Research Projects
Searching for:
- "The Final 50 Feet of the Urban Goods Delivery System"
The Urban Freight Lab coined the term "Final 50 Feet" and defined it as the supply chain segment that begins when a delivery vehicle pulls into a parking space and stops moving — in public load/unload spaces at the curb or in an alley, or a building’s loading dock or internal freight bay. It tracks the delivery process inside buildings and ends where the customer takes receipt of their goods. This research analyzes processes, develops potential solutions, and tests operational improvements in the final segment of the urban goods delivery system.
Start Date: September 2017
Funding: City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Anne Goodchild
Summary:
The UFL engaged multiple partners and funding sources to successfully pilot test a common carrier locker system (open to all retail and multiple delivery firms) in the 62-floor Seattle Municipal Tower skyscraper. The study tested the ability of these new mini-distribution centers to create delivery density and reduce the time delivery people have to spend in urban towers to complete the work. The Lab collected “before” and “after” data to evaluate the pilot's premise: that when delivery trucks can pull into a load/unload space that's close to a mini-distribution node with delivery density (lots of deliveries in one place), everyone benefits. UFL members UPS and the U.S. Postal Service participated in this pilot, so any package they delivered to the building went into the locker system. The pilot was open to the first 100 Municipal Tower tenants who signed up to use the lockers from March to April 2018.
The UFL engaged multiple partners and funding sources to successfully pilot test a common carrier locker system (open to all retail and multiple delivery firms) in the 62-floor Seattle Municipal Tower skyscraper. The study tested the ability of these new mini-distribution centers to create delivery density and reduce the time delivery people have to spend in urban towers to complete the work. The Lab collected “before” and “after” data to evaluate the pilot's premise: that when delivery trucks can pull into a load/unload space that's close to a mini-distribution node with delivery density (lots of deliveries in one place), everyone benefits. UFL members UPS and the U.S. Postal Service participated in this pilot, so any package they delivered to the building went into the locker system. The pilot was open to the first 100 Municipal Tower tenants who signed up to use the lockers from March to April 2018.
Start Date: August 2017
Funding: Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans), City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics Center
Project Budget: $80,000
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Anne Goodchild
Summary:
The purpose of the research project was to test two promising strategies to reduce the number of failed first delivery attempts in urban buildings: (1) A common carrier smart locker system; and (2) grouped-tenant-floor-drop-off-points for medium sized parcels if the locker is too small or full. The pilot was held in the 62-story Seattle Municipal Tower skyscraper in Downtown Seattle and was open to the first 100 tenants who signed up to participate.
The purpose of the research project was to test two promising strategies to reduce the number of failed first delivery attempts in urban buildings: (1) A common carrier smart locker system; and (2) grouped-tenant-floor-drop-off-points for medium sized parcels if the locker is too small or full. The pilot was held in the 62-story Seattle Municipal Tower skyscraper in Downtown Seattle and was open to the first 100 tenants who signed up to participate.
Start Date: January 2017
Funding: Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)
Project Budget: $90,000
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Ed McCormack
Summary:
The purpose of this research is to improve our understanding of the interactions between heavy vehicles and other users in an urban environment, in particular, in cases where commercial vehicle activity disrupts the activity of pedestrians and bicyclists. The research approach includes both the observation of current practice and evaluation of infrastructure and simulation of roadway user behavior. This information will support better roadway and load zone design guidelines, which will allow our urban street system to operate more efficiently, safely, and reliably for all users.
The purpose of this research is to improve our understanding of the interactions between heavy vehicles and other users in an urban environment, in particular, in cases where commercial vehicle activity disrupts the activity of pedestrians and bicyclists. The research approach includes both the observation of current practice and evaluation of infrastructure and simulation of roadway user behavior. This information will support better roadway and load zone design guidelines, which will allow our urban street system to operate more efficiently, safely, and reliably for all users.
Start Date: January 2017
Funding: City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans)
Project Budget: $240,000
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Anne Goodchild
Summary:
Part of the Final 50 Feet Research Program, this project contains: a curb occupancy study, a survey of First and Capitol Hill Loading Bays, a pilot test at Seattle Municipal Tower, and the development of a toolkit. Taken together with the Urban Freight Lab's earlier private infrastructure inventory (Seattle Center City Alley Infrastructure Inventory and Occupancy Study 2018) in Downtown Seattle, Uptown, and South Lake Union, this project finalizes the creation of a comprehensive Center City inventory of private loading/unloading infrastructure. The study also provides the city with on-the-ground data on the current use and operational capacity of the curb for commercial vehicles, documenting vehicle parking behavior in a three-by-three city block grid around each of five prototype Center City buildings: a hotel, a high-rise office building, an historical building, a retail center, and a residential tower. Researchers also tested a new urban goods delivery system strategy: Common Carrier Locker Systems. Tools used by the Urban Freight Lab are publicly available in an Urban Goods Delivery Toolkit, a one-stop-shop for planners to replicate this work in other cities.
Part of the Final 50 Feet Research Program, this project contains: a curb occupancy study, a survey of First and Capitol Hill Loading Bays, a pilot test at Seattle Municipal Tower, and the development of a toolkit. Taken together with the Urban Freight Lab's earlier private infrastructure inventory (Seattle Center City Alley Infrastructure Inventory and Occupancy Study 2018) in Downtown Seattle, Uptown, and South Lake Union, this project finalizes the creation of a comprehensive Center City inventory of private loading/unloading infrastructure. The study also provides the city with on-the-ground data on the current use and operational capacity of the curb for commercial vehicles, documenting vehicle parking behavior in a three-by-three city block grid around each of five prototype Center City buildings: a hotel, a high-rise office building, an historical building, a retail center, and a residential tower. Researchers also tested a new urban goods delivery system strategy: Common Carrier Locker Systems. Tools used by the Urban Freight Lab are publicly available in an Urban Goods Delivery Toolkit, a one-stop-shop for planners to replicate this work in other cities.
Start Date: October 2016
Funding: City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)
Project Budget: $205,000
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Anne Goodchild
Summary:
The Urban Freight Lab's first study provides 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, the final segment that includes private truck freight bays and loading docks, and delivery policies and operations within buildings, where drivers must locate both parking and the recipient.
The Urban Freight Lab's first study provides 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, the final segment that includes private truck freight bays and loading docks, and delivery policies and operations within buildings, where drivers must locate both parking and the recipient.