A modeling and micro-simulation approach to estimate the location, number and size of loading/unloading bays: A case study in the city of Querétaro, Mexico

Abstract

Loading/unloading operations on streets are crucial to satisfy the daily delivery needs of goods in a city. The current approaches for designing the needed infrastructure for such operations are not comprehensive. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the basis and the use of an integral methodology for defining better loading/unloading bays in terms of location, capacity and number. The methodology is used in a congested Mexican medium size city: Queretaro. The procedure consists of several steps that start with the modeling of the freight generation in order to build scenarios under micro-simulation techniques, thus creating a potential solution under the consideration of such infrastructure as service areas. Having as inputs the number of attracted local freight trips; the commercial activity needs; the types of vehicles, and the geometry of the streets, the output from such procedure consists of a proposal for the ideal of such infrastructure in terms of its location, size and number. The use of such methodology could become a valuable tool for planners and practitioners in the field of urban logistics, to better manage the delivery of goods and the urban space in congested areas, further mitigating the nuisances due to urban freight.