Truck parking availability for commercial drivers traveling through Washington state is limited. To help truck drivers plan their trips and maximize the use of available parking, the University of Washington STAR Lab developed a self-learning and optimizing truck parking information and management system (TPIMS) for installation at state-owned truck parking facilities such as weigh stations and safety rest areas.

Truck parking facilities are struggling to meet the increasing demand of freight vehicles on the road. Lack of parking spaces and real-time information about parking availability greatly exacerbates trip uncertainty and often results in illegal parking and overtime driving. In response, this project worked to improve a system to provide information about real-time and predicted truck parking space availability to freight truck drivers.

In March 2020, coinciding with shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the West Seattle Bridge, the main bridge connecting West Seattle with the rest of the city of Seattle, was closed to traffic because of structural deterioration. The unexpected closure of the bridge disrupted passenger and freight mobility to/from West Seattle, increasing travel times and generating bottlenecks on the remaining bridges. This project documented the impacts of the closure on freight flow in and out of West Seattle.

The Final 50 Feet Research Program focuses on the “final 50 feet” of the urban goods delivery system, including searching for parking; loading/unloading; maneuvering intersections, curbs, and other obstacles; and delivering goods to customers. Researchers have used a systems engineering approach to investigate solutions to optimizing delivery operations in the final 50 feet of the supply chain. They have analyzed both the street network and the city’s vertical space as one integrated goods delivery system to ultimately reduce carbon emissions and increase curb efficiency for goods delivery.

This project was designed to deliver crucial granular baseline data on commercial vehicle movements in key areas of Seattle to help city transportation professionals plan for increasing goods movement and service activities. It produced Seattle’s first complete estimate of Greater Downtown area traffic volumes, and it offered a detailed analysis of commercial vehicle traffic in and around one of the city’s major industrial centers, the Ballard-Interbay Northern Manufacturing Industrial Center. In doing so, it produced a critical snapshot of the detailed data needed for effective policy and planning, potentially informing everything from road maintenance and traffic signals to electric vehicle charging station sites and possible proposals for congestion pricing.

In January 2019 the City of Seattle opened a local freight and transit (FAT) lane to explore ways to address the challenges of freight mobility. This study evaluated the performance and utilization of the FAT lane. Analysis included the percentages of buses and freight vehicles that chose the FAT lane, violation rates of the FAT lane, and factors that most influenced lane choice. The city will be able to use these findings to guide the development of future FAT lane projects.

This study evaluated the pilot test of a cargo e-bike delivery system in Seattle, Washington. Researchers compared the performance of an electric-assisted tricycle with a removable cargo container used to perform last-mile deliveries and pick-ups in downtown Seattle with that of a traditional, truck-only delivery system. In evaluating and comparing both systems, the researchers looked at delivery area, number of delivery locations, number of packages delivered, and failed first delivery rate. The results are intended to provide information to help the city in developing future urban freight policies.

The Supply Chain and Transportation Logistics (SCTL) Center at the University of Washington conducted an alley inventory and truck load/unload occupancy study for the City of Seattle. Researchers collected data identifying the locations and infrastructure characteristics of alleys within Seattle’s One Center City planning area. The resulting alley database includes GIS coordinates for both ends of each alley, geometric and traffic attributes, and photos. The researchers developed alley management recommendations to promote safe, sustainable, and efficient goods delivery and pick-up.

This project evaluated the impacts of roadway performance information delivery efforts on freight operations in Texas. A freight advanced traveler information system (FRATIS) was deployed in the form of the I-35 Traveler Information during Construction (TIDC) system in Dallas, Texas, in association with major reconstruction work on I-35. The evaluation focused on the impacts of delivering the TIDC information to trucking companies. Both participating trucking companies reported receiving benefit from the construction delay information.

When determining the causes of freight-related accidents, researchers need to disentangle the complex interactions among a range of causal and confounding factors, such as hours of service, time of day, traffic density, roadway type, environmental conditions, and driver behavior and characteristics. This study sought to uncover relationships between driver hours of service and a set of potential confounding factors related to time of day.