Erica Wygonik

Smart growth and goods movement: emerging research agendas

While recent urban planning efforts have focused on the management of growth into developed areas, the research community has not examined the impacts of these development patterns on urban goods movement. Successful implementation of growth strategies has multiple environmental and social benefits but also raises the demand for intra-urban goods movement, potentially increasing conflicts between modes of travel and worsening air quality. Because urban goods movement is critical for economic vitality, understanding the relation between smart growth and goods movement is necessary in the development of appropriate policies. This paper reviews the academic literature and summarizes the results of six focus groups to identify gaps in the state of knowledge and suggest important future research topics in five sub-areas of smart growth related to goods movement: (1) access, parking, and loading zones; (2) road channelization and bicycle and pedestrian facilities; (3) land use; (4) logistics; and (5) network system management.

Comparison of Vehicle Miles Traveled and Pollution from Three Goods Movement Strategies

Abstract Purpose To provide insight into the role and design of delivery services to address CO2, NO x , and PM10 emissions from passenger travel. Methodology/approach A simulated North American data sample is served with three transportation structures: last-mile personal vehicles, local-depot-based truck delivery, and regional-warehouse-based truck delivery. CO2, NO x , and PM10 emissions are modeled using values from the US EPA’s MOVES model and are added to an ArcGIS optimization scheme. Findings Local-depot-based truck delivery requires the lowest amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and last-mile passenger travel generates the lowest levels of CO2, NO x , and PM10. While last-mile passenger travel requires the highest amount of VMT, the efficiency gains of the delivery services are not large enough to offset the higher pollution rate of the delivery vehicle as compared to personal vehicles. Practical implications This research illustrates the clear role delivery structure and logistics have in impacting the CO2, NO x , and PM10 emissions of goods transportation in North America. Social implications This research illustrates tension between goals to reduce congestion (via VMT reduction) and CO2, NO x , and PM10 emissions. Originality/value This chapter provides additional insight into the role of warehouse location in achieving sustainability targets and provides a novel comparison between delivery and personal travel for criteria pollutants.

Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement

This report identifies the interrelationships between goods movement and smart growth applications, in particular, the relationship between the transportation of goods in the urban environment and land-use patterns. The results of the research can be used by decisionmakers to more accurately understand urban goods movement demand, relevant performance metrics, and the limitations of current modeling frameworks for addressing smart growth and urban goods movement.

Evaluating the impacts of density on urban goods movement externalities

AbstractResearch has established a potential to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by replacing passenger travel for shopping with delivery service, and a few studies have indicated CO2 emissions can also be reduced. However, that research has mostly focused on urban locations and has not addressed criteria pollutants. This study examines the impacts of replacing passenger travel for shopping with delivery service over a broader set of externalities (VMT, CO2, NOx, and PM10) in both urban and rural communities. Three different goods movement strategies are considered in three different municipalities in King County, Washington, which vary in size, density, and distance from the metropolitan core. The research finds that delivery services can reduce VMT over passenger vehicle travel for shopping, however, the potential to reduce CO2, NOx, and PM10 emissions varies by municipality. Significant trade-offs are observed between VMT and emissions – especially between VMT and criteria pollutants.

Forecasting Tools for Analyzing Urban Land Use Patterns and Truck Movement: Case Study and Discussion of Results

Many urban planning efforts have supported development in dense, mixed-use areas, but tools are not widely available to help understand the relationship between urban form and goods movement. A review is presented on the status of urban goods movement forecasting models to account for the impacts of density and mixed land use. A description is given of a series of forecasting model runs conducted with state-of-the-practice tools available at the Puget Sound Regional Council. By comparing dense, mixed-use scenarios with different baseline and transportation network alternatives, the ability of the model to capture the relationship between goods movement and density is evaluated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for truck forecasting and freight planning.

Estimating Current and Potential Bicycle Use for Statewide Planning

As interest in bicycling for transportation and recreation has increased, state transportation agencies and other planning organizations must prioritize ways in which to spend their limited resources. This paper describes a geographic information system–based analysis that categorizes state-owned highways across Vermont on the basis of potential bicycle use through the leverage of readily available data. This methodology allows a planning agency to make decisions on the basis of statewide information and avoids the costs of a traditional travel demand model. It informs decision makers about where to invest additional funds to improve on-road bicycle facilities and to prioritize maintenance to maximize value. It also provides the groundwork for bicycle-related performance standards and to identify critical gaps in high-demand bicycle corridors.

Current State of Estimation of Multimodal Freight Project Impacts

As available data have increased and as the national transportation funding bills have moved toward objective evaluation, departments of transportation (DOTs) throughout the United States have begun to develop tools to attempt to measure the effects of different projects. Increasingly, DOTs recognize that the freight transportation system is necessarily multimodal. However, no DOTs have clearly stated objective tools with which to evaluate multimodal freight project comparisons. This paper informs that gap by summarizing the existing academic literature on the state of the science for the estimation of freight project impacts and by reviewing methods currently used by selected DOTs nationwide. These methods are analyzed to identify common themes to determine potential avenues for multimodal project evaluation.