Temporary Parking Reservation for Trucks in Urban Commercial Districts Based on Improved Greedy Algorithm

Abstract

Urban commercial districts rely heavily on trucks for transportation of goods. The parking demand generated by trucks loading and unloading goods is high. Insufficient temporary parking spaces can cause trucks to park randomly while loading and unloading goods. This situation is susceptible to a variety of traffic problems, such as road congestion and occupied pedestrian paths. This study uses automatic vehicle identification (AVI) data to realize the perception of truck parking behavior in commercial districts. A time-sharing reservation method for truck parking in commercial districts based on improved greedy algorithm is proposed according to characteristics of concentrated truck parking demand and short parking duration. Parking space turnover rate improves by adjusting the time point of truck start parking within an acceptable time threshold. An urban commercial district is chosen for validation. Results showed that the total number of trucks in the district is 1,200 per day on weekdays and 1,000 per day on weekends. Heavy and light trucks are dominant and account for about 40% of the total number respectively, while medium-sized trucks account for 20%. Peak hour of truck parking is around 15:00 and the maximum volume can reach 102 vehicles/hour. The average parking time is 31 mins. Taking a weekday as example, 46 temporary parking spaces were needed before optimization, and it was reduced to 20 after optimization, saving 56% of the total temporary parking spaces. This study can effectively enhance the turnover rate of truck parking and save temporary parking space in urban commercial districts.