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

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.