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86 Guidebook for Understanding Urban Goods Movement
Browne, M., Sweet, M., Woodburn, A., Allen, J. (2005), Urban Freight Consolidation Centres Final Report, Trans-
port Studies Group, University of Westminster, available online at http://freightbestpractices.org.uk/urban-
freight-consolidation-centre-report
Anonymous (2006) Broadmead Freight Consolidation Scheme, Niches project, available online at http://www.
osmose-os.org/documents/118/Os_Aw_Appl_Bristol.pdf
Anonymous (2008) D2.4 Report on Partnerships, START (Short Term Actions to Reorganize Transport of
Goods) Project Report, available online at www.startproject.org/. . ./D2.4%20Reporton%20Partner
ships%20FINAL.pdf
Anonymous (2008) D2.1 Integrated Demonstration Report, START (Short Term Actions to Reorganize Trans-
port of Goods) Project Report, available online at http://www.start-project.org/downloads.html
DfT (2010) Freight Consolidation Study (prepared by TTR and TRL), available online at http://www.dft.
gov.uk/pgr/freight/research/freightreport/
Anonymous (2010) West of England Joint Local Transport Plan 3, Freight Supplementary Document, draft for
consideration at 20th September 2010 meeting of the Bristol & Neighbouring FQP, available online at
Principal Findings http://www.travelplus.org.uk/media/186924/network%20management%20and%20freight.pdf
For effective Anonymous (2010) West of England Partnership, Joint Local Transport Plan Progress Report 2009/10, available
online at http://www.westofengland.org/media/187971/item%2010%20jiltp2%20progress%20report.pdf
enforcement, it is Anonymous (2010) Freight Consolidation Study (South East Scotland Transport Partnership), report produced
essential that all by Scott Wilson Ltd., available online at http://www.sestran.gov.uk/uploads/Freight%20Consolidation%
20Centre%20Study%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf
traffic and law Anonymous (2006) Vivaldi project, D12 Final Publishable Report, available online at http://www.transport-
research.info/Upload/Documents/200909/20090917_164909_1792_VIVALDI%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf
enforcement offi- Joint Local Transport Plan 3, 20112026: Network Management and Freight Supplementary Document, Engage-
cers have details of ment Draft, July 2010, available online at http://www.travelplus.org.uk/media/186924/network%20man
agement%20and%20freight.pdf
truck route and
waiting rules for
their district. In New York City: Commercial Vehicle Regulation
and Off-Peak Delivery
addition, simple
Background
guidance signage
should be consid- New York City has been regulating commercial vehicle operations for nearly 100 years. Com-
mercial vehicles are essential to the commerce and services of America's largest city; New York City
ered for aiding hosts a population of more than 8 million in an area of just 300 square miles. Stacey Hodge, Direc-
truck drivers tor of the Office of Freight Mobility for the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC-
DOT), understood that trucks were both a blessing and a curse. Without trucks, New York City's
through urban retail and entertainment businesses would come to a halt, but adding trucks to an already overbur-
areas (e.g., "green" dened street and highway network often brought traffic to a standstill. It took nearly 100 years for
and "red" route one of the most complex truck route and truck regulation schemes in the nation to evolve--now
NYCDOT sought to simplify the truck regulation scheme, while improving effectiveness.
signage to denote
In 2007, NYCDOT completed a 4-year study effort: The Truck Route Management and Com-
acceptable and munity Impact Reduction Study, completed by a consulting firm. The study sought to "coordi-
unacceptable nate engineering, education, information, and enforcement efforts to mitigate the negative
routes, respec- impacts relating to truck traffic, as well as to improve the overall truck management framework
that exists in the city of New York."
tively). Also, out-
After completing the truck route study in 2006, one of the first actions taken by NYCDOT was
of-hours delivery is to create a new Office of Freight Mobility. Stacey Hodge, who had spent 10 years in the private
an effective way of sector consulting as a transportation engineer and planner, joined NYCDOT in spring 2007 to
maximizing effi- lead the Office of Freight Mobility. As Hodge came on board, she was confronted with the fol-
lowing list of issues identified by the truck route study just completed:
ciency in delivery
· New York City had experienced a 35 percent increase in truck volumes over the past 20 years
and collection with no comprehensive changes to the regulations or policies governing truck access and no
schedules. changes in the number of truck route miles (street capacity) to meet this demand.
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Case Studies 87
· Current truck regulations in the city were based on standards put in place over 20 years ago.
During the last truck route study, completed in the early 1980s, a 55-foot vehicle design stan-
dard was in place. National fleet trends had increased the design limit to 65 feet. Most streets
in New York City were not designated to safely accommodate these larger vehicles.
· Enforcement efforts were lacking because of the overly complicated regulatory scheme
imposed on trucks in the city. The comprehension of truck regulations was limited in both
the New York Police Department (NYPD) and among judges who adjudicated summonses.
· Only 5 percent of the city's streets were designated as truck route streets. Most designated
truck routes operated at or near capacity.
· Signs were one of the most critical tools for managing the city's Truck Route Network; how-
ever, there were several problems with the current signage program:
The city had multiple designs for truck route signs. Although the differences are subtle, the
lack of consistency fosters confusion among truck drivers.
The placement of truck route signs at intersections was inconsistent, affecting driver recog-
nition and reaction time, as well as driver actions at decision points.
Truck route sign panels were not always visible. The message on some panels was not clear
because of weather, sun exposure, or graffiti. In other cases, truck route signs were blocked
from view by another sign.
· A survey of freight stakeholders revealed that most stakeholders had limited knowledge or did
not understand New York City's truck route regulations.
· NYPD recruits trained at the Police Academy are inundated with a great deal of information
on rules and regulations. Traffic rules are just one small component of their training. As a
result, most officers on the street have a very limited working knowledge of the Truck Route
Network.
The Story
Eager to develop an action plan for addressing as many of the issues identified by the truck
route study as possible, Hodge realized that truck issues would have to compete for limited
resources against a wide array of other transportation issues. Without much political clout,
freight issues often took a back seat to other constituent transportation concerns.
A necessary step in making the new Freight Mobility Office successful was to communicate
the office mission and identify its champion to those public partners from which the office would
need support. In November 2007, Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan sent a letter to all elected
officials in New York State introducing them to the new office and describing initiatives the office
would pursue to address truck management and goods movement in New York City.
One of the first initiatives undertaken by the Freight Mobility Office built upon existing reg-
ulations to make them more effective. New York City did have designated truck routes. Dated
and less than optimal, New York City regulations required commercial trucks to operate only on
designated truck routes unless a delivery required the use of a non-designated route (Section 4-13(e)
of New York City Traffic Rules). Designated truck routes, however, were rarely enforced unless
citizens complained, and directional signs were often difficult for truck drivers to follow. Off-
route trucks were not only an aggravation for city residents; they were also costing New York
City millions of dollars in bridge rehabilitation and maintenance. In 2007, there had been
64 reported incidents of trucks striking low bridges or overpasses; in 2008, there were 98 reported
truck-bridge incidents. Many of these incidents were the result of trucks traveling on the park-
way system, which is off-limits to trucks.
NYCDOT recognized the immediate benefits that could be derived from improving compliance
with the existing route network while also communicating better with truck drivers about low clear-
ance bridges and truck routes. To accomplish these goals, the following initiatives were advanced.
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88 Guidebook for Understanding Urban Goods Movement
· The NYPD Truck Enforcement Program. In 2007, NYCDOT released an electronic online
version of the city's first comprehensive citywide truck route map. The online map provided
detailed routing information for all five boroughs, regulatory information, and contact infor-
mation for useful truck and commercial vehicle resources. During 2008, the city distributed
74,000 truck route maps. However, NYPD realized that better public information about truck
routes would not solve the route compliance issues alone. Without more proactive enforce-
ment of network violations, the information campaign would be less effective. As a result, the
Police Placard Pilot Program was launched to provide officers with the resources to enforce
truck network violations at the precinct level. Only 4 of the city's 76 precincts were included
in the initial pilot.
· Truck Route Signage Pilot. Another recommendation from the truck route study was to
undertake efforts to improve the city's truck route signs. Nationwide, the design of traffic signs
on public roadways is prescribed by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
MUTCD is published by FHWA under 23 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 655, Sub-
part F. In 2008, NYCDOT petitioned FHWA to conduct a truck route signage pilot program
that would allow the city to experiment with new truck route sign designs to make the signs
more identifiable to truck drivers.
· The Delivery Windows Program. The objective of the delivery windows program was
to make curb space available for delivery trucks. By reducing the number of trucks double
parking, traffic congestion can be reduced and air quality improved. In addition, reason-
able curbside access supports the New York City economy by improving the efficiency of
truck deliveries. In New York City, most retailers and grocery stores do not have off-street
loading docks, and on-street parking is typically occupied by passenger vehicles, which
forces delivery vehicles to double-park and cause traffic congestion. To address curbside
access, NYCDOT implemented a multi-pronged approach. By working with merchants
and through curb utilization surveys, information was gathered in specific neighborhoods
regarding peak demands for curbside access. Using the data gathered, delivery windows
were installed alongside a protected bike lane with offset parking on Columbus Avenue in
Manhattan, First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, along the Fordham Road Bronx Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT) route, and were planned for Church Avenue in Brooklyn in January
2011.
In addition to improving existing programs, the Freight Mobility Office also sought inno-
vative win-win solutions for addressing other urban freight issues like curbside access for
delivery trucks. Many companies operating in New York City had grown accustomed to pay-
ing millions of dollars in parking fines on an annual basis, because double-parking delivery
vehicles had become a way of doing business on New York City's busy streets.
· Off-Hours Delivery Program. In 2009, the Office of Freight Mobility formed a partner-
ship with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rutgers University, the Rudin Center at NYU
Wagner, and ALK Technologies on a USDOT-funded program to encourage off-peak
deliveries between 7 P.M. and 6 A.M. The pilot ran from late 2009 through early 2010, with
encouraging results for the 33 participants. The participants included a diverse group of 8
delivery companies (carriers) and 25 business locations (receivers) that participated in the
pilot for at least 1 month, and included restaurants and retail stores.
Lessons and Conclusion
The Police Placard Pilot Program was well received by NYPD. Now, NYPD officers in all
76 police precincts receive inserts for their memo books that detail truck route rules in their
