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Synopsis

The transportation of goods in towns accounts for a important proportion of road traffic and, therefore, of the total environmental impact. A new project shows that in Aarhus the number of vans and lorries driving around in the city centre far outweighs the volume of goods transported. Whereas an average of 333 lorries drive into five street sections in Aarhus daily, only sixteen lorries would theoretically be needed if they were optimally loaded. The project entitled "Distribution of goods in Aarhus City" was carried out in four phases:

• phase 1 mapped out and analysed goods distribution in selected streets in central Aarhus,
• phase 2 pinpointed primary problems and assessed the various participants' needs, the possibilities and obstacles to efforts to make goods distribution more efficient. This phase provided a basis for the identification of a number of measures to improve efficiency,
• in phase 3, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA) and the Municipality of Aarhus selected three specific solutions, based mainly on one of the analysed streets, namely Ryesgade,
• phase 4 was used to communicate the project results.

The "Distribution of goods in Aarhus City" project proposes three specific solutions for making more rational use of lorry capacity:

1. Establish environmental zones: This proposal recommends establishing an environmental zone where access for vehicles over two tonnes is only allowed if they comply with the Euro 2 standard, have particulate filters, have a permitted total weight of less than 12 tonnes and have at least 60% capacity utilisation. The scheme requires substantial supervision, but a similar scheme in Copenhagen provides useful experience. An environmental zone reduces the number of lorries in the zone, thus fostering a slight improvement in the area of air pollution.
2. Coordinate goods distribution on a voluntary basis: Distributors join forces to initiate shared transportation of goods, most effectively by forming a company for managing the distribution of goods. Shop owners and distributors are part of the company, but not the local authority, since the company is intended to operate under commercial market conditions. The company is established purely as a management company that has no vehicles or terminals of its own, but which buys services from existing companies.
3. Contract out goods distribution: Finally, shop owners can take joint measures to contract out all goods distribution to one private company, which will be responsible for all transportation of goods in a delimited area. Contracting out, however, is only possible if manufacturers and wholesalers agree to have the goods collected at their addresses. The company will therefore assume responsibility for transporting all types of goods in environment-friendly vehicles, while shops must agree to receive goods in larger consignments distributed over fewer deliveries. Of the three proposals, this solution is estimated to have the greatest environmental effect. Project results and proposed solutions will be used as a basis for decisions to be taken on future initiatives in Aarhus City. The most likely solution is to establish some form of environmental zone in selected streets in Aarhus.

Target groups: shopkeepers - all citizens
Fields: goods delivery

This case study is one of 175 projects from the Smile Project Local Experiences Database listed on this website.