Relationship of Freight Facilities in Central Business District Office Buildings to Truck Traffic

Abstract

Intracity goods movement is profoundly affected by the facilities and services available for pickups and deliveries in commercial office buildings (COBs). Inadequate freight-handling facilities in New York City’s central business district (CBD) were identified as major barriers to freight mobility by shippers and carriers in industry-sector focus groups and in freight mobility interviews. Property managers of COBs completed 28 surveys that provided data about building characteristics, the number and size of freight elevators, a description of the dock area, and delivery windows. Results indicated that inadequate docks or receiving areas and insufficient freight elevators did not support the increasing number of freight deliveries, resulting in a significant amount of off-loading on the streets. Most property managers surveyed believed that enlarging docks would increase dock functionality. A time-and-motion study of vehicular deliveries to loading docks was carried out at two COBs located in the CBD. It documented time of delivery, dwell time in the dock, dwell time on the street, size and type of vehicle, and so forth, for a 10-week period in the summer of 1997. Most deliveries occurred in the mornings; dwell times averaged 33 min in the dock and on the street. A majority of straight trucks were under 7.31 m (24 ft) in length.