Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
20.4.1 Current Status
Truck travel is restricted along parkways and boulevards in several US cities
including Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington, and San Francisco. They also
apply to suburban and intercity parkways such as the Westchester and Long Island
parkways, in the New York City area, the Taconic Parkway in New York State, and
the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Many cities and suburbs have adopted various truck travel restrictions to reduce
congestion and neighborhood intrusion of trucks. Examples of common restrictions
include:
“
restrictions along arterial streets that prohibit peak period on-
street truck loading and unloading
no standing
”
Tractor trailer trucks (usually more than 33 feet in length) are prohibited in
downtown Atlanta, the Chicago
“
Loop
”
, and Lower Midtown in Manhattan
Trucks are restricted by size and weight from entering many residential areas
(except for deliveries)
20.4.2 Suggested Guidelines
Implementing truck travel restrictions by time of day and/or size of vehicle to
reduce congestion should re
fl
ect the different needs of carriers, shippers, receivers,
and the affected community.
The need for restricting truck travel should be based on location, congestion
levels, land use patterns, environmental requisites, and community values. Key
considerations include: (1) amount of street congestion, including the proportion of
delay caused by truck movement and loading/unloading activities, (2) ability of
other streets to accommodate the displaced trucks, (3) actions already taken to
improve passenger and goods
flow (such as peak period parking bans), (4) potential
effects on impacted activities, and (5) ease of implementation and enforcement.
The daytime or peak period restrictions of truck travel should be considered only
after peak-period curb parking and loading activities have been prohibited and are
effectively enforced. In addition, alleviating traf
fl
c congestion in the city center
should have a higher priority than problem locations in the rest of the urban area.
Finally, suitable means of goods delivery and pick up access to and from impacted
streets or areas should be available. This commonly entails having access from
adjacent or cross streets. Restrictions in central areas might require special truck
tunnels such as those found in Dallas (Texas) and New Haven (Connecticut).
Sometimes all-day bus lanes are provided along commercial streets to improve
the speed and reliability of bus service. In these cases time
can be
established that permit goods delivery and unloading during designated midday
hours. Examples are the
“
windows
”
“
windows
”
along Fordham Road in the Bronx, New York,
