Freight Loading Space Provision: Evidence from the US

Abstract

Limited freight loading space provision in city centers increases illegal loading behaviors such as double parking or parking in bicycle lanes or sidewalks. Such traffic violations have caused concerns among urban planners, engineers, and the public about localized congestion and safety impacts on delivery workers and other road users. Despite the importance of these issues, research on the planning processes that determine freight loading provision is very limited. Our study addresses this gap by reviewing the zoning code requirements for loading zones in the 20 largest US and the four largest North Carolina cities and interviewing professionals about loading zone policies and practices. We discovered significant variations in offstreet loading requirements across large cities; in some of them, such as Los Angeles and Houston, the requirements are so low that most small buildings in city centers are exempt from any required loading space provision. While onstreet loading spaces are currently an important supplement to offstreet ones, interviews with transport planners revealed that the provision of onstreet loading spaces is often ad hoc and based on requests by local businesses. The findings can help transportation planners and engineers better understand how the accommodation of urban freight delivery demand links to urban planning zoning requirements for offstreet loading zones and practices around onstreet loading space provision. The empirical results suggest a localized spatial mismatch between freight loading demand and overall loading supply given the current zoning systems. Such mismatch, which contributes to congestion delays for freight and people as well as road safety impacts, calls for special attention from policymakers by revising offstreet loading requirements in zoning codes and considering proactive processes to ensure adequate onstreet loading zones in high-demand areas.