Identifying the Need for Freight to be Included in Local Authority Transport Planning - Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems - page 40

confidence in their ability to manage local freight movements, although one has a
transport planner with previous experience working in the logistics industry, which
had become a central resource in the region for queries regarding freight issues.
Another LA had one officer heavily involved in organising their FQP and a freight
steering group, as well as coordinating representatives from the local freight
industry to develop policies and initiatives in the area.
In comparison, Sweden had one authority with a full time employee responsible
for freight transport issues and a general good knowledge of freight transport in the
urban area, which was mainly a result of several years of focus in this area. One
authority in Germany also has a person responsible for freight transport issues, but
those issues are mainly on a technical level regarding surveillance and statistics,
and there is little work done regarding the matter of long-term planning. Amongst
all other authorities interviewed in northeast Europe, there was a general lack of
acknowledgement of the area of urban freight transport. The LA's trust the freight
industry to handle transport operations as efficiently as possible, but at the same
time they see the urban freight operations in the urban area as a disturbing factor.
For example, a representative from a public transport company in a Baltic Sea
Region city commented that: ''They [freight vehicles] are in our way of trans-
porting people'', and therefore regard freight traffic as a disruption to passenger
transport movements. This demonstrates that local authorities who hold equal
responsibility for handling freight transport planning as they do passenger trans-
port, have what Ogden ( 1984 ) describes as a lack of interest and time invested in
freight movements in the urban area.
The findings highlight a general lack of freight transport expertise in local
authorities across the countries studied; with the majority of the local authorities
interviewed having no personnel at all working on freight transport issues.
5 Recognition of Freight Movements in Urban Areas
Freight transport movements are rarely considered in land use planning, with
respondents commonly admitting that ''we never thought of handling the freight
issues''. Local businesses are more concerned with how their customers will be
able to access their amenities, rather than how they will get their goods to their
premises. However, freight transport is recognised as a feature in most local
transport plans as for example a driver of the urban economy and, therefore as an
important issue. Nevertheless, in the same transport plans, the tasks or planned
development measures outlined are rarely directly related to freight transport.
Those that are, generally relate to bans and regulations aimed at minimising noise
or damage to pavements caused by heavy vehicles. Furthermore, the cooperation
between local authority internal departments regarding freight transport is gener-
ally lacking. In order to reach sustainability for freight transport more cooperation
between departments (environmental, strategic planning and traffic departments)