Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement (2013)

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73 Focus-Group Guides I. Truck Drivers 00-40 OPENING DISCUSSION What is your favorite place to deliver? Why? What is your least favorite place to deliver? Why? We’re looking for comments in these areas: • Traffic and congestion • Parking and loading zones • Getting along with other modes (pedestrians, bikes, buses) • Time of day • Land-use mix Probe on time of day: When is it most difficult to deliver (time of day)? Why? Probe on physical location: Where is it most difficult to deliver? Why? 40-50 CONGESTION How do you manage congestion on your routes? Change route? Change time of delivery? In what areas do you have flexibility to shift patterns, and in what areas are you stuck? Does it alter the number of deliveries you are required to make? The time window in which you need to deliver? If you were able to, would you use a different kind of, or different size, vehicle (e.g., smaller van, motorcycle, bicycle)? Why? 50-65 TIME AND ENFORCEMENT What would you say your shortest stop is? Your longest? What would be your average length delivery stop? What would you do to shorten the length of each delivery? Some studies have found that downtown deliveries take over 30 minutes per stop and that much of that time is spent getting through office buildings to arrive at the final delivery point. In suburban shopping centers, find- ing and making a hand-truck delivery can be very time consuming. (These observations may already have been made by the group and can be referenced.) What are possible solutions to these time wasters? A p p e n d i x B

74 Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement Curbside delivery zones have a 30-minute time limit. Is this adequate? I assume your vehicles have City of Seattle stickers . . . or do you pay at the meter? Tell me about enforcement . . . do the police enforce the 30-minute limit, parking enforcement? Do you personally pay for fines, or does your company? (Modify for Philadelphia focus group.) 65-80 ZONING ISSUES There are a variety of design and location factors regulated by zoning practices that could affect what you do. For example, zoning can segregate or mix uses, such as having residences over storefronts or housing next to offices. Are there certain mixes of uses which make it easier or more difficult to serve? Set-back requirements may mandate parking in front of commercial retail facilities, other zoning codes require parking in back of the facility. Do you have a preference? Why? Parking can be either on-street or off-street. Do you have a preference? Why? Sign ordinances control the size and placements of signs. Is their placement an issue for you? Landscape ordinances require tree plantings. Do they affect your work? How? What, if any, should the truckers’ role be in the planning and permitting process? 80-90 LIVING WITH OTHER MODES As we have discussed, when you operate in a congested, mixed-use environment, how do you get along with buses, bikes, pedestrians, service vehicles, other deliverers? Some truck drivers favor all-way cross walks like those at Pike Market and Alaska Junction. What do you think? (Modify for Philadelphia focus group.) 90-105 CURBS, ALLEYS, AND LOADING DOCKS Do you make most of your deliveries/pick-ups from the curb, the alley, a middle turn lane of a road, or the loading dock? Do these have different time or space requirements? Which do you prefer and why? Is there a difference by type of vehicle and service—for exam- ple, FedEx-type van vs. Darigold-type 22’ box? What impediments are there to curb access? Are there too many delivery vehicles, passenger vehicles, buses, pedestrians, bicyclists, corner curb bulbs? How do you react to these? Do you presently use alleys for deliveries? In what situations do they work best, or worst? Would you like to use them more? What would make them more usable? If every alley had a turn-out/by-pass point, would that make life easier? Is there a protocol for alley use? Who uses alleys most? How does the presence of an alley impact time required for delivery? Your behavior? Do you prefer loading docks inside buildings to curbside deliveries? Please describe loading- dock management issues: adequate number of docks, waiting times, proper design, height of entrances, advance notice of dock space availability, separation of courier/time-sensitive deliver- ies from other deliveries, space for service vehicles. We know of two cities—Dallas, Texas, and Rochester, New York—that have underground freight loading facilities. Have any of you used them? Would such a facility make sense to you? Just to hypothesize, would the downtown bus tunnel offer advantages if it were open to freight delivery during the evening? How would this save you time? Would it change the vehicle you might use?

Focus-Group Guides 75 105-115 TECHNOLOGY and OTHER For time-sensitive deliveries, would a central receiving office in a large office building work for you if they could sign for a package and route it internally in the building? In class A—fancier office buildings—can deliverers use passenger elevators? When do you need or choose to walk a significant distance from your vehicle? Why? How far do you walk? II. Logistics Managers 00-25 OPENING DISCUSSION THE GOOD Q1. In what environment does your fleet have fewest problems with deliveries and schedul- ing? Why? Q2. How does this benefit your company? Can you quantify the benefits? 25-55 THE BAD Q1. In what environment do you have the most problems with deliveries and scheduling? Q2. What accommodations do you make to manage these problems? Q3. Do you add more time for deliveries? How much more time? Can you provide me with an example? Q4. Do you expect drivers to make fewer deliveries? How many fewer? Can you provide me with an example? Q5. Do you use different vehicles in these environments? Please explain. Can you provide an example? Q6. Do you have specific policies or guidelines for managing operations in different environ- ments? What are these? Are they strategic or operational? Can you place a cost on these policies? 55-65 TIME OF DAY What time of day is the most difficult within which to manage your operations? Is this true everywhere? What accommodations do you make for this? 65-80 PRICING AND ENFORCEMENT How does your company manage parking violations? Do you recommend to drivers that they double park if parking is not available? How far do you suggest that drivers go from their vehicle? Do they leave it idling? Where do you hear about drivers needing to do this? Do you have a policy about paying parking violation fees? 80-90 PEDESTRIANS AND BIKES Do you have policies for your drivers regarding interaction with pedestrians and bicyclists? Do issues with these groups cause you to alter your scheduling, routes, or stopping locations?

76 Smart Growth and Urban Goods Movement 90-100 INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY What information would help you manage your fleet better? Would it help to have informa- tion about the availability of on-street parking, in-building loading dock space, or congestion? How would you like this information to be available? How would you or your drivers use this information? Do you use hybrid vehicles? How do you employ IT, cell phones, or on-board computers? 100-110 TEST COMPANY CATEGORIZATION Relative to other carriers, would you describe your deliveries as difficult, moderately difficult, or easy? Why? What is it about your company that makes your deliveries more difficult? How could you change this? Or how could this be changed? 110 THANK YOU! III. Architects, Developers, Engineers, and Planners 00-30 OPENING DISCUSSION Deliveries by truck require a parking location. If the trucks are not parked on the street, they need to be in an alley, inside a building at a loading dock, or in an off-street truck parking area. How do you design and plan for these different types of facilities? Do you consult with trucking companies or drivers about design metrics, layout, protocols for use of space? Has this affected your design choices? Probe: To what extent does goods movement enter into the discussion of design, build, manage, and regulate private and public space in the urban environment? 30-45 LOADING DOCKS AND ALLEYS Please describe loading-dock management issues: adequate number of docks, waiting times, proper design, height of entrances, advance notice of dock space availability, separation of courier/time-sensitive deliveries from other deliveries, space for service vehicles, etc. We know of two cities—Dallas, Texas, and Rochester, New York—that have underground freight loading facilities. Have you ever considered them? Would such a facility make sense to you? Just to hypothesize, would the downtown bus tunnel offer advantages if it were open to freight delivery during the evening? • Could the number of trucks be reduced through greater consolidation of freight? For exam- ple, 7-Eleven has a policy to reduce the number of deliveries by requiring consolidation of some shipments. • Is it feasible to design alleys with turn-out/bypass points? • Is loading-dock status available to deliverers prior to entry? 45-55 TIME AND ENFORCEMENT Some studies have found that downtown deliveries take over 30 minutes per stop and that much of that time is spent getting through office buildings to get to the final delivery point. What are possible solutions to these time wasters?

Focus-Group Guides 77 • Large office buildings usually restrict delivery access to a limited number of elevators. Others have loading-dock-level internal distribution centers. What’s your experience with this? Do city codes encourage or speak to loading-dock and internal distribution systems? Curbside delivery zones usually have a 30-minute time limit. Is this adequate? Tell me about enforcement. Do the police enforce the 30-minute limit? 55-70 ZONING ISSUES Newer zoning encourages a mix of uses in compact spatial patterns. Tell me how you deal with or consider the following: • Truck noise (including back-up beeper) at night in mixed-use residential areas • Lighting • Parking requirements • Landscape and street tree requirements • Sign ordinances 70-80 TECHNOLOGY Do you employ: • Advance wireless notice of loading-dock or curbside space? • Hybrid or electric vehicles? 80-90 LIVING WITH OTHER MODES As we’ve discussed, trucks need to operate in congested, mixed-use environments. How does goods movement get along with buses, bikes, pedestrians, service vehicles, and other deliverers? • What about wide sidewalks and skinnier streets? • Corner curb bulbs and tighter turning radii? • All-way cross walks like Pike Pl Mkt and Alaska Jnctn? • Interacting with bicyclists and bike lanes? • Using the middle turn lane on re-striped road-diet arterials? As more people live in urban centers, how can moving vans be best accommodated? Are one- way or two-way streets preferable?