Tag Archives for: Coord

Coord: Metro Nashville Launches Smart Zone Pilot To Better Manage Curb Space in Downtown

February 01, 2021

Metro Nashville Launches Smart Zone Pilot To Better Manage Curb Space in Downtown

In partnership with curb management platform, Coord, Metro Nashville is piloting an innovative Smart Zone program to streamline curbside loading, reduce congestion, and support local economic activity.

Nashville, TN, February 1, 2021 – Metro Nashville, in partnership with Coord, a leading curb management company, today launched its first-ever Smart Zone program to better manage the city’s curbs. This follows Nashville’s selection by Coord as one of four U.S. cities to participate in the company’s inaugural Digital Curb Challenge to undertake a brand new curb management program.

The demand for curb space for commercial on-demand delivery, e-commerce, and freight continues to grow in cities. Smart Zones, powered by Coord’s technology, enable commercial drivers to use their mobile devices they already use every day to locate, hold, book, and pay for time at nearby, available loading zones. As a result, Smart Zones promote the economic vitality of commercial areas by making it easier for businesses to receive supplies and fulfill customer requests for deliveries, improving the experience for people who visit the area. While offering a more streamlined experience for drivers, Smart Zones can improve mobility for everyone visiting the downtown neighborhood by managing safety and congestion challenges, such as double-parking and blocked pedestrian access.

Known for its vibrant music and entertainment industry, Nashville will use the Smart Zones to provide enhanced efficiency for commercial deliveries that serve businesses in the central business district that cater to locals and tourists alike. The pilot program is part of Metro Nashville’s Transportation Plan to provide a holistic multimodal system that better connects neighborhoods, residents, and businesses to places they need and want to go safely.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said, “I’m pleased Nashville has been selected for a Coord pilot to demonstrate the benefits of digital curbside management as our downtown conditions make for a great fit for this program. It’s also a strong complement to the Metro Nashville Transportation Plan and our Vision Zero effort to significantly increase safety on our roads. Our musicians, performers and hospitality providers need to be able to load in and out safely. Downtown employees and residents must be able to travel smoothly and safely. This is another step in our effort to make transportation safer and easier in Nashville.”

“Public and private partners are currently working together to improve the city’s real and perceived mobility challenges, some of which relate to traffic into, around, or through downtown. With commercial deliveries being a necessary component of the neighborhood that generates 25 percent of Davidson County’s sales tax revenue, we’re optimistic that Smart Zones will make a positive, measurable impact on the downtown experience for businesses, employees, residents and visitors alike,” said Tom Turner, President and CEO of the Nashville Downtown Partnership.

Metro Nashville has deployed eight Smart Zones located in downtown Nashville:

2nd Ave between Broadway and Commerce (NE side)
Church St between 4th Ave and Printer’s Alley (SE side)
Church St between 3rd Ave and Printer’s Alley (SE side)
Union St between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave (S side)
Union St between 4th Ave and Printer’s Alley (S side)
Union St between Rep. John Lewis Way and Arcade Alley (S side)
Rep. John Lewis Way between Union and north of the Arcade (SW side)
Rep. John Lewis Way between Church and south of the Arcade (SW side)

Coord’s Smart Zones will also provide Metro Nashville with information that is essential in empowering the city to make data-driven operational changes. For example, program data can be used to understand when and where loading space is most needed and to help manage demand for it through pricing and time limits. Because Smart Zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, Coord’s platform allows a city to make rules adjustments for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street.

“With restaurants, music and culture, there’s no place in America quite like Downtown Nashville. As the world is discovering what locals have long known, Metro Nashville is putting forth a variety of mobility initiatives to ensure its vibrant downtown is safe, pleasant and easy to access for residents, businesses, and visitors alike,” said Dawn Miller, Coord’s VP of Policy and Partnerships. “Smart Zones and curb management are an important piece of Nashville’s investment in its transportation future. They enable the downtown to optimize curbs to support increasing demand from a variety of users. We are delighted to launch this pilot program and look forward to sharing best practices developed in Nashville with other cities across North America.”

Coord launched their second annual Digital Curb Challenge last month. Applications can be submitted at coord.com/digital-curb-challenge and are open until February 15, 2021.

About Metro Nashville

Metro Nashville, with a population of over 692,000 includes one of the most visited downtowns in America spotlighting a vibrant business, travel and tourism and music industry. With more than 180 recording studios, and 5,000 working musicians, Nashville is clearly “Music City.” Music is the reason that many people come to Nashville, but its two major sports teams, extensive park system, and endless arts and cultural opportunities offer people plenty of reasons to stay; over 16 million out of town visitors came to Nashville in 2019.

About Nashville Downtown Partnership

The Nashville Downtown Partnership is a private sector nonprofit corporation whose core purpose is “to make Downtown Nashville the compelling urban center in the Southeast in which to LIVE, WORK, PLAY and INVEST.” Organized in 1994, the Partnership has transitioned into a downtown leadership organization that focuses on business recruitment and retention, residential and retail development, public space management, access and transportation, communications and marketing.

About Coord

Coord is transforming city streets, starting with the curb. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with technology to digitally operate and price the curb at scale, creating more efficient, safe and equitable streets. Recognized by CNBC Upstart 100 and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design, Coord partners include cities like Seattle, Boston, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nashville, Aspen, Boulder and West Palm Beach. Coord is based in New York City and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban us and DB Digital Ventures. For more information, visit coord.com.

Coord: City of West Palm Beach Makes Rosemary Square Streets More Efficient with New Smart Zone Pilot

January 19, 2021

Coord: City of West Palm Beach Makes Rosemary Square Streets More Efficient with New Smart Zone Pilot

In partnership with curb management platform, Coord, West Palm Beach and Related Companies pilot innovative Smart Zones to improve safety and efficiency of bustling Rosemary Square

West Palm Beach, FL– The City of West Palm Beach and Related Companies, in partnership with Coord, a leading curb management company, today announced the launch of the City’s first-ever Smart Zone pilot program to better manage the city’s curbs. This follows West Palm Beach’s selection by Coord as one of four U.S. cities to participate in the company’s inaugural Digital Curb Challenge to undertake a brand new curb management program.

Smart Zones, powered by Coord’s technology, enable commercial drivers to use the mobile devices they already use every day to locate nearby available loading zones and to hold, book, and pay for time in them. As a result, Smart Zones promote the economic vitality of commercial areas by making it easier for businesses to receive supplies and fulfill customer requests for deliveries, all while improving the experience for people who visit the area. While offering a more streamlined experience for drivers, they can improve mobility for everyone visiting the downtown neighborhood by reducing safety and congestion challenges, such as double-parking and blocked pedestrian access.

In the heart of West Palm Beach, the City will use the Smart Zones to streamline the bustling downtown area’s commercial deliveries that serve the restaurants, retailers, cultural institutions, and other businesses. This pilot program builds upon West Palm Beach’s recent switch to flex zones, rather than metered parking, in Rosemary Square as part of their efforts to modernize their curb management strategy and provide an enjoyable and safe public space for all users.

“As the county seat and region’s economic driver, West Palm Beach is a vibrant, growing city that is committed to utilizing the latest in technology,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “We are pleased to participate in Coord’s new Smart Zones pilot program to help improve the mobility experience for residents, visitors and our business community. This new technology will help make our downtown streets safer for our businesses, residents and drivers and will make visiting Rosemary Square even more enjoyable.”

“Rosemary Square is the cultural, entertainment and shopping crossroads of one of South Florida’s fastest growing commercial centers and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the City to implement innovative new ways to improve accessibility and ease the flow of traffic for our expanding visitor and tenant base,” said Gopal Rajegowda, Partner, Related Southeast. “Coord’s seamless solution for the future of walkable destinations will build on the momentum of the dramatic streetscape improvements we’ve made over the last year, and we are excited to be part of their initial pilot launch,” he adds.

The City of West Palm Beach has deployed seven Smart Zones located in Rosemary Square:

701 S Rosemary Avenue West Side, by Capital One
113 S Rosemary Avenue West Side, by Natuzzi
700 S Rosemary Avenue East Side, by Venture X
137 S Rosemary Avenue West Side, by Casper
699 S Rosemary Avenue West Side, by H&M
590 Hibiscus Street at S Rosemary South Side, by Harriet Himmel Theater
590 Hibiscus Street at S Rosemary North Side, by Brio

Coord’s Smart Zones will also provide the City of West Palm Beach with information that is essential in empowering the city to make data-driven operational changes. For example, program data can be used to understand when and where loading space is most needed and to help manage demand for it through pricing and time limits. Because Smart Zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, Coord’s platform allows a city to make rules adjustments for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street.

“Smart Zones are a valuable tool to help cities improve safety and traffic flow, streamline the experience for commercial drivers, and provide a better experience for everyone doing business in or visiting commercial areas,” said Dawn Miller, Coord’s VP for Policy and Partnerships. “We are thrilled to be working with West Palm Beach and Related Companies on this pilot program and look forward to bringing the insights developed in Rosemary Square to other cities across the country tackling curb management and congestion challenges in their downtowns.”

About City of West Palm Beach

The City of West Palm Beach is in the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida. West Palm Beach is 55 square miles including a downtown intercoastal waterfront. It has a population of 102,000, one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Known for its beautiful beaches and weather year-round, West Palm Beach is proud of its ethnic and cultural diversity, both in the community it serves and in its workplace. The City of West Palm Beach is focused on: the recruitment of new businesses, the retention of local companies, and the expansion of existing industries to increase employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth.

About Related Companies

Related Companies is a global real estate and lifestyle company defined by innovation and the most prominent privately-owned real estate firm in the United States with over $60 billion in assets owned or under development including the 28-acre Hudson Yards neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side, The Grand and Related Santa Clara in California and The 78 in Chicago. Formed over 45 years ago, Related is the largest private owner of affordable housing and a fully-integrated, highly diversified industry leader with experience in virtually every aspect of design, development, acquisitions, management, finance, hospitality, sustainability, and sales. Related’s mixed-use, residential and commercial office properties have been consistently heralded for their placemaking vision – bringing together iconic design, arts and culture, dynamic programming, and innovative wellness programs. Headquartered in New York City, Related has offices and major developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, South Florida, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi and London, and boasts a team of approximately 4,000 professionals. Related was named to Fast Company Magazine’s list 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World. For more information about Related, please visit www.related.com.

About Coord

Leading Curb Management Company, Coord, Launches Second Annual Digital Curb Challenge

January 12, 2021

Leading Curb Management Company, Coord, Launches Second Annual Digital Curb Challenge

Up to three cities or other curb managers across North America will partner with Coord to undertake a free, curb space management pilot as they look to recover and rebuild from the pandemic

NEW YORK— January 12, 2021— Coord, the industry-leading curb management company, today announced the launch of its second annual Digital Curb Challenge: the Bounce Back Better Edition. Starting today, cities and other curb managers, such as universities, airports, private developments, health systems and conference centers, across North America can apply to partner with Coord to undertake a free curb space management pilot program to better manage loading in their cities. Applications can be submitted at coord.com/digital-curb-challenge and are open until February 15, 2021.

Following an unprecedented year, cities and businesses have shown their resilience and creativity, finding new mobility solutions to challenges brought on by the pandemic — from creating more space for delivery and pickup activity to creating new safe spaces for walking, biking, and outdoor recreation and commerce. This diversification of curbside activity comes as delivery activity skyrockets, creating a need to ensure goods loading can still occur safely and efficiently. The Digital Curb Challenge 2021 launches in this unique context, seeking to enable cities and other curb managers to enlist new strategies and technologies that not only help them to recover today, but that also provide a foundation for success for years to come.

With Smart Zones, Coord puts the city at the forefront of curb management programs and empowers them with the tools needed to provide delivery and service vehicle drivers with the information and incentives to load in locations where it is safe and permitted. Today, Smart Zones allow commercial drivers to use a mobile app to see real-time Smart Zone locations and availability. When they’re nearing their destinations, drivers can hold a Smart Zone, paying for space in-app when they arrive. This provides drivers with advanced curb intelligence they can use to navigate directly to available space, reducing illegal parking and circling. Smart Zones improve the coordination, safety and convenience of loading in cities while offering a more streamlined experience for drivers, reducing the incidence of safety and congestion hazards and parking citations.

“During this pandemic, cities have been facing one of their biggest challenges in recent history. As response work continues, today cities are both assessing whether and how to make pandemic response programs permanent and looking for new, innovative mobility programs that can move the needle even when state and local revenues are projected to decline a combined $467 billion across 2020 to 2022,” said Dawn Miller Vice President of Policy & Partnerships at Coord. “Smart Zones to better coordinate commercial loading are very inexpensive to implement, but can improve safety and access for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to local businesses. Because fleets pay to use Smart Zones, they actually generate new avenues for revenue along with mobility benefits. We have already seen successes in cities like Omaha, NE and Aspen, CO following our inaugural Digital Curb Challenge, and we look forward to partnering with new cities as they look to bounce back better.”

Cities or organizations selected for the Digital Curb Challenge will have free access to Coord’s full suite of curb management tools for the duration of the partnership and the opportunity to work closely with Coord experts to develop an effective, scalable pilot program to be deployed in 2021.

In the first Digital Curb Challenge, Coord partnered with Aspen, Nashville, Omaha and West Palm Beach to design and deploy Smart Zone programs to better manage commercial loading in their cities. More than thirty fleets, including a mix of local and regional businesses and national brands such as US Foods, FedEx, Frito Lay, Sysco and UNFI, are already using Smart Zones in these cities. This year, Coord is looking for cities to take Smart Zones to the next level by exploring one or several of these features:

Variable pricing to use different pricing for different times of day or different Smart Zones. This can help manage demand and improve availability for drivers, shifting more loading activity to times when it works well for the neighborhood (e.g., early mornings or overnight) or across more zones.
Exploring greater automation, booking drivers automatically into the best available Smart Zone near their destinations.
Deploying Smart Zones in public spaces beyond the curb, such as alleyways.
Exploring Smart Zones for recurring or predictable uses of public space, such as charter buses, intercity buses, or mobile vending.
Applying Smart Zones in a unique neighborhood, downtown or other commercial setting.
New ideas from cities to address unique and pressing local challenges

“We were very excited when Aspen was chosen to participate in Coord’s first Digital Curb Challenge in 2020. We went live in November of 2020, and I am even more excited now that we are in full swing with the pilot,” said Mitch Osur, Director of Parking and Downtown Service in the City of Aspen. “Working with Coord has been fantastic. Not only are they easy to work with, but the amount of knowledge we have learned from each other has far exceeded my expectations. The data we have collected has been enlightening. A few of the data points are what we expected, but a lot of data is different than what we anticipated. I can see Aspen making a variety of changes based on the data we’ve collected during this pilot, which will make our loading zones work more efficiently and provide a safer environment for Aspen. I look forward to what the future will look like in managing our curb space in Aspen.”

“Nashville partnered with Coord to pilot Smart Zones to increase compliance with loading regulations, improve traffic flow and safety, collect quality data, and ultimately capture the true cost of Metro-provided services and the value of public space,” said Derek Hagerty, Transportation Engineer at Metropolitan Nashville Public Works. “The Coord team has worked hand in hand with us every step of the way – from developing our fee ordinance to designing program details and doing outreach. Even in these challenging times, we’re ready to launch on schedule and can’t wait to see Smart Zones in Nashville.”

“At the City of Omaha’s Parking and Mobility Division we aim to provide a positive experience for downtown visitors by actively managing our curb space,” said Ken Smith, Parking and Mobility Manager at the City of Omaha. “The Digital Curb Challenge was a great framework for developing best practices in collaboration with the other pilot cities and Coord. We are proud to have been the first Smart Zone city and have extended our partnership so we can continue gaining new insights and collecting data to inform our work.”

“West Palm Beach is committed to using data and technology to make our streets safer and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors in our city,” said Uyen Dang, City of West Palm Beach City Traffic Engineer. “Deploying Smart Zones is the key step to ensure flexible curb usage while promoting the City’s mobility goals. The Coord team went above and beyond, working closely with my team and Related Companies to bring a thoughtful, innovative new program to our community.”

For more information on the Digital Curb Challenge, including the simple application form, please visit https://www.coord.com/digital-curb-challenge or contact Coord at challenge@coord.com.

About Coord

Coord is transforming city streets, starting with the curb. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with technology to digitally operate and price the curb at scale, creating more efficient, safe and equitable streets. Recognized by CNBC Upstart 100 and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design, Coord partners include cities like Seattle, Boston, Somerville, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nashville, Aspen, Boulder and West Palm Beach. Coord is based in New York City and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban.us and DB Digital Ventures. For more information, visit coord.com.

Coord: City of Aspen Makes Downtown Streets More Efficient with New Smart Zone Pilot

November 03, 2020

Coord: City of Aspen Makes Downtown Streets More Efficient with New Smart Zone Pilot

In partnership with curb management platform, Coord, Aspen pilots innovative Smart Zones to improve safety and efficiency of bustling downtown area

Aspen, CO – The City of Aspen, in partnership with Coord, a leading curb management company, today announced the launch of its first-ever Smart Zone pilot program to better manage the city’s curbs. This follows Aspen’s selection by Coord as one of four U.S. cities to participate in the company’s inaugural Digital Curb Challenge to undertake a brand new curb management program.

Smart Zones, powered by Coord’s technology, enable commercial drivers to use the mobile devices they already use every day to locate nearby available loading zones and to hold, book, and pay for time in them. As a result, Smart Zones promote the economic vitality of commercial areas by making it easier for businesses to receive supplies and fulfill customer requests for deliveries, all while improving the experience for people who visit the area. While offering a more streamlined experience for drivers, they can improve mobility for everyone visiting the downtown by reducing safety and congestion problems, such as double-parking and blocked pedestrian access.

Best known as a year-round outdoor recreation mecca, the City of Aspen will use the Smart Zones to streamline the bustling downtown area’s commercial deliveries that serve the city’s restaurants, retailers and other businesses. Aspen will be the first city to deploy Smart Zones in alleys, exploring how technology can make these public assets work more efficiently. This pilot program builds upon Aspen’s history of innovation in parking policy and the strong collaboration between city government, local businesses, and other stakeholders.

“The City of Aspen is excited to be partnering with Coord to better understand how our loading zones and Alleys are working today and how to improve them in the future. The goal is to collect data on how the loading zones are being used, how often certain commercial trucks are coming to town, how long their average stay is and are the loading zones in the right locations and the correct sizes,” said Mitch Osur, Director of Parking at the City of Aspen. “We plan to use the data and information collected to make delivering product more efficient and safer for the truckers and the businesses in Aspen.”

The City of Aspen has deployed eight Smart Zones located in Aspen’s Downtown:

100 S. Monarch by Matsuhisa
S. Monarch to S. Mill between White House Tavern & Wells Fargo
S. Mill to S. Galena between Mi Chola & Local’s Corner
300 E. Hynam, S Side by The Wheeler
200 S. Galena by Ute
500 E. Cooper by Boogies
400 S. Galena, E Side by Belly Up
400 S. Original, W Side by City Market

Coord’s Smart Zones will also provide the City of Aspen with information that is essential in empowering the city to make data-driven operational changes. For example, program data can be used to understand when and where loading space is most needed and to help manage demand for it through pricing and time limits. Because Smart Zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, Coord’s platform allows a city to make rules adjustments for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street.

“Smart Zones are a valuable tool to help cities more dynamically manage their curb space, streamline the experience for commercial drivers, and thereby reduce the safety and congestion issues that impact so many downtowns,” said Dawn Miller, Coord’s Head of Policy and Partnerships. “We are thrilled to be working with Aspen on this pilot program and look forward to bringing the insights developed in this bustling city to other cities across the country tackling curb management challenges in their commercial areas.”

About City of Aspen

The City of Aspen is a home rule Colorado municipality governed by five City Council members including the mayor. Aspen sits at 7,980 feet on the Western Slope of Colorado in the Elk Mountains. It has a year-round population of more than 6,500 individuals and attracts visitors from around the world. Known for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities, and progressive thinking, Aspen strives to be an inclusive policymaker that understands the value our natural environment and engaged community offer our political, social and economic lives. The City of Aspen’s strategic focus is on the following areas: economic vitality; fiscal health; smart, customers focused government; protecting our environment; safe lived-in community; and community engagement.

About Coord

Coord is transforming city streets, starting with the curb. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with technology to digitally operate and price the curb at scale, creating more efficient, safe and equitable streets. Recognized by CNBC Upstart 100 and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design, Coord partners include cities like Seattle, Boston, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nashville, Aspen, Boulder and West Palm Beach. Coord is based in New York City and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban.us and DB Digital Ventures. For more information, visit coord.com.

Coord: City of Omaha Launches City’s First-Ever Smart Zones to Better Manage the Curb

September 21, 2020

City of Omaha Launches City’s First-Ever Smart Zones to Better Manage the Curb

In partnership with curb management platform, Coord, Omaha pilots innovative Smart Zones to better coordinate curbside loading, reducing congestion, improving safety and supporting local economic activity

Omaha, NE, September 21, 2020 – The City of Omaha, in partnership with Coord, a leading curb management company, today announced the launch of its first-ever Smart Zone pilot program to better manage the city’s curbs. This builds on Omaha’s effort to develop a robust regional transportation strategy and follows their selection by Coord as one of four U.S. cities to participate in the company’s inaugural Digital Curb Challenge to undertake a brand new curb management program.

Demand for curb space in cities is rapidly changing as on-demand delivery, e-commerce and freight activity continue to grow. Smart Zones, powered by Coord’s technology, can meet cities’ needs by enabling commercial drivers to use the mobile devices they already use every day to locate nearby available loading zones and to hold, book, and pay for time in them. As a result, Smart Zones improve the coordination, safety and convenience of curbside delivery and service vehicle loading in cities. They can also offer a more streamlined experience for drivers, reducing the incidence of safety and congestion hazards, such as double-parking and parking citations.

“Well-managed curb access for service and delivery vehicle drivers makes it easier for businesses to receive supplies and services,” said Ken Smith, Omaha Parking & Mobility Manager. “We are excited to partner with Coord – this new technology will tell us where, when and how loading space is needed. By improving the safety and efficiency of these deliveries we improve the parking experience for everyone in our urban core.”

Park Omaha has deployed five Smart Zones located in Omaha’s busy Downtown and Old Market district:

14th and Capitol, southeast corner
19th and Harney, southwest corner
16th and Harney, northwest corner
West side of 13th, between Farnam and Harney
West side of 10th, between Harney and Howard

Coord’s Smart Zones will also provide Park Omaha with information that is essential in empowering the city to make data-driven operational changes. For example, curb data can be used to create more loading space where it’s most needed or help manage demand for it through pricing and time limits. Because Smart Zone availability, rules and prices are digitally communicated to drivers, Coord’s platform allows a city to make rules adjustments for zones in response to policy changes, special events or emergencies without the hassle and expense of modifying signage on the street. You can learn more about a Smart Zone program in this video.

“Well-managed loading zones can reduce double-parking and other behaviors that create safety hazards and impede traffic flow, making downtowns more convenient, safe and pleasant to visit,” said Dawn Miller, Coord’s Head of Policy and Partnerships. “As cities look for opportunities to support their brick and mortar businesses, they see creating safe, accessible downtowns – accomodating a mix of in-person and delivery/pickup business – as a way they can make a real difference. We are thrilled to launch this program with the Park Omaha team and look forward to tackling these same challenges with cities across North America in the year ahead.”

For more information on Omaha’s Smart Zone pilot, please visit coord.com/omaha-smart-zonesand https://www.parkomaha.com/smart-zones

About Coord

Coord is transforming city streets, starting with the curb. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with technology to digitally operate and price the curb at scale, creating more efficient, safe and equitable streets. Recognized by CNBC Upstart 100 and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design, Coord partners include cities like Seattle, Boston, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Nashville, Aspen, Boulder and West Palm Beach. Coord is based in New York City and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban.us and DB Digital Ventures. For more information, visit coord.com.

About Park Omaha

Park Omaha is the Parking & Mobility Division for the City of Omaha. As a part of the Public Works Department, Park Omaha is tasked with the proactive and efficient management of parking resources and generating enough revenue to support operations, maintenance and improvements while balancing parking supply and demand. The Division also coordinates mobility efforts to ensure easier, more seamless journeys and smoother commerce across a range of local transportation options. Learn more about Omaha’s Parking & Mobility Division at https://www.parkomaha.com/

Leading Curb Management Company, Coord, Launches Digital Curb Challenge Across North America

January 15, 2020

Leading Curb Management Company, Coord, Launches Digital Curb Challenge Across North America

Up to three cities across North America will be selected to partner with Coord to undertake a free, curb space management pilot program in 2020 to create more efficient, safe and accessible streets

NEW YORK— January 15, 2020— Coord, the industry-leading curb management company, today announced the launch of the Digital Curb Challenge. Starting today, cities of all sizes and other curb managers such as airports, entertainment venues and universities across North America can apply to partner with Coord to undertake a curb space management pilot program, free of charge and tailored to their unique mobility challenges. Applications can be submitted at https://www.coord.com/digital-curb-challenge-2020 and are open until February 14, 2020.

With Coord’s comprehensive curb management platform, cities are empowered with the necessary tools to digitally inventory, price, allocate and manage the curb. For example, cities can reduce double parking and congestion by providing fleet drivers with the tools and incentives to park legally through a Smart Loading Zone Program. Created by city planners, Smart Loading Zones enable commercial drivers to locate nearby loading zones, see whether they’re available, and book space in them, all through a City-authorized app. Coord’s platform puts the city at the forefront of curb management programs like this with tools that enable everything from site selection, driver communication, rule enforcement, and program performance.

“We know that to solve some of our most critical transportation challenges, cities must be in the driver’s seat with scalable solutions in hand,” said Stephen Smyth, Co-Founder and CEO of Coord. “With our platform, cities are empowered with just that — a Digital Curb, built with the necessary ground-level insights to improve their streets more seamlessly and effortlessly than ever before. We can’t wait to bring these tools to more cities and expand access to the curb as we kick-off our first-ever Digital Curb Challenge.”

Cities or organizations selected for the Digital Curb Challenge will have free and complete access to Coord’s full suite of curb management solutions for the duration of the partnership and the opportunity to work closely with Coord experts to develop an effective, scalable pilot program to be deployed in 2020.

“As cities are grappling with increasing demand for curb space, the best way to figure out how to respond is to pilot different solutions,” said Beth Osborne, Director for Transportation for America, which is focusing on the curb in its third year of the Smart Cities Collaborative. “Every opportunity to innovate provides valuable information to the city and better use of public assets to the taxpayer. Coord is providing three cities with exactly the help they need.”

“We were delighted when we learned that Transportation for America’s Smart Cities Collaborative would be focusing on curb space pilots this year,” said Dawn Miller, Head of Policy and Partnerships at Coord. “They had tremendous interest from cities, and we created the Digital Curb Challenge to both facilitate more cities launching curb space management pilots in 2020 and to expand this opportunity to other organizations that experience curb space management challenges, such as universities, health systems, transportation hubs and entertainment venues.”

Just as every city is unique in how it approaches curb management, each Digital Curb Challenge pilot program will be tailored to the host’s challenges, resources and interests. Pilot programs may include, for example:

Smart commercial loading zones: reduce congestion and safety hazards caused by double-parking vehicles by creating tech-enabled commercial loading zones, bookable by app for participating fleet drivers
Ride-hail management: reduce congestion and safety hazards caused by ride-hailing congestion by creating passenger loading zones the City can easily manage and evaluate
Demand-responsive pricing: reduce circling for parking while maintaining parking availability by regularly re-pricing metered parking to target one or two available spaces on every block

Since 2016, Coord has been building tools that enable cities to better manage their curbs as new transportation modes continue to change the way people get around. Cities can view and analyze their curb supply and demand data in Coord, allowing them to easily quantify the impact of alternative scenarios and communicate tradeoffs to stakeholders. This data can be supplemented with the Coord Collector mobile app, which leverages augmented reality to collect detailed, precise curb inventory and occupancy data quickly and easily. Mobility companies use the Coord API to ingest comprehensive curb regulation data and incorporate it into their day-to-day operations to improve efficiency, safety and compliance along the curb.

With the help of leading engineering firms and municipalities, Coord now supports 15 cities across North America, including: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and Vancouver.

“Dynamic curb management has quickly become the most important topic in our industry today, with practitioners trying to adapt policy and practice to support ever-changing needs and using all means of data to support those decisions,” said Brett Wood, Parking and Transportation Consultant at Kimley-Horn. “In that arena, I’ve been very impressed with Coord’s approach to curb management, creating data streams and analytical tools that help practitioners better understand how the curb works today and how future changes could impact the overall mobility ecosystem.”

“I’m excited at the opportunity to leverage resources that streamline processes and allow more time to be spent developing solutions that achieve community goals,” saidJane Wilberding, AICP, Senior Transportation and Parking Planner at Sam Schwartz. “Curbside data applications like Coord’s provide policy makers with meaningful insights into the complexities of today’s designations that enable them to make more informed decisions when balancing the amount of space and time allocated to the growing number of users competing for curb space in the future.”

“Curb management is an increasingly critical part of making cities work. The historic lack of tools and data have made it impossible to think intelligently about the curb, much less to allocate and manage it well,” said Rachel Weinberger, Principal Weinberger & Associates and Senior Transportation Fellow at RPA. “The contributions of Coord to enhancing our ability to know what’s happening and figure out what needs to happen are absolutely game changing. I’m excited about the Digital Curb Challenge and psyched to see the creative responses that will pour in.”

“The Neighborhood Empowerment Project and Streetopia UWS at Open Plans are working to inspire local stakeholders to take ownership of and re-imagine their curb space to meet 21st Century demands. The first step is understanding what exists and how it’s used. Coord has been an invaluable partner, providing info on existing rules and regulations and the amount of free parking space in NYC,” said Janet Liff, Director of the Neighborhood Empowerment Project, Open Plans. “We look forward to their new project, getting dynamic information and discovering how the existing rules dovetail with demand. From there, we’ll have a solid springboard for change.”

For more information on the Digital Curb Challenge, please visithttps://www.coord.com/digital-curb-challenge-2020 or contact Coord at challenge@coord.com.

About Coord

Coord helps cities manage their streets, starting with the curb. The company was founded in 2016 with the belief that streets should serve people – not vehicles. Coord is the only comprehensive curb management platform, empowering cities with the necessary tools to digitally inventory, allocate, price and manage the curb. The platform supports over 17,000 curb miles across 15 cities, with the goal of serving over 100 cities across the globe by 2021. Coord is based in New York City, and backed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Alliance Ventures, Trucks, Urban.us and DB Digital Ventures. Learn more at Coord.com

Coord: The Digital Curb debuts in five new cities across North America

October 28, 2019

The Digital Curb debuts in five new cities across North America

We’re five steps closer to supporting over 100 cities across the globe by 2021 as we welcome the curbs of Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and our first Canadian city Vancouver to our platform

This past June, we announced our goal of supporting over 100 cities across the globe by 2021. At the same time, with the help of our engineering firm partners and municipalities, we added support for Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington D.C. to Coord, continuing our mission to help cities manage their streets, starting with the curb.

We are excited to expand access to the curb in five additional North American cities in our Coord Toolkit. This means curb users like mobility and logistics companies can now leverage data and analytics for these cities to optimizing vehicle routing to loading zones, improve safety for their users, reduce parking tickets and tows, and so much more.

Having a digital record of city curbs is crucial for cities — particularly as the ways people and goods get from point A to point B continue to rapidly evolve. Whether it’s new busways, a la New York City, the continued rise in micro-mobility options like scooter or increased packages and on-demand services, curb space is an increasingly scarce resource. So, in order to help cities adopt new curb management practices to better serve current and future needs of their communities, it’s important to start with an accurate record of their curbs today. A historically overlooked piece of infrastructure separating where we work, sleep and play, from how we get deliveries to how we get around by car, bus, or bike — the curb is quickly becoming the gateway to the city.

The Coord Toolkit helps cities digitize, analyze, & reimagine curb use. By being able to integrate curb data alongside parking meter transactions, citation information, permit allocations etc. cities can begin to put together a bigger picture for better planning and communication within their communities. By helping cities share data through our API we also help curb users such as mobility and logistics providers be more efficient, compliant, and safe along the curb. Among a variety of potential uses, this means companies can leverage the curb data for better routing, improving congestion as well as safety for drivers and passengers.

What’s new?

Just a few months ago, we announced support for nine major cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington D.C. Today, five new cities have been mapped for the Digital Curb revolution! We are so excited to welcome the curbs of Boston, Chicago,Atlanta, Denver and Vancouver to the Coord family.

Now let’s dig into these new cities:

In Boston, we partnered with engineering firm Stantec to survey the historic cobblestone ways of the North End and Beacon Hill, to the hustling new streets of Downtown Crossing, Back Bay, and the Financial District. In four days, surveyors tracked 95 miles of Beantown curbs.

In Chicago, we partnered with leading traffic and transportation planning and engineering firm, Sam Schwartz, to survey the most heavily populated neighborhoods of the Windy City. From The Loop, River North, Streeterville, Gold Coast, Magnificent Mile and near West Side, surveyors tracked 122 miles of curbs over just seven days!

In Atlanta, in seven days, surveyors from NDS (National Data and Surveying Services) collected 94 miles of curbs. After this week of surveying, we learned that Downtown Atlanta has a lot of curbs where you can’t park or stop! 38% of the curb space in downtown Atlanta on an average weekday is allocated to no parking, with another 27% allocated to no standing and 10% allocated to no stopping.

In Denver, we worked with IDAX to digitize 90 miles of curbs in six days across the neighborhoods of Highland, LoDo, Ballpark, Five Points, Capitol Hill, and City Park West. The team of 5-6 people collected this data in six days!

In Vancouver, we partnered with AECOM to survey 107 miles of curbs across the city. In Coord’s first-ever Canadian city and large scale survey outside of the U.S., surveyors spent seven days traversing the streets of Gastown, Downtown, Coal Harbour, West End, Mt. Pleasant and Fairview. Interestingly, Vancouver has very minimalist, symbol-based signage, more so than anywhere else we’ve surveyed.

Not only are we expanding geographically; we have also added new product features to help cities better understand curb use. We recently released support for the collection and analysis of curb occupancy and turnover. We are building products to help cities better manage their curbs and help connect curb regulations to the private sector.

Interested in bringing the digital curb to your city?

We are on a mission to help cities manage their streets, starting with the curb. If you work for a city agency, transportation provider, or engineering consulting firm and want to want to learn more about Digital Curb, drop us a line at partners@coord.co to ‘get ahead of the curb.’

Coord expands across North America

June 26, 2019

Coord expands across North America

The company doubles its curb coverage as more cities embrace digital curb management with the goal of supporting over 100 cities across the globe by 2022.

Ride-hail, online shopping deliveries, food delivery services, e-bikes, e-scooters, the pending advent of autonomous vehicles — you name it — we are experiencing an influx of innovative mobility options where our streets are continuously filled with new ways for people and goods to move around our cities. With more innovation, however, comes more demand for curb space both in scope and scale. Companies like Lyft, Bird and Amazon, have all changed the way we use our curbs, no longer making it just a place to leave our car as we run errands. Instead, the curb has become a prime piece of real estate for residents, businesses and public services alike.

Yet, as the demand for curb space increases, so too does the need to digitize the curb to ensure that city streets are more productive starting with the curb.

With more vehicles vying to enter the transportation ecosystem, we’re seeing crowding streets, increased traffic, more vehicle emissions and longer commutes. By embracing the digital curb, cities can help reduce congestion and improve land use on the street level with better informed policy changes, regulation, and compliance along the curb. By leveraging curb data and supporting new mobility options into existing transit systems, cities can identify new avenues for revenue as transportation methods evolve―such as variable pricing, scooter or bike parking, or even minute-by-minute parking for ride-hail or loading zones.

The digital curb provides the opportunity to improve constituent satisfaction by creating curbsides that are more predictable for users, dynamic in their functions, and more productive by serving more people. With the support of our engineering firm partners and municipalities, Coord is happy to announce that we have added five new cities to our platform, made available through the Coord API and Coord Toolkit: Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington DC.

Welcome to the Curb Life

Until recently, most city planners and officials have only had classic surveying wheels, manual labor and dated binders full of miles of curb information to help inform their planning. While less costly than traditional surveys, GPS and vehicle-based camera systems couldn’t capture the level of detail required to accurately create the digital curb. We changed the game by finding a balance between speed and accuracy with our Surveyor app, which is included in the Coord Toolkit, designed for cities to innovate their curb management. By leveraging augmented reality, Coord users can quickly and easily collect assets along the curb to produce a detailed and accurate map of the underlying curb rules and regulations.

The initial cities included in the Coord API were San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle. Now, we are quickly expanding across North America by adding five new major cities to our API―tracking to our goal of supporting over 100 cities across the globe by 2022.

Here’s a deeper look:

In Austin, we partnered early on with engineering firm Kimley-Horn to survey Downtown Austin, the Seaholm District, Rainey Street, parts of East Cesar Chavez and Holly. There are 79 curb miles in the Coord API, but field collectors walked a total of 214 curb miles to make that happen (all surveys are double coverage for data accuracy) and collected 10,000+ assets along the way . Read more about the survey experience in Kenny’s Curb Diaries highlighting the uniqueness that Austin brings.

In Miami & Miami Beach, Kimley-Horn rose to the occasion for our biggest survey of the lot, a total of 161 curb miles! They covered the areas of Wynwood, Brickell, Downtown Miami, South Beach, Lummus, Flamingo, and Miami Beach’s City Center. The field collectors managed to capture over 14,000 assets across the colorful streets of Miami.

In Philadelphia, field collectors from AECOM walked the streets of Center City, Rittenhouse Square, South Street, Logan Square and University City to capture over 100 miles of curb in 7 days. This team of five collectors walked 245 curb miles (again, double coverage for data accuracy) to capture over 17,000 curb assets in the home of the Liberty Bell.

In San Diego, Coord was selected by the City of San Diego through a competitive process to participate in the 2019 Startup in Residence (STIR) program. We collaborated with Kimley-Horn to capture nearly 90 miles of curbs and approximately 19,000 curb assets across Cortez Hill, Downtown San Diego, East Village, Gaslamp, Little Italy and the Marina. Not to mention, the team of four field collectors did this in just seven days.

In Washington D.C, we worked with Walker Consultants to capture the data in tourist-heavy spots like the National Mall and Dupont Circle. We also captured data for Downtown D.C., Logan Circle, the Navy Yard, Penn Quarter, U Street and The Wharf. The team of field collectors walked over 270 miles across these neighborhoods, surveying 96 miles of curb and capturing approximately 20,000 curb assets.

Over the course of a few weeks, Coord and our partners managed to cover a lot of ground: over 500 miles of curbs and 80K curb assets were surveyed across Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington D.C. If you’d like to see the results of these surveys visualized, you can explore the data in Curb Explorer on our website.

Today, all of this information is accessible to Coord subscribers through the Coord Toolkit or the Coord API. Our partners, who managed the respective data collections, have released a subset of asset data for each of the cities into Open Curbs for non-commercial use by researchers, local agencies, mobility companies or anyone else in the community.

The areas include:

Austin: East 6th Street entertainment district
Miami: Wynwood
Philadelphia: Rittenhouse Square
San Diego: Little Italy
Washington D.C.: U Street Corridor

Want to be next? Bring the digital curb to your city

We’re on a mission to make cities more livable for everyone by making streets more productive, starting with the curb. If you are a city agency or transportation provider and want to bring the digital curb to your city or just let us know what you think, drop us a line at partners@coord.co to ‘get ahead of the curb’.

Coord – Curb Analytics: A new way to see your city’s curbs

May 15, 2019

Curb Analytics: A new way to see your city’s curbs

Coord announces Curb Analytics, the first-ever data tool designed specifically for curbs, that presents asset data and regulations in a highly visual and adaptable way, making it easier for city agencies, engineering firms and urban planners to see the effect curbs have on their city’s mobility.

Introducing Curb Analytics

At Coord, our goal is to get accurate curb data into the hands of everyone who needs it, so that we can make urban mobility more efficient, seamless and accessible. So far, we’ve released the Curbs API to let people integrate curb regulations directly into apps and other software systems, as well as our Surveyor tool for collecting curb asset data. But we realized that there was a piece missing: many people who work with curbs, from city staffers to transportation planners to parking consultants, need tools to help them easily view and understand our data without having to resort to complicated and technical GIS software.

To address this need, we’ve built Curb Analytics, a brand new tool that works with Surveyor and our API, giving users a simple way to view, analyze and interpret curb features and regulations, exactly as they are in each metro area. Curb Analytics presents both curb assetsand curb regulations through an interactive map, along with tools to help analyze the data and make more informed decisions and recommendations.

How does it work?

The first step in using Curb Analytics is getting the data to analyze. Coord has already collected data in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with more cities coming very soon. Users can also collect curb data through Surveyor, or we can help you to integrate existing curb data into our platform.

Once the data is inside Coord’s system, we run it through our rules engine to figure out what all of the different curb information means for people who want to park, pick up or drop off passengers, or load and unload goods. Then, we present this data in two different map views. Both of these map views let you see curb data in detail as well as get aggregate statistics about the curbs in a particular area or across the whole city.

First, there’s the Asset map. We built this to help cities better manage the physical assets themselves that live on the curb. It gives users a direct visualization of curb asset inventory, like curb paint, parking spaces, fire hydrants and more. Using this data, you can answer questions like:

How many feet of curb are painted red in a downtown area?
Which streets in a given neighborhood are missing street cleaning signs?
Which intersections have accessible tactile curb ramps?

The Regulations map, on the other hand, tells you the exact rules of the curb. This includeswhat uses curb space is designated for (like parking, loading, or street cleaning); who is allowed to use the space (like motorcyclists, trucks, or handicap placard holders); how muchyou have to pay to park in a given parking spot; and how long you’re allowed to stay there. We know how these rules vary by day of the week and by time of day, so you’ll get the right rules even in the most complicated situations. The regulations map helps answer questions like:

How many spaces are reserved for truck loading and unloading in the mornings?
How many designated accessible parking spaces are there in a particular commercial area?
Which neighborhoods have the most taxi stands?
Where are all of the 30-minute parking spots in the city?

Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, Curb Analytics makes it easy to export the data so you can share and analyze it further. Not only can you export into a GeoJSON file or a Shapefile for use in GIS software, you can also export as PDF, complete with beautiful charts, making presentations a snap!

Who is Curb Analytics for?

Everyone! We designed Curb Analytics so that anyone in your organization can get the curb data they need, regardless of whether or not you know how to use GIS software. But because our data exports seamlessly in industry-standard formats, Curb Analytics works well with GIS tools, too. If you want to do any of the following, Curb Analytics is for you:

Deliver impressive presentations about a city’s parking supply and needs;
Understand the allocation of curb space in your city, and compare it with other transportation data to suggest changes to how the city allocates this space;
Figure out the parking impacts of new curb infrastructure, like bike lanes, scooter parking, or pick-up/drop-off zones, and find ways to mitigate the effects on existing curb users;
Create compelling proposals and bids for parking studies or larger transportation projects that involve curbside management, without doing any advance data collection.

We’re excited to get curb data into more hands. Please get in touch to ask questions, suggest an idea or report a problem with our platform by emailing us at info@coord.co.

Coord, UPS: It’s Time to Step Up our Curbs

April 15, 2019

It’s Time to Step Up our Curbs

By Thomas Madrecki, Director of Urban Innovation and Mobility UPS

When it comes to designing safer, less congested and more livable streets, there are two experiences I wish I could share with any transportation planner, engineering consultant or local leader:

First, what it’s like to be a cyclist and a pedestrian – in their city, and then in Copenhagen.

And second, what it’s like to deliver for a company like UPS.

In both cases, I think that experience would make a deep impression. As a cyclist myself, I frequently remark that viewing the transportation environment as a cyclist distinctly changes your point of view on things. It’s a shift in perspective that forces you to confront what works and what doesn’t – sometimes even to the point of peril / potential harm as you navigate from Point A to Point B.

Delivering for UPS or other logistics companies would have the same kind of impact. Funnily enough, I’ve done that too, because everyone at UPS Public Affairs has to drive a truck at some point in their career. But for me, as transportation policy advocate and curb management wonk (how many of us are there?), it also brought many issues into immediate clarity.

As a UPS driver, your job is to deliver the packages on your truck to their intended recipients. Sure, there are other aspects and nuances as a service provider, but really, it’s straightforward. You start with a full truck each morning and you don’t go home until the truck is empty.

Just like cyclists and pedestrians, UPS drivers notice things, too. Generally speaking, you drive in the same neighborhood every day, and you start to know the roads, buildings and people like the back of your hand. You need to, because time is of the essence.

What do you know about roads, buildings and people?

You know that there’s limited parking, everywhere you go – and that frequently, because of e-commerce, you’re not just going to places with clearly marked loading zones.

You know that what you do inside a building has a distinct impact on how long that delivery takes – which in turn means how long your truck is parked outside.

And you know that 1) People order all sorts of crazy things – in increasing quantities and that 2) You need to take every precaution to stay safe.

I mention these three insights because although they might seem like common sense to anyone who has driven a commercial vehicle, they often aren’t present in how transportation planning professionals think about street design and curbside regulation.

To their credit, this is partially a new development, accelerated by e-commerce growth and the rapid rise of home delivery expectations. More packages than ever before need to be delivered, and those packages are less consolidated to single addresses than ever before, too. And because of demand, there are also more trucks on the road, competing for the same limited pool of legal parking spots.

Put differently, demand for curbside space is changing at an unprecedented clip. E-commerce is not that different than the rise in transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft; both trends create a curb demand that’s radically different than a personal vehicle parking space.

If that’s the case, anyone who wants to limit double parking, lane blockages, parking in the bike lane, and other less-than-desirable behaviors would do well to revisit the curb and understand how it disproportionately impacts the transportation network. If we solve curb issues, we start to solve congestion and quality of life issues.

One groundbreaking idea in this regard is the concept of a “flex zone.” Basically, you’d take away a bunch of personal vehicle parking spots and replace them with a curbside that can be occupied on a rotating, potentially regulated / managed basis. Washington DC DOT recently conducted a similar curb management pilot for late-night passenger pick-up and drop-off in a popular bar and entertainment neighborhood, and the results have been promising.

In a flex zone, transportation network companies, e-commerce delivery, food and beverage distribution, plumbing and electrical repair services and more all make the cut – and the idea is you can keep traffic moving and better provide for necessary curbside demands. At the same time, cities could make strides toward greater inclusion of active and shared mobility streams at the curb and sidewalk level, incorporating design and regulatory changes to facilitate bike-share, scooters, and whatever’s next – including eventual autonomous vehicle pick-up and drop-off.

Other solutions may be less progressive, but similarly impactful. Consider:

Many municipalities drop requirements for off-street or curbside loading areas due to pressure from the development community seeking exemptions to existing ordinances

Only a small handful of American cities still have a functioning network of alleys, which further support off-street loading and unloading.

How and why loading zones are allocated varies by city – in Chicago, for example, they were historically requested by a local business nearby. But wouldn’t it make more sense for loading zones to be allocated based on actual demand?

In Washington DC, a curb study found that the District possesses 1 loading zone for every 520 personal vehicle spots. Do our curbs reflect our cities’ stated transportation priorities? We need to raise the profile of other uses – for 1) shared mobility; 2) urban goods movement; and 3) ensuring the safety of all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

Let’s talk enforcement – and right away, I’ll admit that UPS pays its fair share in parking tickets. But if actual behavior change is desired, and not just an ongoing municipal revenue stream, then enforcement needs to be consistent, equitable and robust. This was an issue with New York’s “Clear Curbs” pilot launched early last year. The intention to limit curb use on congested avenues maybe made theoretically, but if only a single United States Postal Service truck parks at the curb regardless – and can’t be ticketed or towed – then you still have an entire lane blocked to traffic.

For its part, UPS is also looking for ways to collaborate with cities and local leaders on how to better manage curbside issues and limit congestion and our environmental impact as the number of e-commerce deliveries rise. That’s why we’ve launched more than 30 cycle logistic pilot projects all around the world, using our innovative e-assist cargo bikes to deliver in the last mile (link).

We’ve also explored data-sharing partnerships through academic institutions (link) and innovation incubators (link) to help better understand what drives congestion and how to best address that challenge. And far away from the latest techno-wizardry, UPS has long been a proponent of good old-fashioned driver safety (link), a commitment that’s a fundamental part of our DNA and also reflected in initiatives like the UPS Road Code (link) and The Global Road Safety Initiative (link).

Critically, it’s important to understand that there’s no silver bullet solution to curbside management or congestion issues, apart from continued collaboration. And as last-mile delivery solutions change – from e-cargo bikes to robot dogs (link) to the cutest burrito burro you’ve ever seen (link), that level of collaboration will need to be even greater, because each solution requires new considerations about land use, right of way, staging areas, and generally how things are signed, coded and regulated.

Managing the curb probably isn’t the sexiest transportation topic on the planet, but its ripple effect on other aspects of how people and goods get around is enormous. Cities are at the cusp of a whole-scale mobility revolution, with e-commerce and transportation network companies as just the tip of the iceberg. Working together to deliver better curb solutions is the first step in improving quality of life in the places we call home.