(MINNEAPOLIS & SEATTLE) - The Cities of Minneapolis and Seattle have been jointly awarded $14.8 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. This new Stage 2 funding builds on the initial $2m investment each City received under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2023. The landmark federal legislation is designed to enhance transportation systems using technology to improve safety, efficiency, and innovation/
The two cities are collaborating to address growing challenges that many cities face in managing limited curb space in increasingly busy urban business districts.
"Minneapolis is excited to partner with Seattle on this important initiative to better manage the demands on our limited curb space,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “This federal funding will help us create practical, data-driven solutions that improve safety, enhance access for deliveries, and support our local businesses. Thanks to the Biden Administration and the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, cities like ours are continuing to build a stronger multi-modal transportation system.”
Demand for curb space is growing in our cities as more people live, shop, dine, go out for entertainment, and start small businesses. E-commerce, micromobility, and food delivery continue to surge. Local businesses receive frequent deliveries and send out products for distribution. All these uses create competing demands on the curb, travel lanes, and sidewalks, potentially leading to blocking and safety issues. Curb spaces are complicated, dynamic and require real-time flexible solutions. When delivery drivers cannot find available load zones, it can delay deliveries and create adverse outcomes for the financial well-being of small businesses, the urban economy, and overall city health.
“Curb space is a limited resource and, when effectively managed, it can promote economic activity, support multimodal transportation, facilitate access for freight and deliveries, and improve overall safety and mobility,” said Tim Sexton, Director of Minneapolis Public Works. “We’re grateful to receive the SMART Stage 2 grant that will support these outcomes and excited to have a partner in Seattle that shares our goals and innovation mindset.”
The data collected from both cities in Stage 1 found significant non-compliance with curb regulations, showing the need to update permit eligibility, pricing, and signage policies to improve curb performance. Stage 2 will focus on finding solutions to enhance safety, access, and the efficiency of moving people and goods within these constrained spaces.
“This new funding is great news for Seattle and allows our team to continue its innovative work to make the most out of our limited curb space for goods deliveries, commercial loading, and more,” said Greg Spotts, Director, Seattle Department of Transportation. “We’re thrilled that the USDOT has selected us in partnership with the City of Minneapolis. We’ll continue to collaborate with our local partners and the freight and business communities to implement positive, data-driven solutions at the curb.”
Through Stage 2, both cities will scale the following operational strategies for better curb access and improved digital management, which can be achieved best through this ongoing partnership between the two cities.
- Improve commercial load zone compliance with well researched policy, new technology, and more signage. In Stage 1, vehicle detection sensors have continuously measured curb usage to help freight carriers understand when and where to find load zones, and Minneapolis and Seattle plan to look at expanding outreach to other business districts for curb management planning discussions and how technology can improve delivery efficiencies.
- Build internal city curb data management platforms that hold updated curb asset inventories, usage data and house interactive tools that support our two cities making more informed curb and transportation decisions. We also see interest from freight carriers and other logistics companies in using curb data in the nationally accepted curb data specification standards to save on costs and pollution from delays with deliveries.
- Leverage our cities’ collective power to engage with freight carriers and urban logistics companies to develop usable curb data tools that work for drivers and lead to win wins for business districts, cities and these companies.
Despite climate, demographics, and topography differences, the two cities joined together on applying for Stage 2 SMART grants because we discovered similar curb challenges and needs through the Open Mobility Foundation's SMART Curb Collaborative of SMART grant awarded cities. Our hope is that our continued collaboration will provide inspiration and lessons to cities of various sizes and climates on using technology and data to improve curb access.