The objectives of this project are to develop and implement a technology solution to support research, development, and demonstration of data processing techniques, models, simulations, smart phone applications, and a visual-confirmation system to reduce parking seeking behavior, reduce parcel truck dwell time, and increase network and commercial firms’ efficiency by increasing curb occupancy rates.
Publication Features
Year Two Progress Report: Technology Integration to Gain Commercial Efficiency
Cargo E-Bike Delivery Pilot Test in Seattle
This study performed an empirical analysis to evaluate the implementation of a cargo e-bike delivery system pilot tested by the United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) in Seattle, Washington. During the pilot, a cargo e-bike with removable cargo container was used to perform last mile deliveries in downtown Seattle.
Improving Food Rescue in Seattle: What Can Be Learned from a Supply Chain View?
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) engaged SCTL in foundational research into the logistics of food rescue in Seattle. This research forms part of SPU’s broader work to identify barriers to making food rescue operations in Seattle as effective and efficient as possible—and work toward solutions to overcome those barriers with both the private and public sector. This research includes interviews with a representative cross-section of food suppliers, food bank agencies, meal program providers and nonprofit partners.
Common MicroHub Research Project: Research Scan
This research scan revealed a lack of an established and widely accepted definition for the concept of consolidation centers or microhubs. Many recent implementations of urban freight consolidation have focused on bundling goods close to the delivery point by creating logistical platforms in the heart of urban areas. These have shared a key purpose: to avoid freight vehicles traveling into urban centers with partial loads.
Freight and Transit Lane Case Study
Research on the impacts of a freight and transit (FAT) lane implemented in January 2019 in Seattle. To improve freight mobility in the City of Seattle and realize the objectives included in the city’s Freight Master Plan (FMP), the FAT lane was
opened upon the closing of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the performance and utilization of the FAT lane. The results of the traffic volume analysis showed that transit vehicles chose the FAT lane over the general purpose lane at ratios of higher than 90 percent.
Inventory of Private Loading & Unloading Infrastructure
This report describes the work to map all private loading docks, loading bays and loading areas for commercial vehicles in Seattle’s First Hill and Capitol Hill and document their design and capacity features. Taken with the UFL’s private infrastructure inventory in Downtown Seattle, Uptown and South Lake Union, this report finalizes the creation of a comprehensive Greater Downtown inventory of private loading/unloading infrastructure.
Year One Progress Report: Technology Integration to Gain Commercial Efficiency
The objectives of this project are to develop and implement a technology solution to support research, development, and demonstration of data processing techniques, models, simulations, smart phone applications, and a visual-confirmation system to reduce parking seeking behavior, reduce parcel truck dwell time, and increase network and commercial firms’ efficiency by increasing curb occupancy rates.
Curb Allocation Change Project
Like many congested cities, Seattle is grappling with how best to manage increasing use of ride-hailing service by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft. According to a 2018 Seattle Times analysis, TNC ridership in the Seattle region has grown to more than five times the level it was in the beginning of 2015, providing, on average, more than 91,000 rides a day in 2018. And the newspaper reports Uber and Lyft trips are heavily concentrated in the city’s densest neighborhoods, where nearly 40,000 rides a day start in zip codes covering downtown, Belltown, Capitol Hill and South Lake Union.
Tracking Curb Use in Seattle
Vehicles of all kinds compete for parking space along the curb in Seattle’s Greater Downtown area. The Seattle Department of Transportation manages use of the curb through several types of curb designations that regulate who can park in a space and for how long. To gain an evidence-based understanding of the current use and operational capacity of the curb for commercial vehicles (CVs), SDOT commissioned the Urban Freight Lab to study and document curb parking in five selected Greater Downtown areas.
Seattle Center City Alley Infrastructure Inventory and Occupancy Study
The Supply Chain and Transportation Logistics Center conducted an alley inventory and truck load/unload occupancy study for the City of Seattle. Researchers identified locations and infrastructure characteristics of alleys within Seattle’s One Center City. The resulting database includes GIS coordinates for both ends of each alley, geometric and traffic attributes, and photos. Researchers observed activity in selected alleys to determine time vacant and occupied by trucks, vans, passenger vehicles, and cargo bikes. Researchers then developed alley management recommendations to promote safe, sustainable, and efficient goods delivery and pick-up.
Common Carrier Locker Pilot Test at Seattle Municipal Tower
This report provides compelling evidence of the effectiveness of a new urban goods delivery system strategy: common carrier locker systems that create parcel delivery density and provide secure delivery locations in public spaces. Common carrier locker systems are an innovative strategy because they may be used by any retailer, carrier and goods purchaser, and placed on public property. This contrasts to branded lockers such as those operated by Amazon, UPS and FedEx that are limited to one retailer’s or one carrier’s use. Common carrier lockers use existing smart locker technology to provide security and convenience to users.
Common Carrier Locker Systems: Phase I
The rapid expansion of e-commerce has flooded American cities with delivery trucks, just as those cities are experiencing booming population growth. Retailers need a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective way to deliver goods in increasingly crowded urban environments. For their part, cities like Seattle want to minimize traffic congestion, both to sustain quality of life for residents and to ensure a smooth flow of goods and services.
The Final 50 Feet of the Urban Goods Delivery System
This report includes information on the first of many research tasks planned for the partnership between SDOT and the Urban Freight Lab. This is the first assessment in any U.S. city of the privately-owned and operated elements of the Final 50 Feet of goods delivery supply chains. These include private truck freight bays and loading docks, delivery policies and operations within buildings located in Center City.
Technical Report
Published:
Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Dr. Anne Goodchild, Dr. Ed McCormack, Rishi Verma
2023
Summary:
Millions of people who live and work in cities purchase goods online. As ecommerce and urban deliveries spike, there is an increasing demand for curbside loading and unloading space. To better manage city curb spaces for urban freight, city planners and decision makers need to understand commercial vehicle driver behaviors and the factors they consider when parking at the curb.
Paper
Published:
Authors: Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Griffin Donnelly, Şeyma Güneş, Dr. Anne Goodchild
2023
Publication: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
Summary:
While electric cargo bikes can be viable and environmentally sustainable for urban goods delivery, they are not yet widely used in the U.S. In this study, researchers studied the behaviors of a group of bike delivery drivers to gain an understanding of the challenges they face, how they make decisions about where to park, what factors influence whether they use the travel lane, bicycle lane, or the sidewalk, and the effectiveness of these decisions.
Report
Published:
Authors: José Luis Machado León, Gabriela Girón-Valderrama, Dr. Anne Goodchild, Dr. Ed McCormack
2023
Summary:
Freight load and unload facilities located off the public right-of-way are typically not documented in publicly available databases. Without detailed knowledge of these facilities, i.e. private freight load and unload infrastructure, cities are limited in their ability to complete system-wide freight planning and to comprehensively evaluate the total supply of load and unload spaces in the city.
Paper
Published:
Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Caleb Diehl, Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Dr. Anne Goodchild
2023
Publication: Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review
Summary:
Common-carrier parcel lockers have emerged as a secure, automated, self-service means of delivery consolidation in congested urban areas, which are believed to mitigate last-mile delivery challenges through reducing out-of-vehicle delivery times and consequently vehicle dwell times at the curb. However, little research exists to empirically demonstrate the environmental and efficiency gains from this technology.
Report
Published:
Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Rishi Verma, Kelly Rula
2023
Summary:
The purpose of this research is to explore consumers’ online shopping and in-person shopping travel behaviors and the factors affecting these behaviors within the geographical context of the study area of West Seattle.
Research Project:
Paper
Published:
Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari
2023
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Summary:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s online and in-store shopping behaviors changed significantly. As the pandemic subsides, key questions are why those changes happened, whether they are expected to stay, and, if so, to what extent. We answered those questions by analyzing a quasi-longitudinal survey dataset of the Puget Sound residents (Washington, U.S.).
Paper
Published:
Authors: José Luis Machado León, Dr. Anne Goodchild
2023
Publication: Transportation
Summary:
With the dramatic and recent growth in demand for curbside pick-up and drop-off by ride-hailing services, as well as online shopping and associated deliveries, balancing the needs of roadway users is increasingly critical. Local governments lack tools to evaluate the impacts of curb management strategies that prioritize different users’ needs.
Chapter
Published:
Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Dr. Anne Goodchild, Elizabeth Guzy
2023
Publication: The Routledge Handbook of Urban Logistics
Summary:
Research Project:
Technical Report
Published:
Authors: Thomas Maxner, Nota Goulianou, Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Dr. Anne Goodchild
2022
Summary:
In an effort to reduce emissions from last-mile deliveries and incentivize green vehicle adoption, The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) is seeking to implement a Green Loading Zone (GLZ) pilot program. A Green Loading Zone is curb space designated for the sole use of “green” vehicles, which could include electric and alternative fuel vehicles as well as other zero-emission delivery modes like electric-assist cargo bikes.
Research Project:
Article
Published:
Authors: Amelia Regan
2022
Publication: arXiv e-prints (2022): arXiv-2209
Summary:
In this research we consider an approach for improving the efficiency and tightness of column generation (CG) methods for solving vehicle routing problems. This work builds upon recent work on Local Area (LA) routes.