A chance to score big with truck parking

Years of grassroots advocacy to advance the truck parking issue are starting to pay off. But in the long game, we’re only in the seventh-inning stretch.

It may seem like it took forever, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has made strides toward addressing the nationwide truck parking crisis.

Earlier this year, the department awarded nearly $300 million in federal grants for truck parking projects. Last September, more than $80 million was given out for parking projects, and in September 2022, nearly $40 million was allocated to parking projects. Also in September 2022, the DOT published an 82-page Truck Parking Development Handbook, which serves as a resource for city and state officials to use when addressing truck parking.

Although this is definitely progress, it is still not enough.

For the second time, Congress has a chance to pass legislation that would meaningfully address the truck parking crisis.

The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, HR2367, aims to allocate $755 million over three years to the construction of parking spots. But despite broad bipartisan support, the bill has been sitting in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since last May.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh put it straight after the latest round of federal funding.

“I know we’re all frustrated by the difficulty getting the truck parking bill passed, but these grants – and the two major ones before them – wouldn’t be happening without the work of OOIDA and the grassroots support of its members over the years,” Pugh said. “These are by no means home runs, but they still demonstrate how determined advocacy can lead to incremental success.”

When it comes to government action, home runs do not happen often. It is a game of small ball that emphasizes a team effort rather than relying on one or two heavy hitters.

In the case of truck parking improvements, the players on the team are each and every truck driver. While simply reaching out to your lawmakers may not be a home run, it does help advance the players already on base. And each time the truck parking bill receives a new co-sponsor, it gets closer to home plate.

A big hurdle the trucking industry has to cross in order to address the truck parking crisis is informing the general public and elected officials.

All they see are trucks illegally parked up and down highway ramps. What they don’t know is why this is happening and how it can be stopped.

Keeping with the small-ball theme, the issue of truck parking hit a double this past December after The New York Times published an in-depth story about the crisis. The article highlights the economic and safety consequences that truckers have been shouting about for well over a decade.

With more than 10 million subscribers, The New York Times is the largest newspaper in the U.S. That December article potentially reached millions of Americans, educating them about the truck parking crisis. Furthermore, The New York Times is more likely to be seen by federal lawmakers than any other publication. When it addresses an issue, people start to notice.

That story did not just magically appear. Rather, it was the result of individual truckers hitting singles and finally running up the score enough that people have started to take notice.

After years of chipping away at the lead, the trucking industry has the bases loaded in a tied ballgame with the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. It’s time for truckers to step up to the plate and drive in the winning run. Go to FightingForTruckers.com, scroll down to the “Tell Your Lawmakers to Support the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act” option and fill out the quick form that goes straight to your lawmakers. LL