The parking in loading and unloading zones is a problem for many municipalities with consequences for urban mobility, road safety and the efficiency of transport and distribution services. are a problem for many municipalities with consequences for urban mobility, road safety and the efficiency of transport and distribution services.
Loading and unloading areas are spaces reserved on public roads for transport vehicles to temporarily park and carry out goods distribution operations in a fast and safe manner. They are signposted and regulated by municipal regulations that establish the schedules and different conditions of use.
For example, in Barcelona there are about 10,000 loading and unloading zones and the maximum time of stay is 30 minutes, although zero-emission vehicles can stay up to 60 minutes. In Madrid, on the other hand, the general dwell time is 45 minutes, 67 minutes for ECO vehicles and 90 minutes for zero-emission vehicles.
But these conditions of use are not always respected and this forces many cities to impose sanctions, as in the case of Zaragoza. The Aragonese capital, in a week-long campaign conducted in February 2022, reported nearly 150 vehicles for misuse of loading and unloading zones.reported nearly 150 vehicles for misuse of loading and unloading zones.
Consequences of misuse and improper parking in loading and unloading areas
Loading and unloading zones play an important role in the proper functioning of municipal life. The improper use of these can have negative consequences in different areas:
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Urban logisticsUrban logistics: if private or commercial cars are parked for longer than allowed, delivery drivers are forced to look for other areas and this can delay delivery times of goods.
- Urban mobilityUndue occupation of exclusive loading and unloading spaces can cause delivery vehicles to double park, creating traffic problems.
- Road safetyParking in unsuitable loading and unloading areas puts delivery drivers and even pedestrians at risk if distribution tasks are carried out directly on the sidewalk.
Control of loading and unloading areas to prevent undue parking
The control of loading and unloading areas allows municipalities to ensure compliance with municipal regulations, sanctioning improper uses. To this end, solutions such as Alphanet’s video surveillance system with intelligent analysis, already in use in dozens of municipalities, have been designed to identify the license plates of offending vehicles by means of algorithms for the identification of the license plates. deep learningwhich simplifies and automates the process.
