Will 2021 be the year for truck parking?

A lot has happened since the last edition of The Parking Zone, and it has been happening at the federal level. Will this be the year when the feds take some meaningful action to address the truck parking crisis?

Truck parking bill reintroduced

In late March, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., reintroduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. During the 116th Congress last year, Bost introduced that bill as HR6104. It gained a lot of traction. However, that session of Congress ended. Congressional protocol killed all leftover bills, forcing anyone who wants to keep them alive to introduce them again to the 117th Congress.

“I grew up in a family trucking business and spent years driving over the road,” Bost said. “Since then, we’ve seen the need for more trucks and drivers increase significantly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when trucking helped to keep our economy going. However, the number of truck parking spaces hasn’t kept pace. That means that drivers are forced to park in unsafe locations, which puts both them and other motorists at risk. Creating sufficient parking options for long-haul truckers will not only help keep truckers safe during their rest breaks but will also mean safer roads for everyone.”

As with the previous bill, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association had a hand in helping craft the language to make sure it receives broad support both from the trucking industry and Congress.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm on the truck parking crisis for decades,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “While Congress and the Federal Highway Administration have tried to address this issue with the enactment of Jason’s Law and launching of the National Coalition on Truck Parking, the continued growth of the parking shortage shows the status quo is not sustainable. Congress must provide dedicated federal investment to expand capacity if it is serious about addressing the problem.”

This time, the truck parking bill is HR2187, but it retains the name – the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. The two bills are essentially the same. The most significant difference is that HR2187 opens up opportunities for the private sector, which we will get into shortly. First, the basics.

If enacted, HR2187 would set aside $755 million to be allocated over five years specifically to add truck parking capacity. Again, that means no information technology, studies, and so forth. If a project’s main goal is not to add more truck parking spaces, it is not eligible for funding under this bill. Furthermore, grants will not be given to any project that charges for parking. Additional free truck parking only.

Funding from the bill would be distributed in the form of grants for projects providing truck parking on federal-aid highways or at a facility with reasonable access to a federal-aid highway or freight facility. Grants will be awarded to state and local governments. New to HR2187 is a provision that allows the private sector to get involved through public-private partnerships. The previous version, HR6104, only gave grants to government entities. This new bill gives the private sector an opportunity to participate, assuming participation is in the form of a partnership with the public sector.

The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act was introduced with five co-sponsors, revealing bipartisan support:

• Angie Craig, D-Minn.
• John Garamendi, D-Calif.
• Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.
• Pete Stauber, R-Minn.
• Susan Wild, D-Pa.

HR2187 also has the support of the American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, National Motorists Association, Transportation Intermediaries Association, American Highway Users Alliance and the Institute for Safer Trucking.

The previous parking bill, HR6104, was introduced by Bost with Craig as the sole co-sponsor. However, that version of the bill eventually accumulated 14 co-sponsors before the 116th session ended. Since then, a lot has happened to suggest the 117th Congress will be even more supportive.

Spotlight on infrastructure good for truck parking

President Joe Biden’s first priority after being sworn into office was to launch the next COVID-19 stimulus package. Now that is done, Biden’s next priority appears to be a large, sweeping infrastructure bill. This has drawn even more attention to the truck parking crisis.

During a hearing in March held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation titled “Driving the Road to Recovery: Rebuilding America’s Transportation Infrastructure,” truck parking was brought up. Douglas Hooker, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, was one stakeholder testifying during the hearing.

Hooker talked about the struggles truckers face when searching for a place to park, particularly in the Atlanta area. He mentioned that this poses safety issues for the general motoring public. In fact, Hooker’s testimony about truck parking was the only topic of discussion specifically about the trucking industry during the more than two-hour hearing. Even better, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., asked Hooker a follow-up question about his testimony and noted that the problem is more than just an inconvenience.

What makes this remarkable is the fact that truck parking is fresh on the minds of at least some senators just ahead of the infrastructure bill. Infrastructure is a very broad topic, dealing with numerous sectors, including water/maritime, air travel, transit, energy, public parks, schools, rail and so much more. It is easy for any given issue affecting a particular industry to get lost in the shuffle.

With recent testimony and a reintroduced bill both dealing with truck parking as infrastructure is in the spotlight, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about some meaningful legislation from the federal government to deal with the truck parking crisis. LL