ECONOMIC RATIONALE FOR ESTABLISHING OFF-STREET LOADING REQUIREMENTS IN THE CITY CENTER

Off-street loading requirements for goods movement in existing zoning ordinances do not seem to be based on any general form of objective rationale. Thus there is a lack of unformity in application in downtown areas in the nation's cities. This paper presents a unique process for public-interest planning for off-street loading facilities. The process addresses the question, What are the off-street goods movement loading requirements for a specific site or group of sites that would keep the costs to society (the relevant portions) to a minimum? The carriers, the developers, the tenants, those who drive and park, and the community at large are all vested-interest groups affected by loading standards. There are direct costs to the carriers incurred by waiting for loading space, and there are developer's costs for providing this space. Queued trucks cause increased road user costs when local traffic volumes are high enough to be adversely affected. Providing curbside queuing space also has costs associated with the depletion of the on-street parking supply. Air and noise pollution caused by queued trucks impairs health, decreases land values and retail sales, and has other adverse effects on the community. It is necessary, therefore, to evaluate all direct and indirect interest- group impacts, reduce these impacts to a common base (for this paper, constant dollars), and then st criteria for off-street loading requirements that minimize societal costs. This paper presents a method for determining these direct and indirect costs of interest-group impacts as they related to off-street loading facilities and introduces a case study to show that practical application produces realistic results. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/591/591-005.pdf
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ECONOMIC+RATIONALE+FOR+ESTABLISHING+OFF-STREET+LOADING+REQUIREMENTS+IN+THE+CITY+CENTER&author=P.+Habib&author=K.+Crowley&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Urban Goods Movement. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Habib, Philip A
  • Crowley, Kenneth W
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 25-31
• Monograph Title: Freight transportation characteristics
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 591
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Central business districts; City planning; Communities; Costs; Impact studies; Loads; Queuing; Trucks
• Uncontrolled Terms: Loading
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Finance; Highways; Motor Carriers; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00149182
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025605
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 13 1977 12:00AM