A newly completed project by Transport for NSW, the University of Melbourne, and iMOVE has developed a robust and user-friendly model to help city planners, developers, and transport authorities better assess loading dock needs in new buildings. The report is now available for download.
As cities focus more on livability and placemaking, space for freight and service (F&S) vehicles has become increasingly contested. Without sufficient on-site loading docks, delivery vehicles often resort to curbside parking, worsening congestion and safety risks.
Currently, loading dock capacity has been determined using outdated or overly simplistic planning formulas. This often leads to lengthy negotiations between developers and authorities and compromises that don’t reflect actual freight activity.
The project addressed this gap by developing a data-driven tool that forecasts vehicle arrivals and parking demand based on land use, time of day, and vehicle types. Using data from 17 buildings across various land uses and sizes, the tool combines regression modeling and optimization algorithms to suggest the best mix of loading dock sizes and quantities.
Instead of just stating a required number of docks, the model explains why those docks are needed — based on expected vehicle traffic, dwell times, and usage patterns. It also allows users to run “what-if” scenarios, helping stakeholders understand how different designs would perform in real-world conditions.
The outputs are presented in an interactive dashboard that calculates hourly arrivals, space utilization, and average dwell times. This format makes it easy for stakeholders to visualize and share findings.
The tool is already helping reduce delays in planning approvals by offering a common ground for discussion between developers and authorities. It also opens the door for smarter management of freight arrivals through potential booking systems, improving traffic flow and safety.
In short, the model enhances transparency, speeds up decision-making, and ensures better outcomes for buildings, tenants, and cities. With its practical interface and mathematically sound foundation, this new approach could soon become a standard for planning freight access in urban developments across Australia.
Source: iMove