pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

This past October, the University of Washington’s Supply Chain and Transportation Logistics Center opened its new Urban Freight Lab. The lab will investigate high-impact, low-cost ways for businesses to deliver goods in urban settings, and try to help cities better manage the limited space along their streets. “We’ve had this concentrated population growth in urban areas at the same time that people have been doing an increasing percentage of their shopping online,” and getting more goods delivered to their home, said Anne Goodchild, the UW professor of civil and environmental engineering who directs the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center. “This has made urban delivery a more pressing problem.”

This lab combines the data and practical knowledge from private industry partners/members such as Costco, FedEx, Nordstrom, UPS, and USPS, with the research strengths and knowledge of the University of Washington. “We’re a growing city, so as we get denser, the congestion increases,” said Scott Kubly, Seattle’s transportation director. “There’s been so much change in the last 10 years in how goods move and how people shop that it’s really creating a level of urgency around this.”

With the significant expected growth of freight demands over the coming decades, this exciting new partnership offers significant potential for PacTrans to get involved. PacTrans, recently appointed FAST Act Region 10 University Transportation Center, will be focusing on the mobility of people and goods for the coming five years. Freight is a significant factor when it comes to issues of mobility and congestion. We are excited to welcome Dr. Goodchild’s new lab to the University!

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