Identifying the Need for Freight to be Included in Local Authority Transport Planning - Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems - page 42

HGV's are being forced to take longer routes to go around the limited zone to
reach customers which contributes to higher fuel consumption and emissions.
However, the reason behind those restrictions is not always in the interest of
freight transport effectiveness or efficiency, but more often a very site-specific
reason due to sensitive areas or specific demands by stakeholders.
All localities are somewhat hindered in their work with infrastructure networks
and using certain kinds of regulations depending on National and European leg-
islation. Other important factors that hinder their work are economic and political
structures, for example local authority civil servants are responsible for the
planning procedures, but it is the political representatives that are responsible for
the decision making. Furthermore, historical reasons and cultural traditions could
have great influence on the planning procedures. Often urban deliveries are made
to premises that have undergone a change of use, for example a small high street
convenience store may occupy premises that were constructed some 50 years ago
for use as a hairdressers, and therefore delivery access to the store is limited since
it had never previously been required from the outset.
Delivery time-window policies are one of the most commonly used demand
management tools for regulating urban freight movements. In a survey of 33 Dutch
local authorities, Quak and de Koster ( 2006 ) highlighted that over 90 % of officials
sought to implement time-windows with the main objective of creating a more
appealing shopping environment by improving the aesthetics of an urban centre, so
as to attract more visitors and enhance local economic development. However,
operators interviewed in the UK described the operational pitfalls of such policies.
The majority of freight being distributed in and around urban centres begins its
journey at a regionally centred distribution centre, usually in close proximity of the
motorway network and is therefore affected by major incidents occurring on the
motorway network. When these delays occur it can cause missed city centre
delivery time windows, often resulting in either a failed delivery or forcing hau-
liers to park a significant distance from their delivery point, perhaps parking
illegally and compounding the delayed schedule.
Some hauliers operating in a UK pallet network noted that they make their
deliveries within a specific postcode area where freight comes in overnight and has
a short turn-around time to ensure next day delivery within the specific time
window to deliver that freight. City centre pedestrian precincts were highlighted as
being particularly difficult locations, although operators recognise that local
authorities have to strike a balance between the needs of operators and the safety
of pedestrians. However, with growing regeneration and city centre developments,
volumes of freight being delivered into central urban areas are increasing. From a
business perspective, hauliers would ideally split deliveries over the course of the
day, thereby achieving maximum utilisation of their vehicles.
Freight forwarders in smaller localities, particularly in Poland, Lithuania and
Sweden recognize that time windows could be a problematic issue when harmo-
nized in several neighbouring localities. This is due to freight forwarders needing
to operate more vehicles simultaneously in order to serve all the areas with the
coordinated time window. Without these time windows in place, a single vehicle