Balancing Freight and Goods Delivery Needs in Designing Complete Streets

The Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) introduced provisions that are important for both freight movement and implementation of Complete Streets policies. Per the IIJA, Complete Streets standards and policies “ensure the safe and adequate accommodation of all users of transportation systems, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, children, individuals who are aging, individuals with disabilities, motorists, and freight vehicles” (Pub. L. 117-58, Section 11206(a), https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ58/PLAW-117publ58.pdf). Complete Streets is at times considered synonymous with active transportation, which refers to human-powered activities such as walking, biking, or rolling. However, freight is explicitly referenced in the Federal Highway Administration’s Complete Streets description; state departments of transportation (DOTs) are required to allocate resources for activities related to Complete Streets, and freight must be considered concurrently. With the rise of e-commerce and smaller delivery vehicles, curbside goods delivery, bicycle and pedestrian needs, advancing technologies, and other factors, research is needed to identify knowledge gaps and explore how to integrate the needs of freight movement with the active transportation approaches of Complete Streets to create more efficient, comprehensive, resilient, and cohesive networks. The objective of this research is to develop a guide to incorporate design and operational considerations for freight into Complete Streets strategies across land use topologies. In developing the research approach, considerations should include: For the purpose of defining scope parameters, freight movement is related to surface transportation and includes trucks, cargo bikes, autonomous delivery robots, rail, and drones, as applicable; Local, state, and federal transportation needs and economic development funding mechanisms; Innovative solutions that prioritize the use of existing rights-of-way; Applicable local, state, and federal codes and regulations; Advanced technologies including autonomous delivery (e.g., autonomous trucks, drones, and personal delivery devices); and, Equitable outcomes for varying types of communities, businesses, and freight operators. 

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5495
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $500000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 08-176

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Crichton-Sumners, Camille

• Start Date: 20240701
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Complete streets; Freight traffic; Highway design; Land use; Nonmotorized transportation
• Subject Areas: Design; Freight Transportation; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01898272
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 08-176
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 6 2023 4:43PM