Author(s)

W. Debauche

Abstract

The centre of Liège ranks among the most dynamic and attractive city centres of Belgium. Its vast pedestrian precinct and variety of stores make it one of the most popular shopping areas in our country. In order to retain a lively shopping area with high-quality activities and to create an attractive environment for short or longer stays, efficient handling of the massive flows of goods to and from the shops located at the city centre is of paramount importance. However, urban freight transport activities have a major impact on the environment (pollutant and noise emissions, visual pollution, road safety, energy consumption, etc.) and, consequently, on the quality of life in cities. So far, little attention has been paid to the organization of urban freight transport. Freight transport is often forgotten in documents for local town and country planning or for transport planning, particularly in local travel plans (LTP). To bridge this gap, the city of Liège entrusted the engineering firm ISIS with an expert investigation into the logistic activities at the city centre. This investigation was conducted in close cooperation with the Mobility Department of the Belgian Road Research Centre and aimed mainly at a better understanding of local freight transport, especially through: - the definition of a typology of the problems of freight transport, depending on the commercial activities along a specific road or in a specific sector; - the development of a planning procedure for massive goods flows (both supply and collection) in the shopping area. Keywords: case study, urban freight logistic, mobility planning, survey.

Keywords

case study, urban freight logistic, mobility planning, survey.