each of the sites were separated into groups using natural breaks, and then scored
by group on a scale of one to ten. Table 2 below shows the range for each score and the number
of sites in each score's range.
38

Table 2 Truck VMT Variable Scores
VMT Score VMT Range Site Count
10 66,127 - 84,572 2
9 130,955 - 151,513 4
8 189,530 - 316,288 5
7 322,039 1
6 476,970 - 655,636 6
5 768,794 - 863,280 4
4 1,022,141 - 1,721,156 5
3 2,189,936 - 2,372,887 3
2 2,901,952 - 3,359,700 2
1 13,630,112 - 15,146,058 2
3.5.2. Rail Feasibility Calculation and Scoring
The rail feasibility score was comprised of three variables: distance from existing rail line
score, intersection score, and slope score. The distance variable measures the geodesic distance
between each potential site and the nearest existing rail line in miles. These distances were then
separated into groups using natural breaks and scored on a scale of one to ten—with ten being
close to an existing rail line and one being far from an existing rail line. Table 3 below displays
the distance variable’s scores and ranges.

39

Table 3 Distance Variable Score and Range
Distance Score Distance Range Site Count
10 0.01 - 0.45 2
9 1.05 - 1.47 3
8 1.67 - 1.96 3
7 2.30 - 2.36 4
6 2.88 - 3.09 4
5 3.85 - 4.50 6
4 5.72 1
3 12.32 - 15.20 5
2 16.05 - 19.12 4
1 21.34 - 22.70 2
The intersection score was based on the number of roads the potential rail line would
cross between the site and the existing rail line. The higher the intersection count, the lower the
final score for this variable. The data for this variable was also separated using natural breaks
and then scored on a scale of one to ten. The scores and ranges for this variable are shown in
Table 4 below.
Table 4 Intersection Variable Score and Range
Intersection Score Intersection Range Site Count
10 0 10
9 1 - 2 5
8 4 - 5 3
7 6 - 7 2
6 7 - 9 3
5 10 - 11 3
4 12 - 13 3
3 15 - 17 2
2 23 - 24 2
1 41 1
The slope score came from the slope of the potential rail line. This was based on the idea
that the cost of building a rail line would increase with slope steepness. The slope of each raster
intersected along a geodesic line created from each parcel centroid to a rail line was scored on a
scale of one to ten with the data separated by natural breaks. The scores and ranges for the slope
variable are shown in Table 5 below. The total score for rail line feasibility combined all three
of these variables to get one score out of thirty.
40

Table 5 Slope Variable Score and Range
Slope Score Slope Range Site Count
10 0% 10
9 1.1 - 1.4% 6
8 4.10% 1
7 5.0 - 5.1% 3
6 5.6 - 5.9% 2
5 6.7 - 7.3% 2
4 8.1 - 8.6% 4
3 9.3 - 10.5% 4
2 12.9 - 14.0% 2
1 N/A 0

3.5.3 School Proximity Calculation and Scoring
The school proximity variable was scored based on quarter mile concentric buffers
around schools in each county. If a potential site fell within one of the buffers it was scored
accordingly. This was based on a scale of one to ten, a score of one was given if the site fell
within the first buffer ring and a ten if it fell outside of the rings altogether (greater than 3.25
miles from a school). This score was the only variable not scored using Jenks natural breaks.
41

Figure 7 Ventura County School Buffer

42

3.5.4. Population Density Calculation and Scoring
The population density score was based on Census data derived from the census.gov
website (US Census Bureau 2013). An arbitrary selection of a two-mile buffer range around
each potential site was chosen and then overlain on top of the population data for each county.
The data was then clipped using ArcMap’s clipping tool to select only the data within the two-
mile buffer range. The population data was normalized to account for the selected buffer size
and from there the two-mile buffer population density around each potential site was produced.
Below, Table 6 presents the population variable’s scores and ranges. Natural breaks were used to
score the sites in this variable. The high count of sites with a measurement of zero residents per
square mile was due to those sites’ location in desert areas or areas far from urban settings.
Table 6 Population Scores and Range
Population Score Population Range (residents per sq. mile) Site Count
10 0 15
9 0.001-7.497 1
8 7.498-19.12 2
7 19.13-123.7 2
6 123.8-323 5
5 323.1-401 0
4 401.1-420.6 2
3 420.7-1098 2
2 1099-1355 3
1 1356-3342 2
3.5.5 Parcel Acreage Calculations and Scoring
The parcel size score was based on the acreage of each individual parcel. The sizes as
displayed in ArcMap had to be converted from square meters to acres using the calculate
geometry tool in ArcMap. From there, the parcels were scored using natural breaks. Table 7
below displays the scores and ranges for the parcel size variable.

43

Table 7 Parcel Size Scores and Range
Size Score Size Range (in acres) Site Count
10 10,624 - 6,781 3
9 3,765 - 3,185 3
8 2,641 - 2,253 5
7 1,940 - 1,862 2
6 1,607 1
5 1,437 - 1,364 3
4 1,226 - 1,112 9
3 1,075 - 1,003 5
2 927 - 914 3
1 N/A 0

44

Chapter 4: Results
The goal of this study is to identify and rank potential sites for the placement of an inland port in
the Southern California region. This chapter examines the results of the SSA. Section 4.1
details the highest and lowest scoring sites overall and illustrates this with a series of maps.
Section 4.2 documents some of the most influential variable results, including truck VMT
reduction and rail line feasibility and section 4.3 discusses the scoring system and the issue of
weighting.
4.1 Highest and Lowest Scoring Sites Overall
All of the sites in the region are shown in Figure 8 below along with their respective SSA
scores. Close-ups of all of the sites by county can be found in the Appendix.
Figure 8 All Potential Sites with Score Range

45

Table 8 Final Overall Scores by County
Point ID County Final Score
4012 Riverside 59%
3007 Orange 58%
1001 Ventura 57%
4013 Riverside 56%
1004 Ventura 55%
2006 Los Angeles 54%
2002 Los Angeles 53%
2004 Los Angeles 53%
2003 Los Angeles 52%
2007 Los Angeles 52%
3002 Orange 52%
1003 Ventura 51%
3004 Orange 51%
4001 Riverside 48%
3003 Orange 47%
4009 Riverside 46%
3001 Orange 45%
4002 Riverside 45%
2001 Los Angeles 44%
4006 Riverside 44%
4008 Riverside 44%
4005 Riverside 43%
3005 Orange 42%
4004 Riverside 41%
4010 Riverside 41%
4007 Riverside 39%
3006 Orange 38%
4003 Riverside 38%
4014 Riverside 37%
2005 Los Angeles 36%
1002 Ventura 33%
1005 Ventura 33%
2008 Los Angeles 32%
4011 Riverside 31%

46

The scores for all of the variables were on a ten-point scale with natural breaks as a
separator. Natural breaks are used to force the data into a set number of distinct groups. The
overall scores were converted to percent for interpretation. A sensitivity analysis was attempted
to show if there was a way to highlight the importance of certain variables over others.
Weighting these variables was difficult and subjective. The decision to exclude weighted scores
was made for this specific reason.
Due to their relatively high variance, the site scores for ‘feasibility of rail line’ and
‘population density’ variables contributed the most to the final score. The top three sites were in
Riverside, Orange, and Ventura Counties with overall scores of 59%, 58%, and 57%,
respectively. Close-up maps of the potential sites and their overall scores for each individual
county are located in the Appendix.
The best site for the ‘rail line feasibility’ variable is site 3007 located in Orange County
with an overall score of 58%. The lowest scoring site is site 4011 located in Riverside County
with a score of 31%. The best sites for the ‘distance from schools’ variable are located in
multiple counties. The lowest scoring sites were located within a half-mile (less than 3,000 feet)
from a school. The best site for the ‘parcel size’ variable were sites 2007, 2006, and 2004 all
located in Los Angeles County with sizes of 10,624 acres, 8,539 acres, and 6,781 acres
respectively. The lowest scoring sites for this variable were 2005 at 915 acres and site 3001 in
Orange County at 921 acres.
The population was measured by calculating the population density of a two-mile radius
around potential sites. Some sites were located close together so the population density of a two-
mile radius of the conglomerate of potential sites on those areas was used. All of the sites that
47

scored high for this variable had nearby populations of zero residents. The lowest scoring sites
for the population variable were located in Orange County (sites 3005 and 3006), both with
population densities of over 3,000 residents per square mile. The scores and ranges for this
variable are located in Table 4 below.
Table 9 Population Variable Score and Range
Population Score Population Range Site Count
10 0 15
9 0.001-7.497 1
8 7.498-19.12 2
7 19.13-123.7 2
6 123.8-323 5
5 323.1-401 0
4 401.1-420.6 2
3 420.7-1098 2
2 1099-1355 3
1 1356-3342 2
The best site for Los Angeles County is 2006. The worst site for Los Angeles County is
2008. The main contributing factor of this site’s final score was the number of intersections
crossing the potential rail line and its high population surrounding the site.
The best site for Orange County is 3007. The main contributing factor of this site’s final
score was distance to an existing rail line. The worst site for Orange County is 3006, which was
due to the site’s smaller size and population score. The best site for Riverside County is 4012,
and this is also the best site overall. The main contributing factor of this site’s final score was
distance to an existing rail line. The worst site for Riverside County is 4011, which is also the
worst site overall with a final score of 31%. The best site for Ventura County is 1001. The
worst site for Ventura County is 1005 and 1002, both with an overall score of 33%; the main
contributing factor of these sites’ final scores was the population density variable and their small
size.
48

4.2 Influential Variable Results
After reviewing the un-weighted results of the variable scores, the ‘rail line feasibility’
variable seemed to be determinative of the final score and site ranking. A sensitivity test was
conducted by weighting every variable except the rail feasibility variable by two to see if there
was a major difference in the overall score. Additionally, removing the feasibility score
altogether had a similar effect on the sites that scored high for the truck VMT variable. This
came to be a problem since the most important variable for this study is reducing truck VMTs.
This score takes the weights used by the 100 TNs and the distance in miles between the 100 TNs
and each potential site. This shows which sites were on average closer to areas where trucks
made trips to most often.
The lower the weighted average distance for the site, the more suitable that site would be
in regards to truck VMTs. To lower truck VMTs, the distance between the potential site and
populated areas would have to lower as well. This is opposite in the case of the school variable.
To raise the population density and school variable scores, the distance between the potential site
and populated areas would correspondingly have to rise as well. The proximity to schools score
is an important variable but it corresponds closely to population density and because many of the
sites that were far from densely populated areas, many sites received favorable scores on this
variable as well.
None of the sites scored higher than 60% overall, indicating the need to either reconsider
some of the variables chosen or incorporate other variables that may contribute to a more in-
depth SSA.
49

Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion
In this study, a site suitability analysis was conducted to determine the feasibility of placing an
inland port in the Southern California Region. Eight variables were used including: distance
from the nearest rail line, number of intersections, slope, overall rail line feasibility, proximity to
schools as a proxy for childhood exposure, parcel size, population, and vehicle miles travelled
(VMTs). These variables provided a more comprehensive look at placing a large industrial
facility in a predominantly urban region. It was determined that it is extremely difficult to score
favorably on all of the chosen variables in a densely populated region. Many issues such as
pollution caused by increased industrial activity and space necessary for expansion arose when
analyzing final scores.
5.1 Assumptions and Limitations
With this study, a few assumptions had to be made to analyze and interpret the results
and limitations had to be placed while conducting the SSA. The first assumption was of equal
weighting. Each variable was weighted equally in the SSA to simply show how each factor
scored overall. Some variables, such as the population or school proximity, may matter more to
the public while variables like distance from an existing rail line (which has financial
implications) may matter more to decision makers. Every variable had the potential of receiving
subjective weights, but this method would not have been as straight forward as the one chosen.
Secondly, the basis of this study is not on a network analysis. Network analysis details
specific aspects of travel such as particular roads trucks may or may not be able to use when
carrying cargo, exact distances for truck VMTs based on the existing road network, and where
rail pollution may occur when placing rail lines in the region. A network analysis would not use
50

geodesic distances for calculations, instead, this type of analysis has the ability to show exact
distances for travel on specified road networks giving a much more detailed view of truck
VMTs. In addition, a network analysis could give a much more detailed view of the potential for
the redistribution of truck and rail miles and resulting shifts in populations exposed to localized
air pollution.
Restricting the pre-screen process to only a few large parcels to use in the SSA instead of
an aggregation of many small parcels limited the potential site locations in the region. Although
a conglomerate of parcels is a possibility, this study assumes this option is fixed. It is possible,
however, to select multiple available parcels for industrial use with the idea of eminent domain
in mind.
5.2 Future Work
Future studies and additional research can remedy some of the issues that arose while
conducting this study and analyzing the SSA. By focusing on each of the assumptions and
limitations, future work can improve upon this study.
Conducting a public survey is one way of solving the weighting issue. A survey would
be able to ask questions specifically for the public in terms of what is most important to them
when it comes to the placement of an industrial facility. Another survey can be made for
decision makers that could detail what aspects are important when it comes to financial and labor
costs or even preferred areas to build this type of facility. With the surveys, other variables that
may not have been included in the current study’s SSA can be added and some that may not be
important to neither the public nor the decision makers can be left out altogether; this way,
51

efforts and research centers on what matters most to placing an inland port in the Southern
California region.
Conducting a network analysis for current truck travel as well as an analysis on potential
rail line placement is an option for future work. This would give specific numbers in terms of
distances and rail line length for decision makers to calculate precise costs. It would also give a
more comprehensive look at the transportation network for the region and may make policy
related decisions much easier when it comes to where things can and cannot be built in the
region.
The idea of eminent domain being a more difficult option for decision makers was
assumed for this study. Future work could take on the approach of selecting multiple parcels for
acquisition to meet the ideal size requirement for an inland port. With this method, selecting an
area further away from the population and considering expansion possibilities would be less
problematic.
The current study’s analysis excludes San Bernardino County and San Diego County.
Although there were several transportation nodes in San Bernardino County as indicated by the
Rahimi et al. (2008) study, excluding the county as a whole was due to the likelihood that
placement of an inland port in that most of that county would not do much to reduce truck VMTs
overall. Also, when it came to San Bernardino County, the amount of data was extensive and
difficult to add to the existing analysis due to its size. In spite of these reasons, some areas of
San Bernardino County are close enough to the Thiessen polygon’s identified in the Rahimi et al.
(2008) report that including it could lead to more possibilities for sites. Given the county’s lower
52

population density in some areas, it may be a practical option when it comes to protecting the
population for industrial air pollution.
The Rahimi et al. (2008) study does not define San Diego County as being a part of the
Southern California region. There is an implicit assumption that San Diego County has its own
port and is not a part of the POLA-POLB service area. However, but according to the data
obtained from the Rahimi et al. (2008) study, there is a significant amount of imports shipped out
of POLA and POLB to cities in San Diego County. Including San Diego County will similarly
open up opportunities for sites and even more possibilities for improving upon the transportation
network since much of San Diego is well connected to the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.
Finally, addressing the pollution issue for the region is important when it comes to future
industrial activity. Endresen et al. (2003) detail the types of emissions prevalent in international
sea transportation and assess the environmental impacts of each. Reducing emissions of one
pollutant may not be enough to improve air quality around the ports and the environment within
the region. It is crucial to determine which pollutants are the most severe and what is involved in
bringing about the greatest environmental improvements around the ports (Endresen et al. 2003).
Doing this would require an in depth environmental analysis, which is not included in the current
study. Further research is necessary to determine methods in which identifying these pollutants
and reducing their overall impact is key.
5.3 Conclusion
This research and analysis for this study reaches three main conclusions. First, a site
suitability analysis is needed when it comes to analyzing a multitude of variables and selecting a
proper site for an inland port in an urban setting. There is no other effective way of addressing
53

multiple variables all at once in a spatial manner that can conclusively determine proper (or
improper) locations for industrial activity to take place. Conducting a SSA allows decision
makers to review all possible effected factors when it comes to whether or not the region will
benefit from an inland port as well as who and what will be effected by its placement.
Secondly, minimizing overall vehicle miles travelled in the region is possible with the
placement of an inland port connected to the seaports via rail. There are places within the region
that, if connected by rail, would help in reducing truck VMTs—which was a key point in the
Rahimi et al. (2011) report. Knowing this, allows decision makers to take the additional step of
evaluating the importance of improving upon the current transportation system with the
environment and the public in mind. Simply making transportation and cargo movement easier
on private companies is not always going to be enough.
Lastly, although many sites scored high in some of the variables, overall there is no
optimal site—according to the variables chosen, for an inland port in the Southern California
region. Further research in this area must be done because the population is continuously
expanding and the need for a more efficient transportation system is only going to grow.

54

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59

Appendix
A 1.1 Maps of Potential Sites and Scores by County

Figure 9 Ventura County Potential Sites
60

Figure 10 Los Angeles County West Potential Sites
61

Figure 11 Los Angeles County East Potential Sites
62

Figure 12 Orange County Potential Sites
63

Figure 13 Riverside County West Potential Sites
64

Figure 14 Riverside County East Potential Sites
65

Figure 15 Riverside County South East Potential Sites

66

A 1.2 Table of Final Variable Scores
Table 10 Final Variable Scores
Point ID County
Distance
Score
Intersection
Score
Slope
Score
Proximity
Score*
School
Score
Size
Score
Population
Score
Truck VMT
Score
Total
Score
4012 Riverside 9 9 10 28 10 8 10 3 59%
1001 Ventura 6 8 10 24 10 8 9 6 57%
1004 Ventura 5 8 9 22 10 8 7 8 55%
3007 Orange 10 10 10 30 5 4 10 9 58%
2006 Los Angeles 7 8 7 22 10 10 6 6 54%
4013 Riverside 8 10 10 28 10 4 10 4 56%
4001 Riverside 3 6 3 12 10 9 10 7 48%
2007 Los Angeles 8 9 5 22 10 10 6 4 52%
3002 Orange 5 10 7 22 8 9 10 3 52%
2002 Los Angeles 7 9 9 25 6 7 6 9 53%
2004 Los Angeles 8 9 8 25 10 10 6 2 53%
3004 Orange 4 10 7 21 10 7 4 9 51%
4009 Riverside 1 10 3 14 10 4 10 8 46%
4002 Riverside 3 5 4 12 10 9 10 4 45%
1003 Ventura 7 9 9 25 9 4 7 6 51%
3003 Orange 5 2 10 17 7 4 10 9 47%
2003 Los Angeles 10 10 9 29 8 6 6 3 52%
4006 Riverside 2 10 3 15 10 4 10 5 44%
4008 Riverside 1 10 4 15 10 4 10 5 44%
4005 Riverside 2 10 3 15 10 4 10 4 43%
3001 Orange 6 4 10 20 5 2 10 8 45%
2001 Los Angeles 5 4 9 18 9 5 2 10 44%
4004 Riverside 2 10 4 16 10 4 10 1 41%
4007 Riverside 3 7 2 12 10 3 10 4 39%
4010 Riverside 6 2 10 18 4 8 3 8 41%
4003 Riverside 3 7 2 12 10 5 10 1 38%
3005 Orange 5 6 10 21 7 3 1 10 42%
4014 Riverside 2 4 5 11 4 8 8 6 37%
3006 Orange 9 5 10 24 3 2 1 8 38%
4011 Riverside 3 3 4 10 5 3 8 5 31%
2005 Los Angeles 7 5 9 21 6 2 2 5 36%
1005 Ventura 6 3 6 15 5 3 4 6 33%
2008 Los Angeles 5 1 10 16 2 5 3 6 32%
1002 Ventura 9 6 6 21 5 3 2 2 33%
*Combined score of distance, intersection, and slope variables.

67

A 1.3 Table of Potential Site Statistics
Table 11 Final Site Statistics
Point ID County Distance Intersections Slope Size
Population
Density
Truck VMT
1001 Ventura 3.08 4 0.0% 2253 7.5 637,163
1002 Ventura 1.22 7 5.6% 1056 1341.7 3,359,700
1003 Ventura 2.34 1 2.4% 1158 123.7 655,637
1004 Ventura 3.94 5 2.1% 2443 123.7 199,318
1005 Ventura 3.09 17 5.9% 1049 420.6 476,971
2001 Los Angeles 3.85 13 1.4% 1388 1355.2 84,573
2002 Los Angeles 2.36 2 2.0% 1862 323.0 135,703
2003 Los Angeles 0.45 0 2.0% 1607 323.0 2,372,888
2004 Los Angeles 1.96 2 4.1% 8539 323.0 2,901,953
2005 Los Angeles 2.33 11 1.1% 914 1355.2 768,795
2006 Los Angeles 2.30 4 5.1% 6781 323.0 535,285
2007 Los Angeles 1.67 1 6.7% 10624 323.0 1,022,141
2008 Los Angeles 4.50 41 0.0% 1364 1023.4 505,971
3001 Orange 2.88 12 0.0% 921 0.0 234,651
3002 Orange 4.20 0 5.0% 3765 0.0 2,361,172
3003 Orange 4.50 24 0.0% 1135 0.0 141,743
3004 Orange 5.72 0 5.0% 1940 401.0 151,513
3005 Orange 4.07 8 0.0% 1003 3341.6 66,128
3006 Orange 1.47 10 0.0% 927 3341.6 239,182
3007 Orange 0.01 0 0.0% 1226 0.0 130,956
4001 Riverside 13.05 9 10.0% 3569 0.0 322,039
4002 Riverside 13.88 10 8.6% 3185 0.0 1,548,284
4003 Riverside 12.56 6 12.9% 1437 0.0 13,630,112
4004 Riverside 18.22 0 8.1% 1112 0.0 15,146,059
4005 Riverside 18.65 0 10.5% 1112 0.0 1,314,159
4006 Riverside 19.12 0 9.3% 1120 0.0 776,267
4007 Riverside 12.32 7 14.0% 1036 0.0 1,721,156
4008 Riverside 22.70 0 8.4% 1112 0.0 863,280
4009 Riverside 21.34 0 9.5% 1115 0.0 316,289
4010 Riverside 3.09 23 0.0% 2384 1097.6 189,530
4011 Riverside 15.20 15 8.3% 1075 19.1 774,240
4012 Riverside 1.05 1 0.0% 2568 0.0 2,189,936
4013 Riverside 1.90 0 0.0% 1128 0.0 1,168,021
4014 Riverside 16.05 13 7.3% 2641 19.1 520,819

Abstract (if available)

Abstract To alleviate some of the environmental and traffic concerns caused by the growth around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, research has begun on the establishment of a large inland port. An inland port (or dry port) stores cargo, transfers containers from drayage trucks to rail, and largely shifts seaport activities off-site (Roso, Woxenius, and Lumsden 2008). A location-allocation analysis has been conducted for the Los Angeles region to determine potential sites for an inland port in terms of distance from the seaports and reduction in vehicle miles traveled (truck VMTs) (Rahimi, Asef-Vaziri, and Harrison 2008). This study builds on this research by conducting a site suitability analysis (SSA). First, the study pre-screens numerous parcels for size and rail line proximity to limit the analysis to viable sites. Next the study investigates key siting decision variables in greater detail. These include rail line feasibility, parcel acreage, distance from schools, population density, and total truck VMT reduction. Using Arc GIS, the data were analyzed and transformed into scores to sum site desirability based on an even weighting of these criteria. Data for this study were obtained from multiple geographic information system (GIS) data warehouses including, Census.gov, egis3.lacounty.gov, ArcGIS Online, and the State of California Geoportal website. This study reaches three main conclusions. First, a site suitability analysis is needed when it comes to analyzing a multitude of variables and selecting a proper site for an inland port in an urban setting. Secondly, there are possible sites where an inland port can be placed and connected via rail that will minimize overall truck VMTs in the region. Lastly, although many sites scored high on some of the criteria, no one site stands out as optimal, according to the criteria chosen, for a heavy industrial facility, such as an inland port, in the Southern California region.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Frazier, Emily Michelle (author)

Core Title A site suitability analysis for an inland port to service the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Geographic Information Science and Technology

Publication Date 09/12/2014

Defense Date 09/11/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag geographic information systems,GIS,Long Beach,Los Angeles,maritime transportation,OAI-PMH Harvest,port development,site suitability analysis,Transportation

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Advisor Vos, Robert O. (committee chair), Oda, Katsuhiko (Kirk) (committee member), Rahimi, Mansour (committee member)

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Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-475438

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