Loading/unloading lay-by areas location and sizing: a mixed analytic-Monte Carlo simulation approach

What is it about?

The already significant volume of freight vehicles moving within city limits is steadily growing and is expected to continue increasing at an even faster rate. Many European cities, however, have historical urban heritages and constraints that make them a logistics nightmare, where traffic congestion can result from improperly parked vehicles. In this paper, we focus on the location and sizing of commercial parking lay-bys in urban centres, where it is possible to park for a limited amount of time to perform loading/unloading operations and deliveries. The problem has been formulated and addressed concerning a central district in the city of Bergamo, with a strong commercial presence, and characterised by significant problems of traffic congestion. We present a mixed analytic-Monte Carlo simulation approach to find an optimal distribution and relative sizes of the lay-by areas according to the demand and location of the business activities.

Featured Image

Photo by Andrew Kambel on Unsplash

Photo by Andrew Kambel on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The location and management of commercial lay-bys within the city aim at achieving two different goals: i) economic efficiency in the delivery of goods, and ii) enhanced social welfare achieved by reducing the hindrance to the traffic flow caused by irregular parking practices.