Commercial Loading Modernization Project - Stage Two
Updated: November 2026
What's Happening Now?
SDOT Kicks Off Stage Two!
The Seattle Commercial Loading Modernization Project is advancing work to provide reliable, modernized access for commercial delivery vehicles at the curb using a collaborative, data-driven approach.
We are applying what we learned from Stage One and are beginning work in Stage Two, starting in the University District neighborhood.
Project Overview
In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded SDOT and the City of Minneapolis a $15 million grant to advance our Stage One work into Stage Two. Project work began in the Spring of 2026. Read more about Stage Two of the project and how it will benefit both Seattle and Minneapolis in Parking Today’s article: Minneapolis, Seattle Receive Stage 2 SMART Grant for Curb Management.
The Stage Two project is guided by three main goals:
- Understand commercial vehicle curb access through robust data collection and engaging with local businesses and urban freight companies to improve neighborhood loading
- Improve curb access through vehicle-to-curb technology and digital curb measurement tools
- Modernize Seattle’s Commercial Vehicle Permit Program through a data-driven approach
Project Area
The Stage Two project focuses on five neighborhood business districts. Each has distinct characteristics with unique commercial curb access needs. The neighborhoods are Capitol Hill/Pike-Pine, Chinatown/International District, Columbia City, Pioneer Square, and University District.
Neighborhood Urban Freight Curb Plans
In each neighborhood, SDOT will collect baseline data such as commercial loading activity, engage with local businesses and produce a loading plan specific to each neighborhood’s needs. The plans will be focused on managing curb space at the neighborhood level to support safe, efficient, and reliable freight, delivery, and service vehicle activity while balancing the needs of all curb users.
The plans will identify key issues and opportunities related to commercial delivery and urban freight by analyzing data, maps, and stakeholder input.
Example of proposed plan process:
- Study curb loading activity
- Collect general feedback on the project and community needs and priorities
- Share recommended curb changes with the community for feedback
- Update the plan based off community feedback
- Share the plan and information about upcoming curb loading changes
Learn more about each neighborhood below.
The University District, bordering the University of Washington campus, is a lively and eclectic neighborhood defined by unique blend of academic energy, shops, and diverse eateries. Its streets are lined with restaurants, cafés, bookstores, and locally owned shops that cater to students, visitors, and long-time residents alike. Its nightlife activities include local theaters, comedy clubs, bars and pubs.
We anticipate work to begin in Fall 2026.
Capitol Hill is one of Seattle’s most energetic and distinctive neighborhoods, known for its vibrant nightlife, dense urban character, and an ever‑evolving mix of restaurants, cafés, bars, and independent shops.
We anticipate work to start in Spring 2027.
Chinatown/International District (CID) stands at the heart of Seattle’s Asian American community and remains one of its most vibrant, well‑traveled neighborhoods. The area buzzes with energy, home to a mix of locally owned restaurants, late‑night spots, specialty retailers, and bustling wholesale markets. Its proximity to the Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park also makes the CID a natural gathering place for major events, including the celebrations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
We anticipate work to start in Late Summer 2027.
Pioneer Square is the oldest and one of the most distinctive neighborhoods in Seattle. Nestled between downtown and the sport stadiums, this neighborhood offers a variety of activities throughout the day. It is home to a mix of art galleries, independent boutiques, design studios, cocktail lounges, and long‑established cafés and pubs. Its lively entertainment scene ranges from underground tours and to live music venues, comedy clubs, and sports‑night energy spilling over from nearby stadiums.
We anticipate work to start in Spring 2028.
Columbia City is a lively, creative neighborhood in South Seattle, known for its rich diversity and strong artistic character. Its commercial core brings together an array of restaurants, bars, boutiques, and performance venues, all set within one of the most culturally varied communities in the City.
We anticipate work to start in Late Summer 2028.
Curb Data Management System
A lot is happening at Seattle’s curb — parking, loading and unloading deliveries, bus stops, bike and scooter parking, passenger pick‑up and drop‑off, and more. A curb data management system is a digital toolset that will help us manage all these uses in one place.
Digital Curb Inventory and Web Map
The digital inventory is a critical piece of this system. It can show users where they can and can’t park and can provide details on parking regulations such as how the regulations may change depending on the time of day.
In Stage One, we worked with a curb data solutions company to help standardize SDOT’s curb regulations data into the Curb Data Specification (CDS) format and created a web map to easily display the information. In Stage Two, we will continue to standardize our data with the goal of making it more aligned to modern data management systems.
Application Programming Interfaces
APIs (short for Application Programming Interfaces) are tools that let different computer systems talk to each other. For our project, they will make it easy for SDOT to share our curb regulations with other systems — like parking apps, navigation apps, delivery companies, transit agencies, and public users.
In Stage One, an API was created to share SDOT’s curb data in CDS format specifically for computer programs to access through the API. In Stage Two we will continue to learn and build out this API to include more of the City’s curb data regulations.
To learn more, please head over to the SMART Project maps and data page.
Project Schedule
The project has a 3-year timeline. Work started in Spring 2026, and we anticipate completion in Winter 2028.
Project Funding
This project is funded by the United States Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. The program was established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
To learn more about the SMART grants program: SMART Grants Program | US Department of Transportation.
Project Partners
City of Minneapolis
The City of Minneapolis is the lead recipient for the USDOT grant. Minneapolis is working to deploy a wide variety of curbside technologies to address challenges involving curb availability, freight access, and traffic safety while desiring to continuously build upon a strong foundation of data-driven decision making by leveraging the curb and mobility data specifications stewarded by the Open Mobility Foundation.
Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington
The University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab (UFL)brings together private industry, academic researchers, and public transportation agencies to solve urban freight management problems that overlap private and public spaces and have wide-ranging benefits. Their work integrates in-depth consultation with industry and the public sector, transformative research, and executive education, and serves the powerful nexus of industry, transportation infrastructure, and policymakers to deliver cutting-edge research.
For Stage Two, SDOT will continue to partner with UFL to further develop and build out their Stage One recommendations into scalable actions, continue to build relationships with freight operators in Seattle, and assist in policy recommendations for the commercial load permit program. UFL recently published a paper on their research produced in Stage One. Read about it here.
Open Mobility Foundation
The Open Mobility Foundation (OMF) is an open-source foundation that creates a governance structure around open-source mobility tools. By creating an open-source foundation, OMF offers a safe, efficient environment for stakeholders including municipalities, companies, technical, privacy, and policy experts, and the public to shape urban mobility management tools that help public agencies accomplish their mobility policy goals.
The OMF stewards the development and governance of the Curb Data Specification (CDS). CDS is a digital tool that allows cities to digitally represent their curb space, communicate with curb users in different ways, and use metrics to improve those curbs. CDS is used extensively in the SMART Project.
For more information on CDS, visit their webpage.
SMART Curb Collaborative
The SMART Curb Collaborative is a peer learning cohort for cities and public agencies who are transforming their relationship to the curb. This collaborative is committed to tackling a common problem with similar technologies – specifically to digitally gather and analyze curb information to reduce congestion, enhance livability, and improve safety and equity on city streets.
For more information on the Smart Curb Collaborative, visit their webpage.