National Coalition on Truck Parking: 2018 Working Groups Activity Report

Section 2: Working Groups Products

The purpose of the products developed by the National Coalition on Truck Parking Working Groups is to provide implementation strategies for various truck parking improvement initiatives identified during the Working Group meetings. The documents are intended to provide accessible examples, guidance, and strategies to stakeholders about how to advance truck parking availability in their communities. The products serve as a way to disseminate information discussed in the Working Group meetings.

The products include case studies, noteworthy practices, survey results, webinars, and brochures, among others. Working Group members sought to create different products catered to a variety of audiences in the public and private freight and trucking industry to support the investigation of a range of truck parking issues.

Over the course of the meetings, members helped refine ideas for the products, contributed examples, and reviewed and commented on drafts. Public and private agencies mentioned in the products verified the information and provided approval to publish the information.

Figure 5: Trucks at a truck stop.
Source: Randy Heinetz. When Night Falls on a Truck Stop. 2013. [Adapted]

Product Summaries

Parking Capacity Working Group and a graphic of three trucks

The Parking Capacity Working Group focused on developing innovative and low-cost methods to increase the supply of short-term and overnight truck parking and created the following products:

Creative Uses of the Right-of-Way (ROW) and Adjacent Areas

This product provides examples of successful, low-cost solutions for creating more truck parking by using existing facilities in the ROW or adjacent to the ROW. The document includes case studies from across the country that are categorized by facility types: rest area conversions, parking at weigh stations where additional space is available, parking at tourism centers, and others.

Involving Shippers/Receivers to Address Truck Parking Capacity

Truck parking and staging should be considered for facilities that are origins and destinations for trucks, such as ports, intermodal facilities, warehouses, and shippers/receivers, wherever possible. This product provides examples of ways that private companies and shippers/receivers incorporate truck parking in their facilities.

Considerations for Maintaining Low-cost Truck Parking Facilities

Truck parking operators can choose several options to minimize maintenance responsibilities and costs at truck parking facilities. This product describes options operators can select to save money.

aerial view of a highway rest area converted to truck parking

Figure 6: One of the rest areas converted to truck parking by the Missouri DOT.
Source: Google Earth.

Technology and Data Working Group and a graphic of a light bulb

Technological advances enable access to public and private real-time information on truck parking availability for drivers. There are a variety of systems that measure and disseminate truck parking availability. The Technology and Data Working Group focused on developing innovative ideas for increasing the supply of truck parking by utilizing existing technology and data. The following products were developed by this Working Group:

Truck Parking App Survey Results

This product provides the results from a survey on truck parking app preferences conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) at the Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky from Thursday, March 22 to Saturday, March 24, 2018.

Best Practices for Truck Parking Availability Detection and Information Dissemination by States

This product highlights the different kinds of technology used for truck parking availability systems in different States throughout the U.S.

Technology and Data Research Needs Webinar

The Working Group held a webinar to review and discuss State-level truck parking studies, activities, and needs. The webinar provided an update on the National Coalition on Truck Parking's activities, discussed high-level stakeholder needs, and provided examples from States on recent truck parking research initiatives.
A recording of the webinar is available upon request.

a dynamic messaging sign displaying available truck parking spaces at a rest area and at two exits

Figure 7: A dynamic messaging sign used to display the number of available parking spaces at rest areas in Michigan.
Source: Michigan DOT. (Untitled). (No date).

Funding, Finance, and Regulations Working Group and a graphic of a dollar sign

The intent of the Funding, Finance, and Regulations Working Group is to identify innovative ways to fund truck parking that can be an alternative to, or leverage, Federal-aid funding. The group also investigated regulatory flexibilities for innovative truck parking funding, such as public private partnerships. Several innovative ideas were developed into the following products:

Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Examples and Considerations

This product highlights examples of P3s and considerations to create nontraditional funding agreements to create additional truck parking.

Emissions Reduction Grant Programs Fact Sheet

This product provides general information on Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding opportunities and examples of Idle Reduction Technologies (IRT) and Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) projects.

aerial photo of a Wyoming DOT highway truck parking facility

Figure 8: Aerial image of truck parking constructed by Wyoming DOT off of I-80. Wyoming DOT used a Truck Parking Facilities (TPF) Program grant to construct 43 truck parking spaces.
Source: Google Earth.

State, Regional, and Local Government Coordination Working Group and a graphic of a building with a flag on top of it

The supply of truck parking may be influenced by State, regional, and local government entities in a variety of ways, such as zoning, public participation, and inclusion in planning documents. This Working Group identified several innovative ideas for increasing the supply of truck parking. The group developed these ideas into the following products:

Notable Examples for Including Truck Parking in State and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Freight Plans

This product highlights notable examples of States and MPOs that included truck parking in their freight plans.

Figure 9: Front Cover of The Importance of Considering Truck Parking in Local Planning and Zoning brochure.

How to Improve Truck Parking in Your Region Brochure

This product is a guide for the trucking industry on how to get involved with a MPO—a regional transportation planning agency—to improve truck parking.

The Importance of Considering Truck Parking in Local Planning and Zoning

This product assists local government planners to help ensure they consider truck parking in community plans and local zoning and development codes.

Parking and Staging Requirements in Local Zoning

There are several examples of local governments including provisions for truck parking and staging in their land use planning and zoning. These local plans and development regulations address staging, long-term parking, deliveries, and long-term parking for owner/operators near home. This product provides communities examples that they could consider using as a model for their own land use, planning, and zoning regulations to help identify truck parking and staging.

Talking Freight Webinar: Best Practices in Industry and Government Coordination for Developing Truck Parking Solutions

This webinar discussed some of the various truck parking coordination efforts taking place between trucking and truck parking industry stakeholders and State, regional, and local government stakeholders to identify and develop truck parking solutions. The Working Group partnered with FHWA's Talking Freight webinar series to host this webinar to reach a broad and diverse audience.
The recording and materials from the webinar are available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/freight_planning/talking_freight/may_2018/

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