Technical Report

Washington State Freight System Resiliency

URL: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/17237

Publication: Transportation Northwest (TransNow)

Publication Date: 2009

Summary:

The economic viability and well-being of Washington State is significantly influenced by the freight transportation system serving the region. An increased understanding of the vulnerability of this freight system to natural disasters, weather, terrorist acts, work stoppages and other potential freight transportation disruptions will provide the State with the information necessary to assess the resiliency of the transportation system, and provide policy makers with the information required to improve it. This research project: a) Identifies a set of threats or categories of threats to be analyzed. b) Assesses the likelihood of each event occurring within certain time horizons. c) With the threats and their probabilities, analyzes the resiliency of the Washington transportation system.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormack, Eric Jessup, Derek Andreoli, Kelly Pitera, Chilan Ta

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, A., Jessup, E., McCormack, E., Ta, C., Pitera, K., & Andreoli, D. (2009). Washington state freight system resiliency (No. TNW2009-01). Transportation Northwest (Organization).

Technical Report

Developing a System for Computing and Reporting MAP-21 and Other Freight Performance Measures

Download PDF (2.13 MB)

URL: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/844.1.pdf

Publication: Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC)

Publication Date: 2015

Summary:

This report documents the use of the National Performance Monitoring Research Data Set (NPMRDS) for the computation of freight performance measures on Interstate highways in Washington state. The report documents the data availability and specific data quality issues identified with NPMRDS. It then describes a recommended initial set of quality assurance tests that are needed before WSDOT begins producing freight performance measures.

The report also documents the initial set of performance measures that can be produced with the NPMRDS and the specific steps required to do so. A subset of those metrics was tested using NPMRDS data, including delay and frequency of congestion, to illustrate how WSDOT could use the freight performance measures. Finally, recommendations and the next steps that WSDOT needs to take are discussed.

This report describes the outcome of the initial exploration of the National Performance Research Monitoring Data Set (NPMRDS), supplied by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to state transportation agencies and metropolitan planning organizations for use in computing roadway performance measures.

The NPMRDS provides roadway performance data for the national highway system (NHS). The intent of the NPMRDS was to provide a travel time estimate for every 5-minute time interval (epoch) of the year for all roadway segments in the NHS. The NPMRDS data are derived from instantaneous vehicle probe speed data supplied by a variety of GPS devices carried by both trucks and cars. The data are supplied on a geographic information system (GIS) roadway network, which divides the NHS into directional road segments based on the Traffic Message Channel (TMC) standard.

The report describes the availability, attributes, quality, and limitations of the NPMRDS data on the Interstates in the state of Washington.

Based on the review of the NPMRDS data, this report recommends a set of performance metrics for WSDOT’s use that describe the travel conditions that trucks moving freight within the state experience. It describes specific steps for computing those measures. And it uses a subset of those measures produced with the NPMRDS to illustrate how WSDOT can use those measures in its reporting and decision-making procedures.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormackSaravanya (Sara) Sankarakumaraswamy, Mark E. Hallenbeck

Recommended Citation:
Hallenbeck, Mark E., Ed McCormack, and Saravanya Sankarakumaraswamy. Developing a system for computing and reporting MAP-21 and other freight performance measures. No. WA-RD 844.1. Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Research Office, 2015.

Technical Report

Managing Increasing Demand for Curb Space in the City of the Future

Download PDF (3.42 MB)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/48599

Publication Date: 2022

Summary:

The rapid rise of on-demand transportation and e-commerce goods deliveries, as well as increased cycling rates and transit use, are increasing demand for curb space. This demand has resulted in competition among modes, failed goods deliveries, roadway and curbside congestion, and illegal parking. This research increases our understanding of existing curb usage and provides new solutions to officials, planners, and engineers responsible for managing this scarce resource in the future. The research team worked with local agencies to ensure the study’s relevance to their needs and that the results will be broadly applicable for other cities. This research supports the development of innovative curb space designs and ensures that our urban streets may operate more efficiently, safely, and reliably for both goods and people.

The research elements included conducting a thorough scan and documenting previous studies that have examined curb space management, identifying emerging urban policies developed in response to growth, reviewing existing curb management policies and regulations, developing a conceptual curb use policy framework, reviewing existing and emerging technologies that will support flexible curb space management, evaluating curb use policy frameworks by collecting curb utilization data and establishing performance metrics, and simulating curb performance under different policy frameworks.

Authors: Anna Bovbjerg AlligoodDr. Ed McCormackDr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Kevin Chang

Recommended Citation:
Chang, K., Goodchild, A., Ranjbari, A., and McCormack, E. (2022). Managing Increasing Demand for Curb Space in the City of the Future. PacTrans Final Project Report.

Technical Report

Understanding Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations to Support Emissions Reduction Programs

Download PDF (3.95 MB)

URL: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/18660

Publication: Transportation Northwest (TransNow)

Publication Date: 2011

Summary:

This research, enabled by a data collection effort at the international commercial vehicle crossing at Blaine, WA, addressed three key questions regarding commercial vehicle border operations and near border operations. First, what are the unique features of border operations at Blaine, WA, that are not captured within the standard simulation tools (such as Border Wizard)? Second, what logistical inefficiencies are created by the border that increase empty miles traveled, emissions and total travel time between origin and destination? Third, what has the impact of electronic manifest filing been on primary inspection time? The research objectives were to (1) describe near border operations and identify possible solutions to reduce empty truck miles, (2) improve the understanding of the relationship between primary processing time and border crossing time, and (3) identify the impact of ACE (the commercial trade processing system being developed by Customs and Border Protection to facilitate legitimate trade and strengthen border security) electronic manifest filing on primary processing and primary processing time. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 describes near border operations through analysis of survey data, current knowledge of the impact of policy on near border facilities, and suggests changes to improve near border operations. Chapter 2 describes the features of processing at Blaine discovered during the data analysis that contribute processing time and border crossing time. Chapter 3 evaluates the impact of ACE on interview time, and compares interview times, crossing times, and volume in the 2009, 2006, and 2001 studies.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Matthew Klein

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, A., & Klein, M. (2011). Understanding Pacific Highway Commercial Vehicle Operations to Support Emissions Reduction Programs (No. TNW2010-11). Transportation Northwest (Organization).

Technical Report

An Examination of the Impact of Commercial Parking Utilization on Cyclist Behavior in Urban Environments

Download PDF (2.70 MB)

URL: http://depts.washington.edu/pactrans/research/projects/an-examination-of-the-impact-of-increasing-commercial-parking-utilization-on-cyclist-safety-in-urban-environments/

Publication Date: 2016

Summary:

There is little research on the behavioral interaction between bicycle lanes and commercial vehicle loading zones (CVLZ) in the United States. These interactions are important to understand, to preempt increasing conflicts between truckers and bicyclists. In this study, a bicycling simulator experiment examined bicycle and truck interactions. The experiment was successfully completed by 48 participants. The bicycling simulator collected data regarding a participant’s velocity and lateral position. Three independent variables reflecting common engineering approaches were included in this experiment: pavement marking (L1: white lane markings with no supplemental pavement color, termed white lane markings, L2: white lane markings with solid green pavement applied on the conflict area, termed solid green, and L3: white lane markings with dashed green pavement applied on the conflict area, termed dashed green), signage (L1: No sign and L2: a truck warning sign), and truck maneuver (L1: no truck in CVLZ, L2: truck parked in CVLZ, and L3: truck pulling out of CVLZ).

The results showed that truck presence does have an effect on bicyclist’s performance, and this effect varies based on the engineering and design treatments employed. Of the three independent variables, truck maneuvering had the greatest impact by decreasing mean bicyclist velocity and increasing mean lateral position. It was also observed that when a truck was present in a CVLZ, bicyclists had a lower velocity and lower divergence from right-edge of bike lane on solid green pavement, and a higher divergence from the right-edge of bike lane was observed when a warning sign was present.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormackManali Sheth, David S. Hurwitz, Masoud Ghodrat Abadi

Recommended Citation:
Hurwitz, David S., Ed McCormack, Anne Goodchild, Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, and Manali Sheth. An Examination of the Impact of Commercial Parking Utilization on Cyclist Behavior in Urban Environments. 2018.

Technical Report

Transit Corridor Study

Download PDF (6.60 MB)

URL: https://mic.comotion.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TransitCorridorStudy_InterimReport_June2021.pdf

Publication Date: 2021

Summary:

This study is sponsored by Amazon, Bellevue Transportation department, Challenge Seattle, King County Metro, Seattle Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, and Uber, with support from the Mobility Innovation Center at UW CoMotion.

Population and extended economic growth in many Seattle neighborhoods are driving increased demand for private car travel along with transportation services such as ridehailing and on-demand delivery. Together, these trends are adding to existing demand for loading and unloading operations throughout the city, and exacerbating traffic congestion. Anecdotal evidence indicates that passenger/delivery vehicle stops at or next to transit stops can interfere with bus operations, causing longer or more volatile delays. The increased travel times and reduced reliability further erode the attractiveness of transit to travelers. Thus, it is important to understand how transit, ridehailing, and goods delivery vehicles interact in terms of both operations and travel demand.

This project focuses on the analysis of open-source transit data to screen for locations with slow and/or unreliable bus travel times, and couple that data with interference observation, environmental, and traffic-related data to potentially predict the likely causes. We have developed tools to identify transit corridors with high levels of interference from other road users, including passenger cars, ridehailing vehicles and goods delivery vehicles. These tools are applied to transit corridors in Seattle and Bellevue, and methods have been developed to identify likely sources of interference from available data.

We drew on multiple data sources for identifying high-interference corridors in the region, including:

a virtual workshop with participants from beneficiary agencies and stakeholders to solicit input;
an online crowdsourcing survey to engage the community and gather feedback from all road users;
route-level ridership data from King County Metro; and
aggregated pick-up/drop-off data on ridehailing activities from SharedStreets.

Data was consolidated and 10 corridors were selected based on their likelihood of containing interference between buses and other road users, transit ridership levels, and stakeholder and community feedback.

In addition, we have developed a tool for identifying corridors with slow and/or unreliable bus travel times from open-source real-time transit data. We implemented a pipeline for ingesting and analyzing King County Metro’s real-time Generalized Transit Feed Specification data (GTFS-RT) at 10-second intervals. Using this pipeline, active bus coordinate and schedule adherence data has been scraped and stored to an Amazon Web Services (AWS) server since September 2020. We developed efficient methods to aggregate tracked bus locations and assign them to roadway segments, and quantified delays in terms of schedule deviation and ratio of median to free-flow speeds, among other metrics. We have developed a web based visualization tool to display this data, and it is being updated daily with aggregated performance metrics from our database.

To collect ground truth validation data along selected corridors, we implemented an online data collection tool for field observations, and recruited research assistants to observe bus operations along the study corridors and record information on bus traversals and instances of interference. This dataset is analyzed alongside the GTFS-RT data, environmental, and traffic related data to identify instances of delay and predict the likely causes.

Field data was collected for three weeks along eight of the selected corridors in March 2021, but was later paused due to depressed levels of transportation activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and the current unstable condition of travel choices and city traffic (and thus interferences). Preliminary analysis on the collected data revealed that there is not a substantial effect shown in the GTFS-RT data when a bus is interfered with; however, there were not a lot of interference observations in the collected field data. So, it remains to be seen whether the lack of an identifiable effect is due to the lack of ground truth data, lack of precision in the automatic vehicle location system, or the relatively low impact of an interference when compared to the effects of general traffic congestion, signals, and other roadway conditions. A linear regression model was also generated to determine the extent to which roadway characteristics can predict segment performance, which produced mildly predictive results.

As businesses and transit services continue to reopen, there will likely be an increase in the amount of transit interference experienced between buses and other roadway users, which will potentially allow for the gathering of more ground truth validation data. Field observations will resume in late Summer/early Fall 2021 and will continue until enough data is collected to either (1) model connections between observed interference and bus delays in the GTFS-RT data; or (2) determine whether significant delays cannot be linked to observed instances of interference in the study corridors. The GTFS-RT data scraping will continue daily, and summarized in the developed interactive visualization tool.

The major anticipated benefits of the project can be summarized as follows:

This work will help identify network-wide road and route segments with slow and/or unreliable bus travel times. We may also be able to identify main causes of delay in the study corridors.
Moreover, we expect that this work will generate reusable analytical tools that can be applied by local agencies on an ongoing basis, and by other researchers and transportation agencies in their own jurisdictions.
The outcomes of this work will enable identifying corridors with slow and/or unreliable bus travel times as candidates for specific countermeasures to increase transit performance, such as increased enforcement, modified curb use rules, or preferential bus or street use treatments. Targeting such countermeasures towards priority locations will result in faster and more reliable bus operations, and a more efficient transportation network at a lower cost to transit agencies.

Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Zack Aemmer, Borna Arabkhedri, Don MacKenzie

Technical Report

Structural and Geographic Shifts in the Washington Warehousing Industry: Transportation Impacts for the Green River Valley

Download PDF (2.45 MB)

URL: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/17233

Publication: Transportation Northwest (TransNow)

Publication Date: 2009

Summary:

Establishment level employment data indicate that the warehousing industry has experienced rapid growth and restructuring since 1998. This restructuring has resulted in geographic shifts at the national, regional, and local scales. Uneven growth in warehousing establishments across the Pacific Northwest has likely exerted a significant impact on the regional transportation system, but the extent of these transportation impacts remains unknown. Identifying these impacts is the goal of our proposed study. Recent and ongoing research indicates that growth in the warehousing industry is profound. County Business Patterns data published by the US Census Bureau indicates that at the national level, the number of warehousing establishments grew by just over 100 percent from 1998 to 2005. In 1998 there were 6,712 warehousing establishments in the US. By 2005, that number had increased to 13,483. Although a wide range exists within the warehousing industry, interview data collected by the authors of this proposal indicate that each warehouse handles between 25 and 100 trucks, or 50 and 200 trips, hence the location of warehousing establishments has a significant impact on transportation systems. At the county level, we see that in Washington, King County experienced the strongest absolute growth, adding 59 establishments to the 61 reported in 1998. In relative terms, however, Pierce County added warehousing establishments at a faster rate (159 percent) than any other county. The preliminary data produced in Goodchild and Andreoli’s report clearly indicate that there has been strong growth in warehousing establishments at the national and state levels, but that the growth has not been even across states and counties. From a transportation perspective, these findings suggest that future research needs to focus on how these structural and geographic shifts impact regional and local transportation systems.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Derek Andrioli

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, A., & Andrioli, D. (2009). Structural and Geographic Shifts in the Washington Warehousing Industry: Transportation Impacts for the Green River Valley (No. TNW2009-04). Transportation Northwest (Organization).

Technical Report

An Evaluation of Bicycle Safety Impacts of Seattle’s Commercial Vehicle Load Zones

Download PDF (1.30 MB)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/43501

Publication Date: 2015

Summary:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) partnered with the University of Washington to explore how commercial vehicle parking in Seattle’s downtown area affects the safety of bicyclists. The hypothesis was that increased truck access to SDOT’s commercial vehicle loading zones (CVLZs) can positively contribute to bicycle safety. Because CVLZs provide truck drivers with more access to legal parking, their presence could reduce incidences of trucks parking illegally in the street or blocking bicycle lanes, thus reducing the necessity for bicyclists to maneuver around them. This research explored this hypothesis by using four methods, an analysis of bike-trucks accident data, interviews with bicyclists and truck drivers who frequently travel in downtown Seattle, analysis of video recordings of cyclists riding downtown, and observations of truck loading/unloading operations downtown.

The research determined that from bicyclists’ perspectives, illegally parked trucks were a more serious problem than the locations of CVLZs. Therefore, increasing the availability of legal truck parking should have a positive effect on bicyclist safety and level of stress. When trucks park in the bike lane, cyclists are required to maneuver into the stream of traffic, increasing level of exposure and accident risk. Similarly, both the cyclist interviews and video data indicated that construction sites are problematic locations for illegally parked trucks blocking cyclist travel lanes. Better enforcement of parking regulations near construction sites and better site planning would help alleviate a significant amount of conflict between cyclists and parked trucks.

Loading zones on higher speed or busy streets or in areas where cyclists travel downhill increase the danger of those areas. In some areas, it may be possible to relocate loading zones around the corner, onto less busy side streets, to eliminate the need for cyclists to choose between merging into a busy lane to pass a truck or passing close enough to the truck that the delivery operations may put obstacles in the bicyclist’s path. If loading zones are moved, the zones should be situated at the beginning of the block and should allow drivers to still reach the businesses they are serving quickly and without having to maneuver or cross a street. This will encourage the use of the loading zone as opposed to illegal parking.

Authors: Polina ButrinaDr. Ed McCormackDr. Anne Goodchild, Jerome Drescher

Recommended Citation:
Butrina, Polina, Edward McCormack, Anne Goodchild, and Jerome Drescher. "An Evaluation of Bicycle Safety Impacts of Seattle’s Commercial Vehicle Load Zones." (2016).

Technical Report

Year Two Progress Report: Technology Integration to Gain Commercial Efficiency for the Urban Goods Delivery System, Meet Future Demand for City Passenger and Delivery Load/Unload Spaces, and Reduce Energy Consumption

Download PDF (2.46 MB)

Publication: U.S. Department of Energy

Publication Date: 2021

Summary:

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, a smart phone application, and a visual-confirmation system to:

Reduce delivery vehicle parking seeking behavior by approximately 20% in the pilot test area, by returning current and predicted load/unload space occupancy information to users on a web-based and/or mobile platform, to inform real-time parking decisions
Reduce parcel truck dwell time in pilot test areas in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, by approximately 30%, thereby increasing productivity of load/unload spaces near common carrier locker systems, and
Improve the transportation network (which includes roads, intersections, warehouses, fulfillment centers, etc.) and commercial firms’ efficiency by increasing curb occupancy rates to roughly 80%, and alley space occupancy rates from 46% to 60% during peak hours, and increasing private loading bay occupancy rates in the afternoon peak times, in the pilot test area.

The project team has designed a 3-year plan to achieve the objectives of this project.

In Year 1, the team developed integrated technologies and finalized the pilot test parameters. This involved finalizing the plan for placing sensory devices and common parcel locker systems on public and private property; issuing the request for proposals; selecting vendors; and gaining approvals necessary to execute the plan. The team also developed techniques to preprocess the data streams from the sensor devices, and began to design the prototype smart phone parking app to display real-time load/unload space availability, as well as the truck load/unload space behavior model.

In Year 2, the team executed the implementation plan:

oversaw installation of the in-road sensors, and collecting and processing data,
managed installation, marketing and operations of three common locker systems in the pilot test area,
tested the prototype smart phone parking app with initial data stream, and
developed a truck parking behavior simulation model.

Authors: Urban Freight Lab

Recommended Citation:
Urban Freight Lab (2021). Year Two Progress Report: Technology Integration to Gain Commercial Efficiency for the Urban Goods Delivery System.

Technical Report

The Final 50 Feet of the Urban Goods Delivery System: Pilot Test of an Innovative Improvement Strategy

Download PDF (3.07 MB)

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1773/44473

Publication: Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)

Publication Date: 2019

Summary:

This report presents a pilot test of a common carrier smart locker system — a promising strategy to reduce truck trip and failed first delivery attempts in urban buildings. The Urban Freight Lab tested this system in the 62-story Seattle Municipal Tower skyscraper in downtown Seattle.

The Urban Freight Lab identified two promising strategies for the pilot test: (1) Locker system: smaller- to medium-sized deliveries can be placed into a locker that was temporarily installed during the pilot test; and (2) Grouped-tenant-floor-drop-off-points for medium-sized items if the locker was too small or full (4-6 floor groups set up by Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle City Light).

Users picked up their goods at the designated drop-off points. Flyers with information on drop-off-points were given to the carriers. UFL researchers evaluated the ability of the standardized second step pilot test to reduce the number of failed first delivery attempts by (1) Collecting original data to document the number of failed first delivery attempts before and after the pilot test; and (2) Comparing them to the pilot test goals.

Authors: Haena KimBarbara IvanovDr. Anne Goodchild

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, A., Kim, H., & Ivanov, B. Final 50 Feet of the Urban Goods Delivery System: Pilot Test of an Innovative Improvement Strategy. (2019)