A team of researchers from the Universidad de la República Montevideo, Uruguay, addresses the problem of determining the optimal number and location of slots within the urban parking space reserved to perform delivery operations and/or pick-up of goods to/from a set of given clients.
In their study, they propose and evaluate an extended mathematical optimization model for the problem of locating L/U bays, taking into account not only the total distance and demand to be covered but also considering constraints on the maximum distance between clients and bays and minimum parking time for the loading and unloading tasks.
They extend an existing mixed integer-linear programming model for the location of slots and demand assignment by adding constraints that allow control of both the distance between clients and slots and the splitting of required parking time for each client. Finally, they apply and compare both models using a case study related to the central business district of a medium-sized city.