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Paper

Mapping Urban Freight Infrastructure for Planning: A Demonstration of a Methodology

Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Publication Date: 2018
Summary:

Urban transportation infrastructure includes facilities such as loading docks and curb space which are important for freight pick-up and delivery operations. Information about the location and nature of these facilities is typically not documented for public or private urban freight stakeholders and therefore cannot be used to support more effective private sector operations or public sector planning and engineering decisions. Consequently, there is considerable value in performing an accurate inventory and evaluation of the system. In response to this urban freight challenge, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) contracted with the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center (SCTL) at the University of Washington to develop a process to address the lack of information regarding the capacity for freight and parcel load and unload operations in dense urban areas of Seattle. This works focuses on the development of a data collection method for documenting private urban freight infrastructure that does not require prior permission, is ground-truthed, and can be completed within reasonable cost and time constraints. This paper presents the methodology, which consists of a survey form, survey collection app, data quality control process, data structure and a proposed typology for off public right of way freight loading / unloading infrastructure based on basic physical infrastructure characteristics. The data collection process methodology is applied to three Seattle urban centers. The method was then revised and improved for a second data collection effort in two additional urban centers.

Recommended Citation:
Machado-León, Jose Luis, Gabriela del Carmen Giron-Valderrama, Anne Goodchild, and Edward McCormack. Mapping Urban Freight Infrastructure for Planning: A Demonstration of a Methodology. No. 18-06171. 2018.
Paper

Forecasting Tools for Analyzing Urban Land Use Patterns and Truck Movement: A Case Study and Discussion

 
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Publication: Transportation Research Record
Volume: Volume 2547
Pages: 74-82
Publication Date: 2016
Summary:

Many urban planning efforts have supported development in dense, mixed-use areas, but tools are not widely available to help understand the relationship between urban form and goods movement. A review is presented on the status of urban goods movement forecasting models to account for the impacts of density and mixed land use. A description is given of a series of forecasting model runs conducted with state-of-the-practice tools available at the Puget Sound Regional Council. By comparing dense, mixed-use scenarios with different baseline and transportation network alternatives, the ability of the model to capture the relationship between goods movement and density is evaluated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for truck forecasting and freight planning.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormack, Erica Wygonik, Alon Bassok, Daniel Carlson
Recommended Citation:
Wygonik, Erica, Alon Bassok, Edward McCormack, Anne Goodchild, and Daniel Carlson. "Forecasting Tools for Analyzing Urban Land Use Patterns and Truck Movement: Case Study and Discussion of Results." Transportation Research Record 2547, no. 1 (2016): 74-82.