Curbside Freight Delivery in Downtowns of Small- and Medium-Sized Urban Areas

There are 370 small to medium-sized urban areas (SMUAs), with population less than 500,000, in the United States. A recent mobility report indicated that in 2005 in the SMUAs annual delay per traveler is 17 hours, wasted fuel per traveler is 26 gallons, average cost of congestion per traveler is $318, and congestion costs to trucking industry is $ 73 per truck hour. However, such congestion, delays, and costs that have been reported are for movements on arterials and freeways. The problems related to pick-up and deliveries of freight, especially in downtowns of SMUAs, are yet to receive adequate attention. Ease of access and parking are important to the revitalization of the downtown areas of SMUAs. What is often overlooked is that the efficient pick-up and delivery of goods also is equally important. This paper will discuss the different approaches taken by two cities in SMUA –Fargo and Greensboro—to deal with truck loading issues. In one instance all on-street loading zones were eliminated while in other case conscious efforts were made to increase on-street loading zones and improve their designs. The paper also provides lessons learned from the two case studies.