Shared Freight Loading Areas in Downtowns

While it is important to the livelihoods of downtowns to be pedestrian and bicycle-friendly, it is also important that there be adequate facilities for trucks and vans to load and unload goods for downtown businesses. One way to address the needs of both pedestrians and businesses is to provide designated areas where freight can be loaded and unloaded.

In denser commercial districts, communities can designate community freight areas where, for example, a certain block with many businesses share the same loading/unloading area. This strategy can help to ease traffic congestion caused by trucks stopped in a roadway and reduce safety concerns of cyclists and pedestrians needing to maneuver around stopped delivery trucks.