Accelerating growth in the use of curb space has resulted in the demands on curb space to exceed supply. Today, transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft complete more than 4 billion annual trips globally–the bulk of which begin and end on urban curbsides. E-commerce continues to grow, with goods delivery companies making millions of stops on city curbsides daily. Looking ahead to the not-too-distant future, the widespread adoption of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) has the potential to reduce the need for parking, but could also dramatically increase the demand for short term pick-up and drop-off spaces on the curb.
The number of new uses for curb space only continued to grow over the past year as the COVID-19 pandemic changed how we collectively considered the curbside. From pedestrian-only streets, to curbside patios, and an expansion of curbside pickup and dedicated delivery zones, the evolution of curbside demands in just the past year has shown that cities need to be agile in managing how curb space is allocated to meet the needs of residents and local businesses.
What did we learn from all this? That we need great data to manage the curb. Learn what that means for parking and mobility organizations and how to get from here to there in the August issue of Parking & Mobility magazine. It’s a great feature to share with staff and start–or continue–strategizing about your curbside management plans.