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69A3551747104, This project gains on-the-ground insight into competition for curb space, what issues drivers face, and the circumstances that inform their parking choices and related behaviors. To do so, it uses data from Reddit to examine US parcel delivery driver perceptions and behavior. The study uses “flexible” coding to analyze the collected comments, providing granular, qualitative understanding of driver behavior and thought processes. Parking is a primary challenge drivers discussed as a concern while delivering in urban areas, especially because parking difficulties extend the time required to complete routes. Drivers in the collected sample preferred to park in authorized spaces, but generally accepted the practice of unauthorized parking was necessary to expeditiously complete their routes. Such parking was motivated by lack of supply of authorized spaces, but also by need for safety and/or expedience. Drivers also opined that parking enforcement personnel rarely issued tickets or other reprimands, acknowledging that for delivery vehicles, unauthorized parking is often necessary. Finally, drivers described concerns surrounding interactions with other road users while making deliveries, especially in terms of conflict and safety. Curb management policies and freight providers’ practices alike will need to adapt in the face of the changing landscape of the curb. To that end, this project also engaged in synthesis of extant and emerging interventions and planning initiatives that may guide the future of urban freight delivery. Specifically, this report provides a brief examination of freight demand management initiatives, curb management initiatives, and safety initiatives. It concludes by discussing how these may complement one another and fit into the future of urban freight in the United States.

69A3551747104, This project applies the results of previous STRIDE research on planning for urban freight by disseminating these results to professional planners and stakeholders, giving them tools to incorporate freight concerns in economic development, transportation, and land use planning. Through a summary infographic, listening session with local North Carolina planners, and listserv email communication, this project shared findings from previous urban freight research. It worked with stakeholders to identify opportunities to apply these findings to on-the-ground challenges. Previous STRIDE research found that freight-related injuries and crashes are rising, particularly on local urban roads and arterials during weekday peak delivery hours. Existing loading zones in urban areas provide insufficient space, leading to substantial parking challenges for delivery drivers and demonstrating the need for policy and infrastructure solutions. We found that local North Carolina planners are experiencing many of these same challenges in their own communities, particularly surrounding limited space in compact urban cores, competition for the curb, illegal parking, and warehousing siting and distribution. This project helped to identify strategies for local governments to align planning practice with goods movement trends, and increased information sharing across the region about how these issues are unfolding locally.