State DOTs Urged to Study Parking Habits at Truck Stops
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — State transportation officials need to continue to survey truck stop facilities to determine ways parking for trucks may be augmented nationwide, a senior federal highway official said at a trucking conference here March 31.
While many officials acknowledge the shortage of parking for trucks along freight corridors, not enough attention is paid to truly resolving the issue, said Tom Kearney, freight operations program manager at the Federal Highway Administration. He spoke on a panel with industry experts at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
“This is important stuff,” Kearney said. “All you got to do is hire some summer interns to get out there with flipboards to get a handle on what’s going on.”
Trucking leaders and transportation officials have called for more parking availability for truck drivers. They note that increasing the number of parking spots available along busy corridors would address driver fatigue for commercial drivers.
To study the issue further, the American Transportation Research Institute earlier in March launched a survey of truck parking that relies on reporting from drivers. The objective is to gain insight into the parking shortage. Parking ranked fifth on ATRI’s list of critical issues in 2015.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is addressing the issue as well. Last year, it helped form the National Coalition on Truck Parking. The group consists of national and regional stakeholders who are reviewing ways to improve parking availability nationwide for truckers.
