National Coalition on Truck Parking: 2018 Working Groups Activity Report

Section 1: Introduction

The United States has seen significant growth in trucking activity in recent decades due to several factors, such as overall economic growth and the deregulation of the trucking industry in the early 1980s. Truck travel in the United States reached 287 billion miles in 2016, an increase of 2.9% from 2015. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for combination trucks is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.6% over the next 30 years and VMT for single-unit trucks is projected to grow at an average rate of 1.8% over the next 20 years.¹ With the projected growth of truck traffic, the demand for truck parking will continue to outpace the supply of public and private parking facilities.

The development and expansion of truck parking is complicated by the fact that truck parking needs and services are impacted by both the private and public sectors. The privately-run trucking industry conducts business on public roadways and is subject to a regulatory process overseen by government agencies. Many of the truck parking spaces in the U.S. are located off the Interstate Highway System, at truck stops operated as private business establishments, although some States are taking steps to provide truck parking on State-owned land. The public and private sectors, including private industries such as shippers/receivers, motor carriers, and truck stop owners, can have competing financial interests that limit the amount of funding available for truck parking facilities.

An insufficient supply of truck parking can result in drivers parking in unsafe or illegal locations, such as on the shoulder of the road, exit ramps, or vacant lots, if they are unable to locate an official or available parking spot. This decreases safety for both the truck drivers and other vehicles on the road. Additionally, it can force truck drivers to park further away from their next pickup or delivery location, which increases the likelihood those drivers will need to travel during congested peak driving times and potentially miss a scheduled delivery window.

The USDOT and several State and regional government agencies have conducted various studies of truck parking demand and capacity constraints. The Study of the Adequacy of Truck Parking Facilities, conducted in 2002 by FHWA, and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Parking Shortage report, published by FHWA in May 2012, documented these issues on a national basis. These studies reflect a consensus that truck parking demand exceeds the available supply in many public rest areas and private truck stops across the nation.

Jason's Law

Section 1401 of MAP-21 (PL 112-141), also known as "Jason's Law," became effective on October 1, 2012. Jason's Law was established to provide a "national priority on addressing the shortage of long-term parking for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System to improve the safety of motorized and non-motorized users and for commercial motor vehicle operators." Jason's Law required the USDOT to conduct a survey and comparative assessment in consultation with relevant State motor carrier representatives to:

• Evaluate the capability of the State to provide adequate parking and rest facilities for commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate transportation;
• Assess the volume of commercial motor vehicle traffic in the State; and
• Develop a system of metrics to measure the adequacy of commercial motor vehicle parking facilities in the State.

FHWA first developed and administered a survey for Jason's Law in 2014. This first Jason's Law survey identified the following conclusions:

• Truck parking capacity is a problem in all States, with the greatest problems more evident on major freight corridors and in large metropolitan areas.
• Consistent, continued measurement is important to provide data to understand dynamic truck parking needs and whether the situation is improving.
• Truck parking analysis is an important component of State and MPO freight plans, as well as regional and corridor-based freight planning.
• There is a need to understand the supply chains of key industries and commodities to, from, and through their State to better anticipate and plan for the parking needs.
• Local regulations and zoning often create challenges for development of truck parking facilities due to local resistance to externalities of truck stops.
• Public and private sector coordination is critical to address long-term truck parking needs.

FHWA released a report on the first Jason's Law findings and metrics in 2015.

MAP-21 section 1401(c)(3) called for periodic updates to the Jason's Law survey. Therefore, FHWA is undertaking an updated Jason's Law survey in 2018. More information on the goals of the 2018 survey is included in Section 3.

Jason's Law helps promote a comprehensive set of programs, efforts, and research to improve truck parking and provide States and MPOs with resources to identify parking needs and to encourage improvements and investments. Jason's Law has served as the catalyst for much of the truck parking work undertaken by FHWA.

National Coalition on Truck Parking

Upon publication of the first Jason's Law findings, a public announcement of the results was held on August 21, 2015, at the USDOT in Washington, D.C. This event also highlighted the agency's commitment to addressing truck parking issues in collaboration with various public and private sector stakeholder groups. At the August 2015 event, USDOT announced the formation of the National Coalition on Truck Parking and "a call for action for a national dialogue on trucking needs and strategies for immediate, near-term and long-term solutions."

The National Coalition on Truck Parking brings together stakeholders from the trucking industry, commercial vehicle safety officials, State DOTs, MPOs, and commercial truck stop owners and operators. The Coalition advances safe truck parking by:

• Collaborating nationally and among regions to identify opportunities and solutions for truck parking needs;
• Sharing information on data and new analyses developed by stakeholders to understand needs and trends in truck parking;
• Encouraging partnerships among stakeholders to implement solutions, and;
• Identifying opportunities to use existing and new programs to support truck parking implementation.

Kick-off Meeting and Regional Meetings

The Coalition held a kickoff meeting at the USDOT in November 2015 where participants identified four topic areas as areas of concern or opportunity. These topic areas included:

• Parking Capacity
• Technology/Data
• Funding and Finance (including Regulatory/Policy issues)
• Community Education/Coordination with Regional and Local Governments

At the kickoff meeting, the Coalition also committed to convening four meetings around the country to get input from stakeholders on creative and innovative approaches to solve the nation's truck parking problem. FHWA and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) led the planning and execution of the meetings.

Second Annual Meeting

The second annual meeting of the National Coalition on Truck Parking was held at the USDOT in December 2016. The purpose of this meeting was to provide the broader Coalition with an update on the work that had been conducted over the prior year, with a focus on the results of the four regional meetings. At the meeting, the Coalition determined they would convene Working Groups for each of the four topic areas to discuss implementation strategies and best practices in truck parking. FHWA later led the formation of these Working Groups.

Third Annual Meeting

The third annual meeting of the National Coalition on Truck Parking took place via web conference in October 2017. The National Coalition on Truck Parking 2015-2016 Activity Report was discussed and stakeholders heard about cross-cutting truck parking initiatives in Kansas/Mid America Association of Transportation Officials (MAASTO), Virginia, and Washington State. This meeting concluded with the strategy for convening the Working Groups.

National Coalition on Truck Parking Working Groups

The National Coalition on Truck Parking Working Groups were created to share best practices and create products to disseminate information on truck parking issues related to priorities identified during regional meetings in 2016.

Various stakeholders that represented much of the membership of the National Coalition on Truck Parking made up the Working Groups. Each Working Group ended up consisting of about 48 to 60 people.

FHWA identified a champion for each Working Group from those who volunteered. The champion's role was to lead the Working Group to generate ideas from the participants. Champions represented government, research, advocacy groups, and private industry. The champions were integral in narrowing the focus of the Working Groups' research, moderating the meetings, and providing input on the final products.

Each Working Group met four times via web conference.

The first Working Group meetings were held in November 2017. During the first meetings, Working Groups identified priority areas to research and types of documents or deliverables that could be developed that would help advance the priority areas identified.

During the second Working Group meetings, which took place in February 2018, members brainstormed examples that could be included in the documents the groups developed. During the third Working Group meetings in May 2018, the Working Group members provided feedback on draft versions of the documents. USDOT revised the documents accordingly, and Working Group members had a final opportunity to provide feedback on the documents during the fourth Working Group meetings, held in August 2018. During the fourth Working Group meetings, members also discussed the format and content of the National Coalition on Truck Parking annual meeting held in December 2018.

Notes from each Working Group meeting are available at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/infrastructure/truck_parking/workinggroups/index.htm. Links to all National Coalition on Truck Parking Working Group meetings are available in Appendix A.