Freight planning is focused on developing strategies to manage and improve the safety and efficiency of multimodal freight flows through and within Northwest Indiana. It also involves integrating freight priorities into the ongoing comprehensive regional planning process, minimizing the congestion and hazards associated with freight traffic, through projects like the separation of problematic at-grade crossing areas, and by promoting the regional economic benefits of freight traffic and logistics industries. It also entails identifying the relationships between freight mobility issues, freight traffic patterns, land use patterns, environmental issues, social equity, and economic development. As in other areas of planning, freight planning is an ongoing and ever-evolving process.