Urban Logistics

The way forward: Options for dealing with urban logistics

Any policy measure in the field of urban freight management requires a solid foundation for it to be effective. This foundation consists of good administration practice on the side of the local authorities and regional or state governments, a sound legislative framework, clearly assigned institutional roles and a general attitude of civic compliance amongst the players involved in the urban transport business (transport operators, drivers, shippers and receivers).
Basic requirements for an efficient management of urban freight traffic include:

• Coherent policies on the transportation sector, on business licensing and on urban development;
  
• Clearly assigned institutional responsibilities;
  
• An adequate legal and organizational framework;
  
• Functioning road taxation and vehicle licensing mechanisms;
  
• A sense of civic compliance amongst the parties involved.
  

Traffic Management

The term “Traffic Management” refers to all measures which can be taken by local authorities to manage the flow of vehicles and the available traffic space by means of regulations, signage, road marking, road pricing, control and enforcement measures. This is a differentiation over the term “Traffic engineering”, which refers to the planning and construction of road infrastructure.
A thorough assessment of a city’score freight traffic problems stands at the beginning of all traffic management on a community level, which is often handled by the Traffic Department or a comparable authority. The first priority is to handle bottleneck situations, where freight transport contributes significantly to congestion. Some of the basic instruments that can help organise city freight traffic efficiently are:

• Signage;
  
• Light signalling;
  
• Road marking;
  
• Implementation of one-way schemes and circular routes;
  
• Installation of physical barriers;
  
• Issue of access permits;
  
• Road pricing and transport demand management.
  

Enforcement

An effective enforcement is the pivotal element in the management of urban traffic space. Where enforcement cannot be assured, further traffic management measures are likely to fail. With respect to urban freight transport, some of the core enforcement functions are:

• Prevent second row (double) parking;
  
• Enforce “no loading” and “no waiting” restrictions;
  
• Penalise overload and oversize of vehicles;
  
• Penalise unauthorised entry and failure to pay congestion charges (mostly camera enforcement);
  
• Prevent shoppers to park in designated loading bays.
  

Avoiding through-traffic

For through-traffic, the city itself is not the destination. Instead it only passes through the city area on its way to other destinations, causing additional congestion. This is often the case for traffic destined to ports or airports, going through the city centre or sub centres instead of being routed onto ring roads and around the worst points of congestion. The first condition for avoiding unnecessary through traffic is the availability of alternative routes. Through-traffic avoidance is therefore primarily a road infrastructure or mode shift issue.
However, in many cases detrimental through traffic flows for goods transport occur in spite of alternative routes having been put in operation. Truck drivers often insist to use a more direct or apparently more attractive route, although reserved for local traffic only. Local governments can use a wide range of measures to respond to this phenomenon. This includes the following options:

• Signed street closures for all commercial vehicles;
  
• Signed access restriction for commercial through traffic with intensive enforcement;
  
• Physical street closures for commercial vehicles (height restricting gates or narrowly spaced bollards);
  
• Road design, giving priority to the alternative route and making it the more convenient route rather than the one through the city;
  
• Placement of tollgates for any commercial traffic, including through traffic and local traffic, at critical points of convergence (e.g. bridges or tunnels), provided that there are no viable avoidance routes.
  

Introducing access restrictions

A fairly easy measure to implement is the imposing of access restriction to certain urban areas. This can be done in order to control congestion and air pollution or to protect local commerce, tourism, and residents.
Alternatively, physical restrictions such as automatic booms, height restricting bars, retractable bollards, etc. can be used.
In most cases, the purpose of the restrictive measures is not to close a certain area for motorized vehicles completely, but to restrict access for vehicles based on selective characteristics like delivery times, vehicle size or weight. Typically, commercial goods traffic to inner-city centres is allowed in certain time windows only. This measure is commonly referred to as a “truck ban”. Some cities have found a practical compromise to increase logistics performance: They restrict large vehicle during the daytime and allow them into the city area at night.

Summary

The relevance of urban freight traffic is increasingly recognized in developed and developing cities alike. Efforts to reduce its negative impacts are driven by a wide range of motivations, which very much depend on the local context. There is a need for co-operation between public and private actors to improve the efficiency of urban freight operations and, as a consequence, to mitigate its negative impacts. As goods transport in urban areas is mostly in the hands of a multitude of private companies, ranging from micro businesses to global players, the importance of dialogue between all stakeholders cannot be underestimated. There is no single master plan, and no predefined set of necessary measures to reduce negative impacts of urban freight traffic. Policy-makers will have to choose actions suitable to solve to most urgent problems, and may have to adapt them to the specific local context. However, there are certain aims a municipal authority can strive to achieve. They characterize a situation in which urban logistics can be managed in an efficient and sustainable manner. Whatever the approach may be: cities and metropolitan areas have to develop and implement a viable strategy for the optimisation of the urban freight system. The environmental sustainability, economic development and overall quality of urban living depend on it.

Further Information

Further and more detailed information can be found on the homepage of the Sustainable Urban Transport Project. The Sustainable Urban Transport Project aims to help developing world cities achieve their sustainable transport goals, through the dissemination of information about international experience, policy advice, training and capacity building.

References

Bernhard O. Herzog 2010, Urban Freight in Developing Cities