The Parking Zone – July 2020 » Land Line Media Magazine

This edition of The Parking Zone is another special one, and, no, it is not coronavirus-related. Rather, it is potential great news coming from the federal government.

Truck parking provision in highway bill

On June 3, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio released text of a new highway bill. Worth nearly half a trillion dollars over five years, HR7095 is a big one. There is plenty inside for truckers to be positive about, including a provision addressing truck parking.

Section 1308 of the bill reads “Parking for Commercial Motor Vehicles.” It states that the U.S. Department of Transportation “shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to address the shortage of parking for commercial motor vehicles to improve the safety of commercial motor vehicle operators.”

Similar to HR6104, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, the provision allocates money specifically for truck parking under certain conditions.

Eligible projects under the provision include:

Construction of rest areas that include truck parking.
Construction of truck parking facilities.
Open existing weigh stations, rest areas and park-and-ride facilities to truck parking.
Facilitate access to public and private truck parking (e.g., intelligent transportation systems).
Construction of turnouts along federal-aid highways for trucks.
Improvements to seasonal, public truck parking facilities to allow them to remain open year-round.
Open existing truck chain-up areas that are closed during certain seasons to remain open year-round for truck parking.
Address truck parking and layover needs in emergencies that strain capacity of existing publicly and privately provided truck parking.
Improvements to existing truck parking facilities, including advanced truck stop electrification systems.

Regarding the construction of truck parking facilities, the projects must fall into one of three categories. First, it must be adjacent to private truck stops and travel plazas. If that’s not the case, then it must be within the boundaries or adjacent to a publicly owned freight facility, such as a port terminal operated by a public authority. Otherwise, the third possibility is at an existing facility, like inspection and weigh stations or park-and-ride locations.

The bill allocates $250 million for the above provision for fiscal year 2023.

The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act

HR6104, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, was introduced in March by Reps. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Angie Craig, D-Minn. Since its introduction, it has acquired several co-sponsors.

Much like Section 1308, HR6104 grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will provide parking for trucks on federal-aid highways or on a facility with reasonable access to a federal-aid highway or a freight facility. The first three eligible projects under Section 1308 are almost identical to eligible projects under HR6104.

Heavily influenced by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, HR6104 ensures that all of the funding goes to creating additional truck parking spaces. If more spaces are not added to the infrastructure, the project is ineligible.

HR6104 would authorize $755 million for truck parking over five years:

$125 million for fiscal year 2021
$140 million for fiscal year 2022
$150 million for fiscal year 2023
$165 million for fiscal year 2024
$175 million for fiscal year 2025

Additionally, HR6104 explicitly prohibits paid parking with projects funded by the bill.

More specifically, subsection (n) of HR6104 reads: “Prohibition on Charging Fees —To be eligible for a grant under this section, an entity shall agree that no fees will be charged for a commercial motor vehicle to access and park at any part of the facility constructed with funds made available under this subsection.”

A project can convert existing weigh stations and rest areas to facilities for the exclusive use of truck parking. However, no more than 25% of allocations can be used for pre-construction activities such as feasibility analyses, environmental reviews and the like.

Proposed projects will have the greatest chance of grant approval if they meet the following criteria:

Demonstrate a safety need for truck parking capacity in the corridor in which the project is proposed to be carried out.
Consult with affected state and local governments, trucking organizations, and private providers of truck parking.
Demonstrate that the project will likely increase truck parking capacity, facilitate the efficient movement of freight and improve highway safety, traffic congestion, and air quality.
Demonstrate the ability to provide for the maintenance and operation cost necessary to keep the facility available for use after completion of construction.

Very similar language is included in Section 1308 of the proposed highway bill. Also included in both pieces of legislation is a subsection dedicated to keeping track of the money. Within 18 months of the program being enacted, the U.S. Department of Transportation will release a report that evaluates each state’s ability to provide truck parking. The report also will evaluate the effectiveness of the projects funded. The U.S. DOT will also look into the sustainability of new parking projects. This report will be repeated every two years.

HR6104 vs. Section 1308

HR6104 was introduced in March, three months before DeFazio released early text of the highway bill that includes the aforementioned Section 1308 of HR7095. Congress can potentially have two pieces of legislation that addresses truck parking on which to vote, but it is unlikely both would advance through committee and onto the House floor this year.

It is worth noting that the highway bill is in its infancy. As of press time, it was set to be considered by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and then perhaps by the full House. That means that the highway bill can change drastically when members of the House have the opportunity to introduce amendments.

While the introduction of a highway bill can often overshadow other surface transportation proposals, truckers and industry stakeholders should continue to focus on HR6104. Section 1308 of the highway bill as it currently reads is fantastic, considering little has been done to improve the lack of truck parking in previous highway bills, but HR6104 is a bigger, bolder solution to the crisis.

Both Section 1308 of the highway bill and HR6104 are better than what we currently have and what we have been receiving over the past several decades when it comes to truck parking, which is practically nothing. Truckers should contact their representatives and senators and let them know how important dedicated funding for truck parking is to the industry.

This is not a matter of convenience. Rather, this is a matter of safety. Let lawmakers know that this is the perfect opportunity to put their money where their mouths are after all that talk about supporting truckers during the peak of the pandemic. Passage of either bill is a big win for trucking and is welcome with open arms. LL