National Coalition on Truck Parking: 2019 Kickoff Webinar - February 26, 2019
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Contact Information: Freight Feedback at FreightFeedback@dot.gov
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
February 26, 2019
A recording of this meeting is available upon request.
Facilitators:
- Tiffany Julien, FHWA
- Jeff Purdy, FHWA
- Jordan Wainer, Volpe
Welcome and Introductions
Jordan welcomed the group to the meeting and provided an overview of the phone settings and webroom. She also stated that the meeting is being recorded for those who cannot attend and that the link to the recording will be available upon request. Jordan then introduced Caitlin Hughes, the Director of the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations.
Caitlin welcomed the group to the kickoff of the National Coalition on Truck Parking's (NCTP) 2019 effort. She provided a brief overview of the history of the NCTP and stated that she is very happy with many products the group developed in 2018. Caitlin also thanked the champions of the four working groups for their leadership over the past year. She then handed leadership of the meeting over to Tiffany Julien.
Product and Final Report Status Update
Tiffany announced that the final versions of the products that the working groups developed are available online at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/infrastructure/truck_parking/workinggroups/index.htm. The Final Report will be available online soon. Tiffany then turned the meeting over to Jordan to discuss the future research ideas for the working groups to pursue in 2019.
Research Ideas Overview and Discussion
Jordan displayed a matrix of potential future research topics and related possible products the working groups could develop in the near and long term. The research ideas came out of the previous working group meetings and the 2017 and 2018 NCTP annual meetings.
Below is a copy of the matrix:
| Item No. | NCTP Future Research Area | Short term product | Long term product |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engage the private sector to access truck parking data to improve understanding of existing facilities. | Hold a webinar that engages companies involved in truck parking data collection and analysis in which they can provide an update on their current work. The webinar could be hosted by the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), similar to the Talking Freight webinar held in May 2018 as one of the products of the State, Regional, and Local Government Coordination working group. | (none) |
| 2 | Corridor level research analysis of parking needs based on hours of service data that is being collected (i.e., I-80 corridor). Review origin and destination data to see how trucks are serving industrial facilities. | (none) | Contract with a third party to obtain data and then engage a team at Volpe to analyze the data. Create a document that presents the results and suggests next steps for the NCTP to take in light of the analysis. |
| 3 | Create a guide, including zoning template language and design guidelines for truck parking geared at city, county, and regional governments. Will include information on issues that affect truck parking in and around urban areas. | Develop an outline for a truck parking guide geared towards city, county, and regional governments. The product would consist of:
|
Create an expanded guide based on the outline produced in the short term. Specifically:
|
| 4 | Tax incentives for the private sector to build new parking capacity. | Research existing tax incentives or economic development incentives in rural, suburban, and urban areas as well as solicit examples from the working groups. The product could include case studies as well as template language that specifies that new warehousing and industrial facilities must provide sufficient on-site or adjacent truck parking. There are resources on the FHWA Office of Innovative Program Delivery website that could be a good starting point. | (none) |
| 5 | Consider sufficient capacity for oversized vehicles and overweight vehicles. | Create a document that compiles the guidelines of a range of States to demonstrate the variation between States and to assist working groups in understanding the status of consideration of oversized and overweight vehicles. | (none) |
| 6 | Consider including requirements to include truck parking as part of the performance management process. | Leverage existing analysis of State freight plans conducted by FHWA to see which States included truck parking performance measures and targets. This could be a document with performance targets and measures for truck parking related to States' performance management plans. This could also be incorporated into a local zoning product. | (none) |
Meeting participants provided feedback on each of the proposed products listed in the matrix:
Research area #1:
- Members of the working groups had several thoughts about who could contribute to the webinar, including States that have real time information systems like the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) States. Other working group members suggested involving the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), and private companies that collect and analyze truck parking data.
- One webinar attendee noted that the group needs to be strategic about reaching out to drivers because they are likely experiencing fatigue from frequently filling out surveys.
- A webinar attendee stated that reaching out to State associations can provide more State-specific feedback on truck parking than going through a National organization. He mentioned that not all States have problems with truck parking.
- Another webinar attendee noted that the webinar could discuss providing opportunities for private truck stops to get involved in local and State freight planning efforts.
- Another webinar attendee stated that it could be useful to have big data companies present at the webinar.
Research area #2:
- Jeff noted that the USDOT does not collect hours of service data but there is an opportunity for a third party to do this research.
Research area #3:
- Members of the working groups expressed that this was a very important research area to pursue and provided specific suggestions for how to improve the proposed guide.
- One webinar attendee expressed the need for an economic cost/benefit analysis for truck parking to convince State and local governments of the importance of truck parking.
- Another webinar attendee noted that this would be a helpful tool to have at the local-level workshops he is currently conducting.
- A webinar attendee stated that linking this guide back to livability and sustainability is crucial. She also stated that the guide should identify stakeholders, include best practices for engaging with private stakeholders, provide a customized toolkit for local practitioners, and demonstrate how strategies outlined in the guide support other policies, such as Off-Hour Deliveries.
- A webinar attendee noted that this guide brings up another topic, which is how the working groups can engage industry to encourage providing cost reimbursement for truck parking. The group could consider adding this to the guide.
- Another webinar attendee suggested splitting this product into multiple, more singularly focused products.
- For the design guidelines, a webinar attendee suggested including examples of atypical parking facilities, such as small asphalt parking areas.
Research area #4:
- Jeff stated that this product could also explore financial mechanisms like a pooled fund, which allows individual businesses to pay into a fund that maintains a shared parking area.
- Jordan noted that Volpe was not able to find existing examples of these when it searched for them as part of creating the 2018 research products, so if members of the working groups know of examples please send them to Jordan.
- A webinar attendee expressed that the product for this research area could include examples of public or quasi-public entities that provide truck parking.
Research area #5:
- Jeff noted that to develop this product, the working groups would need to work closely with specialized carriers and associations.
- Another webinar attendee shared that this product should consider the occasional problems that arise for trucks crossing State borders, such as the border between Illinois and Wisconsin which requires a transition from the regulations of one State to the regulations of the other.
Research area #6:
- Jeff noted that this product can build from the results of the second Jason's Law survey, which included a survey of all State freight plans.
- Volpe noted that this product would focus more on making recommendations rather than creating any sort of proposed requirement for States.
Following the discussion of the research topics and proposed products, the members of the working groups voted on which product(s) they would like to pursue this year. Below is a copy of the results of the poll:
Members of the working groups chose to focus on creating a guide, including zoning template language and design guidelines for truck parking geared at city, county, and regional governments. The guide will include information on issues that affect truck parking in and around urban areas.
- Because this product represents a significant amount of work and covers several different subtopics, and because it was overwhelmingly selected by members of the working groups as the product they would most like to pursue in 2019, the working groups decided that this will be the only product they develop this year.
- Because there will only be one product in 2019, the working groups decided not to break out into the four groups they formed last year and instead decided they would continue to meet as one large group.
Next Steps
Jordan discussed the next steps for the working group.
- Before the next working group meeting, Volpe will develop a draft outline for the zoning and design guide.
- During the meeting, the members of the working group will confirm whether they would like to continue meeting as one large group or break into smaller groups focused on specific areas of the guide.
- At the next meeting, the working group will identify a champion or co-champions.
- Before the next meeting, Volpe will attempt to further clarify the focus of the document. This will inform the outline that Volpe develops and shares with the group prior to the next meeting.
Tiffany thanked the group members for their continued participation in this effort. Jordan concluded the working group meeting.
