Better management of commercial vehicles in urban areas can bring many benefits, including reduction of air and noise pollution and an improved traffic level of service. This paper presents a mathematical optimization model for determining the optimal locations of parking stalls (loading and unloading areas) in urban areas subject to physical and operational constraints. The optimization model focuses on single commercial vehicles. The formulated model is nonlinear and can be solved using available commercial software, such as Premium Solver. The model, which is applicable to small-medium size urban areas, was applied to the city of Bologna, Italy. The master plan of the city of Bologna includes innovative aspects related to management of access to traffic zones and proper use of parking spaces through optimization of parking areas. The results of the proposed model were verified using an exhaustive search. The model presented in this paper represents an efficient management tool for freight transportation logistics in urban areas.
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