Port Buffer Areas to address port–city congestion: stakeholder perceptions from the Genoa port system

Port congestion and its external impacts on urban areas have intensified the search for land-side measures capable of regulating truck access to terminal gates without expanding port infrastructure. Among these measures, Port Buffer Areas (PBAs) have emerged as near-port facilities designed to temporarily accommodate trucks, smooth arrival peaks, and reduce spillover congestion. Despite increasing diffusion, empirical evidence on how PBAs are perceived by logistics operators and whether they respond to actual operational needs remains limited. This paper investigates the role of PBAs within the port–hinterland system of Genoa (Italy), focusing on stakeholder perceptions and governance implications. A mixed survey-based approach combines revealed operational characteristics with stated assessments collected from 339 land-side logistics operators, including freight forwarders, transport operators, and terminal-related service providers. The findings show that PBAs are mainly perceived as strategic instruments for managing congestion events, rather than as fully integrated components of routine logistics operations. While operators recognise the potential of PBAs to support gate-access coordination, their practical value is shaped by the way they are configured and integrated into terminal access systems. PBAs are not viewed as substitutes for inland logistics hubs or customs facilities, but rather as tactical buffering infrastructures whose perceived operational value and eventual effectiveness depend on regulatory clarity, spatial positioning, and integration with terminal access systems. By providing empirical evidence on stakeholder acceptance and governance dynamics, the study contributes to the literature on land-side congestion mitigation and port–city interface management, offering insights for port authorities and local governments to deploy PBAs as adaptive traffic coordination tools.