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National Coalition on Truck Parking

National Coalition on Truck Parking: State, Regional, and Local Government Coordination Working Group Meeting 2 - February 23, 2018

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National Coalition on Truck Parking: State, Regional, and Local Government Coordination Working Group Meeting 2 - February 23, 2018

February 23, 2018

A recording of this meeting is available upon request.

Champion:

  • Scott Grenerth, Truck Specialized Parking Services (TSPS)

Facilitators:

  • Tiffany Julien, FHWA
  • Jeff Purdy, FHWA
  • Jordan Wainer, Volpe

Welcome and Introduction

Jordan welcomed the Working Group and provided an overview of the functionality of the web room and introduced Scott, the Working Group Champion.

Scott greeted the Working Group to the meeting and stated that the ideas that the Members come up with at the meeting should work within the present regulations so that the Group can stay as focused as possible with its time and efforts. At today's meeting the Working Group will examine what it's done so far and where it's heading.

Champion Meeting Debrief

Scott shared that he met with Tiffany Julien (FHWA), Jeff Purdy (FHWA), Jordan Wainer (Volpe), and Kara Chisholm (Volpe) following the first meeting of the Working Group to discuss in more detail the priority area products identified in the first Working Group meeting. The products will be a list of examples and resources for truck drivers about how metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) plan for truck parking, to host an FHWA Talking Freight webinar in order to engage stakeholders in a discussion concerning truck parking, and to collect best practices examples of how State and local governments are facilitating truck parking.

Priority Areas Established in First Meeting

  1. 1. Ensure truck parking is addressed in State and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) freight plans.
  2. Encourage industry involvement in State and MPO freight advisory committees.
  3. Include parking/staging requirements into local zoning for industrial areas. Provide case studies for municipal parking projects.
  4. Identify the best ways to work with MPOs (best practices, how stakeholders can be involved, and barriers to entry).

Review of products suggested for development

  1. Develop a list of best practices on including truck parking in State and MPO freight plans.
    • The goal of this product will be to try to better understand the role that MPOs play in truck parking. Where are these opportunities for involvement to be able to look at truck parking at the regional level? How can the Working Group best utilize all the stakeholders in this issue to be able to work with MPOs effectively?
  2. Host a Talking Freight Webinar on best practices.
    • Scott shared some background information on the Talking Freight webinar series. He stated that the webinars usually have a specific topic and about three presenters speak on a subject related to that topic. Then participants can ask questions through the chat pod or over the phone. The audience for these webinars come from around the country and from a variety of organizations.
    • Scott has identified several potential presenters for the webinar. Scott has asked a staff person from the Memphis MPO to present, and they were receptive to it. He also spoke with someone from the Boston MPO, who had a unique approach to increasing truck parking in the Boston area. Scott is working on confirming the participation of either the Arizona Department of Transportation (AZDOT) or Arizona MPO. Arizona was creative in its outreach process by hosting meetings at the truck drivers' place of business.
    • One Member recommended the Program Manager of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) be a presenter. NCTCOG who has experience electrifying truck parking spaces and leveraging the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funding.
    • One Member mentioned that AZDOT used GPS data to locate long-term and temporary truck parking in Arizona.
    • Scott asked the Working Group for their ideas about questions that the presenters should cover during the webinar, and whether they had any other speakers they'd like to recommend. One Working Group member said that she would send Scott a list of questions that she would like to have addressed during the webinar. Other Working Group members requested that the following topics be addressed:
      • Approaches that MPOs can take in planning for truck parking and engaging local governments on the truck parking topic.
      • How to improve relationships between communities and the trucking industry.
      • How best to engage with the MPOs.
      • The best ways to disseminate information to elected officials on truck parking issues.
  3. Develop a brochure or one-pager that describes how industry can be involved in truck parking decisionmaking.
    • The purpose of the one-pager is to compile examples of where industry has successfully been part of truck parking into a resource to share with others.
    • One Working Group member stated that in addition to this product, it would be useful to state DOTs to know what the role of State DOTs is in providing truck parking. This could be in the form of a one-pager from FHWA, as an authority organization. The Working Group member has experienced some pushback from colleagues at his State DOT who think that truck parking is an industry responsibility.
      • An FHWA representative responded that the materials probably exist, but will need to be boiled down into a one-page format for specific audiences.
    • One Working Group member said that having a similar one-pager, but geared toward media outlets, would be helpful.
    • Another Working Group member would like to develop a one-pager aimed toward truck drivers and trucking companies that could be an "MPO 101" guide. It could include a script for drivers for how to interact with MPOs. The document could also include the effects of not making truck parking improvements. This product could be an outcome of the Working Group's Talking Freight webinar.
      • One Working Group member suggested that the Working Group develop a group of truck driver MPO ambassadors who will attend select MPO meetings to help spread awareness of truck parking capacity problems and help to develop solutions.
    • The Working Group decided that among all the truck parking one-pagers listed above, it will focus on creating a one-pager for the general public.
  4. Zoning language for including parking/staging requirements into industrial areas.
    • An FHWA representative stated that the Working Group should consult the American Planning Association (APA) for zoning language, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for its Parking Generation Manual.
    • Truck parking is a topic that is not typically addressed in local zoning and development codes, and will need to include education for local officials on the need to consider truck parking and staging as part of local development. Working with APA and ITE could help.
    • The amount of truck parking a facility needs will vary based on the type of item being shipped, the distance of the shipment, whether the carrier has a terminal in the area, etc.
    • A Working Group member said that it would be helpful to have template zoning language for truck parking areas themselves. There might be zoning measures that could make truck parking more palatable for municipalities, such as requiring landscaped buffer areas.
    • A Working Group member said that the Working Group could reach out to the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) to see what has helped its members to make truck parking facilities more appealing to communities.
Scott and Jordan then transitioned the Working Group's discussion to the next steps for the Working Group.

Next Steps

  • Scott and Volpe will create a shared Google document that Working Group members can add best practice examples for truck parking to, perhaps shared between all the working groups. Scott has already gotten started with a format and several examples. The template includes links to Google Street View of the facility, in some cases.
    • When adding examples, members should include a description of why what they're adding constitutes a good example.
    • Scott is looking for suggestions for improvements to the format of the worksheet.
  • Working Group members should send any materials or ideas for resources to consult to Jordan Wainer (Volpe) March 16th. Volpe will create draft products by the next Working Group meeting, in April.
  • The fourth meeting of the Working Group will take place in June.
  • The final goal of the Group will be to present its products at the annual meeting of the National Coalition for Truck Parking in the fall.

Scott and Jordan thanked the Working Group members for their participation and asked whether anyone had anything to ask or to share. Hearing nothing, Scott and Jordan closed the meeting

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