How Cities are Adapting to The Surge in Delivery Vehicles
Delivery vehicles cause an increase in traffic, congestion, and environmental issues in urban areas, negatively impacting the livability of urban communities. As a result, cities are exploring various policies and methods in order to implement new solutions that will help mitigate the negative impacts caused by the surge in delivery vehicles in cities. Cities are exploring new designs and policies for the curb, implementing smart technology, and enforcing new and pre-existing rules in order to adapt to the increase in delivery vehicles in urban areas and mitigate the issues that delivery vehicles can cause or add to.
What Can Cities Do?
Cities are creating policies and utilizing forms of technology as a way to mitigate the congestion that is increased by delivery vehicles. In order to reduce congestion, cities are implementing parking policies, enforcing traffic rules more vigorously, and using new and innovative forms of technology that help everyone navigate the roads fairly. Each method has its pros and cons, but it is important for cities to create policies and regulations that work best for the community.
The Curb
A large component of the congestion caused by delivery vehicles is due to their loading/unloading process. Most loading and unloading is done on the curb. This increases congestion, due to delivery vehicles double-parking, cruising for parking, and taking up a lot of time on the curb. As such, managing the curb space is important to consider when it comes to mitigating the congestion caused by delivery vehicles.
While it may seem as though increasing space would solve the issue and make it easier for everybody to navigate, simply increasing curb space without the proper mechanisms to track its use would actually elevate the issue in the long run. Even if increasing the curb space was a solution, it would not be an easy fix, as cities are bound by their space and physical limits. Areas like downtown Boston cannot simply increase curb space, because new streets would have to be created. Even narrowing the sidewalk on existing streets will not elongate space along the street to fit in more vehicles. Rather than increase the amount of curb space or parking spots, cities will need to consider redesigning the curb, creating new policies to regulate use of the curb, and monitoring the curb actively.
CURB MANAGEMENT
A way to manage the curb is by implementing flex zone policies that set priority for curb use by function. A flex zone lane serves as a multi-use lane along the curbside. It can serve different functions such as access and mobility, greening, and public activity. Flex zones are typically prioritized based on surrounding land use. On commercial streets, the city prioritizes uses such as freight and passenger loading over metered parking. For example, Seattle has implemented flex zones as part of their curb management infrastructure.
Delivery vehicle staging zones are another form of curb management. Delivery vehicle staging zones are zones dedicated to time-limited on street space to transport trucks that are waiting to access off-street loading or unloading points. Placing these zones near high-demand building locations can reduce the amount of delivery vehicles illegally parking, blocking lanes, and cruising. Currently, Toronto is evaluating the implementation of delivery vehicle staging zones as part of its Curbside Management Strategy.
When parked on the curb, delivery vehicles can present issues to urban residents. Since parking is the core use of the curb, addressing parking rules is essential to mitigating the curb and congestion issues caused by delivery vehicles. In downtown areas, people are often competing for the same spaces, and this contributes to congestion. According to a study by The Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois, vehicles looking for a parking spot account for 30-40% of total traffic in cities. To address this issue, cities create parking rules depending on the user or trip type. For example, commercial vehicles in Boston, MA must not stop for more than one hour unless otherwise posted for the loading and unloading of materials. This is a way to ensure commercial vehicles are not taking up more time or space than necessary.
curb management: community engagement
An essential element of curb management is community engagement, which can be achieved by creating coalitions and committees that consist of local residents and municipal planners. Such committees allow for equitable and accessible public engagement. Curb management committees can be divided into smaller groups that focus on different users of the curb and ways the curb is used. There are examples of community engagement programs in the state of Massachusetts.
For instance, one committee in Somerville coordinates with other departments to implement changes to the street that can be made without moving the existing curb. The committee also engages in a few major reconstruction projects. Another project focuses on moving the curbline throughout a corridor to widen sidewalks. Another example is The City of Cambridge Pedestrian Committee, which mainly focuses on the design of roadway projects as well as policies related to traffic.
curb MANAGEMENT: CURB design
Curb design is a major component of managing the curb efficiently.
Sharing best practices among cities is also a way to create effective curb management plans. NACTO is a coalition of North American cities and transit agencies in which cities exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices to cooperatively manage national transportation issues such as curb design.
Curb design is also a major component of managing the curb efficiently. Curb design helps manage increased activity at the curb and maintain safety for delivery vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and others who use the curb. One curb design practice that NACTO recommends is the implementation of pickup and delivery zones. The idea is to convert curbside parking spaces or travel lanes into high-turnover pickup or delivery zones for essential businesses. NACTO provides key steps for this method, such as using signage to indicate space, alter management and enforcement policy, and set time limits to enable turnover to essential services. NACTO indicates that cities will need to examine interference with pedestrian areas and street operations, and check placement of equipment periodically. Alexandria, Virginia implemented this policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, using temporary signage to designate pick-up zones outside food establishments. This allowed customers and delivery workers to safely access businesses.
COLLECTING DATA FOR THE CURB
Collecting data for the curb is an important aspect of curbside management, as it allows cities to understand how each curb is being used and plan efficiently.
The Open Mobility Foundation is one major collaboration of cities across the country that collect and share data for analysis. It is designed for cities to understand technical issues around transportation, such as issues with the curb. Cities and private companies share information on their operations. Cities can collect data and publish regulations to inform each other about public policy decisions. It also allows cities to communicate with the public about such information. This sort of communication makes it easier to make informative decisions and collaboratively solve problems. While collecting data provides many benefits, this is not an easy task. Aggregating data from various data sources comes with challenges such as inconsistent data formats, varying structures of data, information security challenges and more.
technology for the curb
Emerging technologies also help cities monitor and improve the curb space. Such technologies improve multimodal safety, reduce congestion and double-parking, and allow cities to create curb policies that align with city goals.
Technology can help monitor who is using the curb space. Certain technologies use computer vision and IoT devices and sensors installed in different segments of the curb to generate data on space occupancy in real time. Implementing occupancy sensors helps collect data that can be used to inform cities of the curb activity in certain areas. This data helps enable smart parking technologies to move parking off curbs and into garages. This can also help reduce the congestion caused by vehicles circling urban blocks for curb space. The City of El Paso makes occupancy data available through an app to show which spaces are open and which spaces are taken. The City of Columbus uses aggregated historical data from their meters to show the likelihood that a spot is open at a specific day and time. This kind of data can allow users to pre-book spaces rather than spend time and take up space cruising.
Technology can also help users understand when to use the space. This technology enables active management of the curb. It also allows cities to enforce the curb rules more efficiently. Such enforcement is effective against violations such as delivery vehicles double parking in mixed traffic lanes or standing on the curb for an extended amount of time. In Las Vegas, curbside kiosks collect video data of drivers who are stopped in loading zones. If a delivery vehicle remains in a loading zone for too long, a countdown clock starts to alert drivers when they have spent too much time there. Time limits also allow more people to be able to access the curb for a reasonable amount of time. These mechanisms allow efficient management of the curb, parking, and time.
PARKING
Parking occupancy data allows cities to understand how to price parking and how to use parking rules as a method of decreasing congestion. Using parking occupancy data allows cities to adjust metered rates in order to respond to curb demand overtime. In Seattle, data on parking occupancy is collected yearly for each of the city’s 30 paid parking areas. Rates are then adjusted to account for the change in demand.
Demand-based pricing considers fluctuations in customer demand and adjusts the prices accordingly. For parking, this would mean charging lower parking rates in off-peak periods and low-demand locations, while charging higher rates at peak times and high-demand locations. Demand-based pricing for parking reduces cruising and double-parking. The ParkSmart program in New York City uses this method. The ParkSmart program introduced higher parking rates for parking in highly used neighborhood retail streets, and lower parking rates per hour off-peak. This led to a small reduction in cruising and double-parking, two key factors that increase congestion in urban areas. App-based parking management systems have been implemented in several cities and metro areas such as Boston and Washington D.C. With such systems, residents and visitors can use their cell phones to pay for parking on all of the street-metered spaces throughout the city.
ParkDC is another innovative method of managing parking in a cost-efficient way. Rather than installing sensors in every parking space, parkDC determines occupancy using spatial and temporal sampling. This includes partial sensor coverage, payment data, cameras, computer vision algorithms and more. Data following the pilot of the
Congestion Pricing and Traffic Flow Management
Delivery trips are major contributors to congestion in cities. Congestion caused by delivery vehicles disturbs other users of the curb and the streets, such as pedestrians and cyclists. When congestion increases, vehicle speed and the number of vehicles that get through over a short period can drop significantly. Traffic and congestion caused by delivery vehicles pose a threat to the health and safety of individuals, negatively impacting the environment.
Congestion pricing is a way to use the market to reduce congestion. Introducing congestion pricing on roadways can discourage delivery service providers from using congested roadways during rush hour. Instead, delivery service providers will schedule trips around off-peak hours. For example, New York City began charging delivery vehicles up to $20 at the Holland Tunnel and Tappan Zee Bridge, two critical points of entry into Manhattan. Delivery service providers have even noted the benefits of these methods, including better parking availability, lower congestion, less stress from driving, and faster delivery times.
Inbound Flow Control
A similar method of traffic flow management is inbound flow control. Inbound flow control is a method seen in the UK, Zurich and Switzerland. Inbound flow control restricts flow at peak times using traffic lights, so congestion is only experienced (if at all) at the edges of the city. Traffic is then relocated to the edge of the city where there is space to hold it. Cars essentially wait until there is space in the city. Roadside signs inform drivers of expected queueing times and provide directions to the nearest park and ride site. The advanced notice of queuing times help drivers calculate their journey time and when to travel. This could be beneficial for delivery service providers to schedule trips more efficiently.
Restrictions on Certain Streets
A more extreme method of traffic control is restricting delivery vehicles from even entering certain streets. For example, the city of Cambridge received permission to ban trucks on a number of streets to all commercial trucks over 2.5 tons gross vehicle weight 24 hours a day. This is beneficial for residential streets and the safety of the people living on them. Trucks are motivated to park elsewhere, using the system of Posted Truck Routes, which can reduce congestion in residential areas. Implementing such major restrictions is not as easy for cities to do, because there are a lot of factors that have to be taken into account.
For example, preventing trucks from taking the most direct route between two points could increase the potential for accidents. It could also lead to an increase in the use of fossil fuels and create more congestion on the alternative routes they have to take. Such a measure could also prevent residents and businesses from receiving their goods in a fast and safe manner. Limiting the use of local roads creates legal and practical problems for truck drivers as well. For example, truck drivers must be able to access points for loading or unloading the materials they haul.
Night Time Deliveries
Cities are also considering night-time deliveries as a solution to reducing congestion from delivery vehicles. At night, delivery vehicles can travel faster, without the same amount of vehicles on the road. Night time deliveries have led to significant reductions in delivery time, pollution, and city traffic. A study conducted by the KTH Integrated Transport Research Lab in Stockholm indicates that such deliveries could increase business efficiency for suppliers, reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and make a positive impact on traffic volume for morning travelers. The US Department of Transportation announced a pilot program to encourage overnight deliveries in an effort to relieve congestion on city streets. A major con of night time deliveries is the increase in noise pollution caused by the unloading of the vehicle. Night time deliveries could also interfere with other overnight activities such as road maintenance or construction.
There are also operational challenges with night time deliveries. Implementing night time deliveries will require incentives for delivery service providers. Delivering products at night without disturbing residents often requires technology, operational changes, extra labor and additional costs that delivery service providers may not be willing to take on.
Such costs and extra considerations make it difficult for delivery service providers to simply make the switch to night time delivery.
Urban Consolidation Centers
Urban consolidation centers are logistics facilities used to consolidate and transfer freight coming from outside locations onto smaller, less disruptive vehicles that are better for dense city zones. Urban consolidation centers make better use of the load capacity of freight vehicles. The benefits of UCCs include reducing route length, pollution and costs. UCCs require less Infrastructure for transshipment points compared with traditional distribution centers. However, UCCs still need enough space for delivery vehicles to unload, stage and store products.
Most early urban consolidation center initiatives were implemented in European countries. These initiatives had strong government involvement. However, in North America, early UCC initiatives did not make it farther than studies and trials, and they were not actually implemented. UCCs require delivery providers to make operational changes, which is a burden to providers without technology. As such, without incentives or regulatory pressures, delivery service providers are not motivated to participate in the implementation of UCCs.
There are many aspects cities must consider before changing policies or implementing methods to deal with the surge in delivery vehicles in urban areas. While these methods may offer solutions, cities need a solution that will continue to deal with the increase in delivery vehicles over-time and not just short-term. These solutions do not completely fix the issue, and there are inefficiencies and challenges to implementing them. There should be enough incentives for delivery service providers to implement these solutions. There also needs to be strong regulatory support behind new policies or methods. Delivery service providers also have to deal with technological challenges such as information security and standardization of data. They also need to manage the operational challenge of changing existing operations with minimal impact on their business. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done before many of these initiatives can be widely adopted.
(Photos credit iStock and Freepik)