New Seattle Freight Lab Tackles Urban Delivery Congestion

SEATTLE (AP) — In this city where residents can get practically anything delivered to their doorsteps — often within hours — trucks, bikes, cars and buses regularly jostle for space on Seattle's streets.

On Wednesday, the city of Seattle teamed up with the University of Washington to improve how goods are delivered in the city — solutions they hope can be used in other cities across the country.

Seattle pledged $285,000 over the next three years to the UW's new Urban Freight Lab, which will test more efficient methods to deliver goods that are ordered online and delivered to large residential or retail and commercial buildings. Costco, Nordstrom and UPS are also founding members.

Researchers will examine possible strategies such as centralized drop-off lockers or managing curb space with different pricing or restrictions.