Sustainability of Freight Transport through an Integrated Approach: The Case of the Eastern Sicily Port System

Port systems, especially if close to the city centre, are affected by significant traffic flows from and towards the port area causing congestion issues, security and several externalities on the mobility system. In fact, the main problems affecting port cities are generated by the mismatch between different vehicle flows (of goods, citizens, cruises, passengers, private cars and heavy vehicles) and the consequent creation of bottlenecks, greatly affecting the functionality of both the port and the city. The objective of this paper is to apply a framework of actions and measures to foster the three pillars of sustainability in the case study of the Eastern Sicily port system, involving the ports of the cities of Catania and Augusta. Data concerning freight traffic and flows have been acquired from the port authority and from the main terminal and logistic operators, while; data on terminal operation efficiency have been acquired from previous studies. The study shows advantages and disadvantages of already implemented measures and new planning scenarios for the two ports that are part of the system. The paper clearly defines the key elements needed to be taken into account when demonstrating efficiency of a ports' system. The methodology can be considered suitable in order to support administrations in the assessment of different alternatives in the short and in the long period.