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Urban Freight Lab

Research Keyword: Infrastructure

Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households, and firms to function.

Biking the Goods: How North American Cities Can Prepare for and Promote Large-Scale Adoption

With the rise in demand for home deliveries and the boom of the e-bike market in the U.S., cargo cycles are becoming the alternative mode of transporting goods in urban areas. However, many U.S. cities are struggling to decide how to safely integrate this new mode of transportation into the pre-existing urban environment.

In response, the Urban Freight Lab is developing a white paper on how cities can prepare for and promote large-scale adoption of cargo cycle transportation. Sponsors include freight logistics providers, bicycle industry leaders, and agencies Bosch eBike Systems, Fleet Cycles, Gazelle USA, Michelin North America, Inc., Net Zero Logistics, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and Urban Arrow.

The Urban Freight Lab is internationally recognized as a leader in urban freight research, housing a unique and innovative workgroup of private and public stakeholders and academic researchers working together to study and solve urban freight challenges. The Urban Freight Lab has previously worked on evaluating, studying, and deploying cargo cycles in Asia and the U.S, and is recognized as an expert leader in North America on cargo cycle research.

Objectives
The objectives of the white paper are the following:

  1. Define and understand what types of cargo bikes exist in North America, their main features, how they are operated, and the infrastructure they need.
  2. Identify opportunities for and challenges to large-scale adoption of cargo cycles in North American cities.
  3. Learn from case studies of U.S. cities’ approaches to regulating and promoting cargo cycles.
  4. Provide recommendations for how cities can safely recognize, enable and encourage large-scale adoption of cargo bikes, including infrastructure, policy, and regulatory approaches.

West Seattle Bridge Case Study (Phase II)

This project is a continuation of the West Seattle Bridge Case Study Phase I.

Background: 
West Seattle (WS) is an area of the city of Seattle, Washington, located on a peninsula west of the Duwamish waterway and east of the Puget Sound. In March 2020, the West Seattle High Bridge (WSHB), the main bridge connecting WS to the rest of the city, was closed to traffic due to its increasing rate of structural deterioration.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has engaged the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center (SCTL) at the University of Washington, to conduct research to understand current freight movements and freight demands in WS and identify challenges related to the bridge closure to inform data-driven mitigation strategies.

In project Phase 1 the research team performed a freight trip generation (FTG) estimation and conducted interviews with local business establishments, carriers, and the Port of Seattle. As a result of the FTG modeling, the research team estimated that 94 percent of the freight trips generated by WS are destined to residential buildings. Moreover, the interviews identified disruptions in the supply chains of small and medium-size local businesses as well as carriers facing longer travel times to access the peninsula.

Research Objectives: 
In Phase 2 of the project, the research team will shift the focus from business establishments to consumers. In particular, we will explore consumer behavior, defined as how people choose to buy goods and services and where they buy them, to better understand residential demand and accessibility of goods for WS residents.

This study will make use of a consumer survey for Seattle residents to:

  • Describe consumer behavior and buying habits for Seattle residents, in particular, we will address how (online vs. in-person and with which travel mode), where (locally or not-locally), and how often people shop.
  • Better understand what drives consumer behavior, in particular how consumer behavior is impacted by urban form (transport infrastructure available, land uses, urban density, etc.), access to transportation, local access to stores, and socioeconomic characteristics.

Tasks:

  1. Gather public datasets and review previous consumer surveys: The research team will review and summarize publicly available datasets that contain information on consumer behaviors and urban form for Seattle residents, for instance, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) data, the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the Freight Trip Generation (FTG) estimates from Phase 1, the Google Maps APIs and the publicly available Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) GIS layers. The research team will also scan the scientific literature and reports to inform the design of the survey on consumer behavior.
  2. Survey Design: The research team will design a consumer survey and a method of survey distribution. The survey will include socioeconomic data (e.g. age, gender, income, education, household composition, car ownership), geographical location (where the interviewee lives), consumer behavior (e.g. types of goods purchased, the amount spent, where goods are purchased, mode of travel, whether goods were purchased online or in-person, how often the purchases take place). SDOT will be provided the opportunity to review and give comments on the draft survey before the survey roll-out.
  3. Survey roll-out: The approved survey will be distributed to residents of the agreed study area. The survey will be drafted as an online survey. SDOT will reserve the option to further expand the survey reach, for instance by creating and distributing a paper version of the survey, translating the survey to other languages, use SDOT channels to distribute the survey.
  4. Analysis of survey data: Data from the survey will be analyzed. A descriptive statistical analysis will be performed, addressing questions such as how people consume, how far people travel to purchase goods, what is the preferred mode of transportation for shopping trips, and how frequently people purchase things online vs. in person. A second part of the analysis will focus on understanding the relationship between socioeconomic variables and urban form variables with consumer behavior variables.
  5. Reporting: A final report will be drafted reporting on the survey design and method, a data description, and data analysis addressing the project goals. SDOT will review and confirm the final report before publication on the SCTL website.

Deliverables: Final project report and executive summary

Budget: $60,000
Timeline: January to December 2022

West Seattle Bridge Case Study (Phase I)

Background
West Seattle is an area of the city of Seattle located on a peninsula west of the Duwamish waterway and east of the Puget Sound. In March 2020, the West Seattle High Bridge (WSHB), the main bridge connecting West Seattle to the rest of the city, was closed indefinitely to traffic due to its increasing rate of structural deterioration. Moreover, access to the Spokane Street Lower Bridge, a smaller bridge connecting West Seattle with Harbor Island and the rest of the city, was also restricted; prioritizing heavy freight, public transit, and emergency vehicles. After the bridge closure and restrictions, the total number of vehicle travel lanes crossing the Duwamish River was reduced from 21 to 12.

The unexpected closure of WSHB disrupted passenger and freight mobility to and from West Seattle, increasing travel times and generating bottlenecks on the remaining bridges, which can potentially negatively impact the livability of the peninsula as well as its economy and the environment. The situation might further deteriorate as traffic demand to and from West Seattle increases during recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is taking actions to monitor changes in travel behavior to/from West Seattle and identify and implement strategies that could mitigate the negative impacts caused by the WSHB closure.

Goals
SDOT has engaged the Urban Freight Lab to conduct research to explore strategies to alleviate congestion impacts and minimize the disruption of goods and service delivery to West Seattle.

The purpose of this study is to support SDOT to:

  1. understand current freight movements and freight demand in West Seattle;
  2. identify a data-driven mitigation strategy for freight and service flow to and from West Seattle;
  3. assess ex-ante the effectiveness of an implemented strategy.

The freight operations considered and analyzed within the scope of the project are consumer goods and services destined for West Seattle residents and businesses. Intermediate goods and raw materials destined for construction of production and other goods transiting through West Seattle but not destined for local residents or businesses will not be studied.

Continuation
This project continues with the West Seattle Bridge Case Study Phase II.

Multimodal Freight Transportation Research Roadmap

The Urban Freight Lab and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) are supporting the development of the dynamic 5-to-10-year Multimodal Freight Transportation Research Roadmap, under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 20-114 project. The National Freight Research Roadmap recommends a prioritized portfolio of initiatives to advance the knowledge and capabilities of transportation decisionmakers. This roadmap outlines the research themes and research projects that comprise a 5- to 10-year strategic research agenda. It describes the research activities that formed the outreach to relevant stakeholders and presents the findings of those activities. To develop the roadmap, the Urban Freight Lab conducted three outreach activities: expert interviews, online survey, and workshops.

This project is funded by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ASHTO), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), and conducted in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).

Background
As outlined in the U.S. DOT’s 30-year plan, Beyond Traffic, the nation’s ability to compete in global markets and to meet the needs and expectations of consumers and industry depends on a robust multimodal freight transportation system and agile and efficient supply chains. Rural communities, cities, and metropolitan areas rely on supply chains, and the supporting freight transportation systems, to send and receive vast amount of supplies needed by local economies. For example, freight-intensive-sectors (e.g., manufacturing, wholesale, retail, food, accommodation) – for which the production and/or consumption of supplies are an essential part of their business – represent 45% of the establishments and 50% of the employment in the United States.  Inefficient supply chains will have a negative effect on all of them, hampering economic activity. Furthermore, the freight system is under serious strain, with roads, railways, and airports becoming increasingly congested and increasingly aging.
Market and technological trends are impacting freight activity patterns in numerous ways, both globally and locally. International trade is increasing, global manufacturing centers are shifting, and trade routes are changing. Firms are driving down logistics costs through just-in-time shipping.
Online shopping is increasing demand for home delivery of consumer products, especially in dense urban environments. Retailers, faced with new mobile computing consumer buying behavior, are experimenting with a wide range of new transportation options for last mile delivery. Intermodal freight shipped in containers via ships, trains, and trucks is continuing to grow. Surging domestic energy production is straining infrastructure in oil production regions. In the next 30 years, changes in freight demand, shipping, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and energy production are poised to transform the economics of transportation yet again. By 2045, freight volume will increase 45% from current levels.
The increasing congestion in metropolitan areas is a major threat to the U.S. economy. About 80% of the freight transported in the U.S. has its origin or destination at one of the top 100 metropolitan areas, reflecting that the bulk of manufacturing is produced in metropolitan areas, and in turn, increases congestion and emissions in these areas. Taking into account the surge in internet orders in the last several years, it is almost certain that deliveries to households now generate more freight trips than deliveries to commercial establishments.
At the same time, a host of new technologies and operational practices are transforming freight transportation systems and supply chains. Smart City technologies, truck platooning, autonomous trucks, drones, 3D printing, delivery crowdsourcing, and others are already making their mark. As an example, 3D printing may lead to decentralization of manufacturing and to the development of on-demand manufacturing, resulting in unforeseen demands on road infrastructure because of the growth in small truck freight trip generation.
There is a need to better understand the current and anticipated future freight trends to provide transportation agencies with the information they need to develop strategic plans. More specifically, research is needed to gain insight into how market and technological trends could impact transportation systems, safety, and the environment. Conducting research, with the collaboration of other stakeholders, that identifies, designs, pilot tests, and leads to the adoption of effective public sector freight initiatives, will help transportation agencies achieve their goals.

Objective

The objective of this project is to develop a dynamic 5- to 10-year multimodal freight research roadmap. The roadmap should emphasize problem statements with a scope and budget appropriate for NCHRP, but can include problem statements that are more suitable for other public, private, or academic research institutions or programs. The research roadmap should clearly define a portfolio of initiatives that will advance the knowledge and capabilities of transportation decision makers. The research roadmap should include, but not be limited to: (1) end-to-end emphasis (i.e., consider the research needs of all modes and stages of freight activity, from gateways, to corridors, to local deliveries); (2) identifying and assessing the impacts of social, technological, economic, environmental, and political trends on freight transportation systems and policies; (3) enhancing public sector decision-making capabilities (i.e., the research roadmap should lead to the development of new tools or methods and ways to gather necessary data for public agencies to make decisions that improve freight system performance); (4) expanding and deepening public sector knowledge (i.e., the research roadmap should contain projects that enhance the public sector’s understanding of the behavior of the agents involved in freight, and the best ways to influence them to improve freight system performance); and (5) addressing institutional issues (i.e., analyzing current and potential barriers to preventing improved freight transportation systems that could increase economic efficiency and productivity, foster sustainability, enhance livability, quality of life, and environmental justice).
The research roadmap should include: (1) a prioritized portfolio of problem statements, most of which should address the research gaps in a format and at a level of detail suitable for submission to NCHRP; (2) a detailed description and justification of how this portfolio addresses the five objective criteria; (3) an assessment of key gaps and needs that could be addressed through research and how this portfolio addresses these gaps; and (4) a dynamic communications concept (including format, platform, frequency, distribution channels, budget, and editorial and technical content) that could be widely distributed to keep practitioners informed of emerging issues affecting freight transportation.