Creating a Regulatory Guide for Bike Delivery Spaces: Transforming Urban Logistics in Montreal

Challenge

How might we help Montreal's 19 boroughs update their respective planning schemes to facilitate the implementation of bike delivery spaces?

Scope

Analysed current regulatory barriers, conducted case studies, and reviewed literature to develop strategies for integrating mini-hubs, pick-up counters, and micro-hubs into Montreal's urban planning framework.

Outcome

A comprehensive guide that has led most Montreal boroughs to modify their planning regulations to authorize bike delivery spaces.

Team

Benjamin Leclair-Paquet, Ophélie Chabant, Benoit Eurieult, Rene Hubert

OVERVIEW

In 2022, while working as a Project Manager in Planning and Urban Design at Lemay, I led a transformative project for the City of Montreal aimed at integrating urban delivery spaces, commonly known as mini-hubs. This initiative sought to address the rising demand for sustainable urban logistics driven by increasing e-commerce activities.

Initially, the mandate focused on the regulatory integration of mini-hubs. However, through comprehensive case study analyses and literature reviews, the project scope expanded to include strategies for implementing mini-hubs, pick-up counters and refilling stations for bicycle and EV delivery. This adjustment was crucial for optimizing system efficiency and promoting adoption.

TRADITIONAL VS PROPOSED DELIVERY NETWORK

Difference Between Traditional Delivery Network and Proposed Network The traditional urban delivery network relies heavily on large delivery vehicles that make long trips from peri-urban sorting centers to delivery zones. These vehicles often face challenges such as difficult parking, high operational costs, road congestion, and increased emissions. The system is also plagued by frequent delivery failures and parcel theft due to the lack of secure, convenient pick-up locations.

In contrast, the proposed network introduces strategically located mini-hubs, pick-up counters, and micro-hubs within central neighborhoods. This approach optimizes the last-mile delivery by utilizing smaller, more efficient vehicles such as cargo bikes and electric service vehicles (EVs). By consolidating deliveries into fewer, more efficient trips from mini-hubs to final recipients, the network reduces the number of heavy trucks on urban roads, minimizes congestion, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and enhances overall delivery efficiency. This sustainable model addresses the pressing urban, economic, and environmental challenges posed by the traditional delivery network.

NEW TYPOLOGIES

Mini-Hubs

These neighborhood drop-off points act as intermediaries between suburban sorting centers and final recipients. Deliveries from sorting centers are consolidated into fewer truck trips to the mini-hub, where they are then distributed by smaller, more urban-friendly vehicles like cargo bikes and electric service vehicles.

Pick-up points

These are establishments offering parcel pick-up points without door-to-door delivery services. They include storage spaces for up to 30 days and customer counters. Located near commercial arteries, these hubs reduce last-mile delivery costs and minimize parcel theft and delivery failures.

Refilling stations

These hubs serve as intermediate points along delivery routes, allowing cargo bike or electric service vehicle couriers to collect additional parcels without returning to the mini-hub. They enhance delivery efficiency and reduce the frequency of return trips, thereby supporting a more sustainable logistics framework.

OUTCOMES The project's outcomes were encapsulated in two key documents: a comprehensive study report and a regulatory proposal guide. The study report detailed the urban logistics challenges faced by cities today, best practices from various case studies, and a thorough analysis of Montreal's regulatory context. The regulatory proposal guide provided public decision-makers with strategies to modify urban planning bylaws, enabling the deployment of spaces designed for sustainable urban delivery.

As a result of this initiative, most boroughs in the City of Montreal have since modified their planning bylaws to authorize the integration of these mini-hubs, micro-hubs and refilling stations.