Nevada seeks trucker feedback on truck parking availability system
Nevada has plans to install digital signs letting truckers know about truck parking availability at rest areas, but the state needs to hear from truck drivers first.
The Nevada Department of Transportation is developing a truck parking availability system along Interstates 15 and 80. An availability system includes digital signs on the interstate that indicate how many parking spaces are open at upcoming rest areas.
In order to build a system designed for truckers, NDOT needs to gather input from truckers. The state has a survey for that purpose here.
The 18-question survey asks truckers to chime in on how they like to receive information about truck parking availability. Specific to the truck parking availability system, questions ask truck drivers how the signs should look and how far they should be placed from rest areas.
In addition to providing feedback about the digital signs, the survey asks general questions about truck parking on Interstates 15 and 80, including how often drivers find parking on the interstates, how long it takes to find a spot and where they park when there is no authorized parking to be found.
Recommendations for a truck parking availability system date back to at least 2019 in Nevada’s Truck Parking Implementation Plan. In addition to expanding parking throughout the state, NDOT proposed a two-phase availability system plan. Phase 1 includes signage at six priority locations, three on I-15 and three on I-80. Phase 2 includes installing the system for all remaining rest areas on both interstates.
The state’s 2022 freight plan update includes $4 million for the first phase. Another $6 million will be allocated to Phase 2 in fiscal years 2027-28.
Truck parking in Nevada
Federal data indicates Nevada is doing relatively well when it comes to truck parking, but NDOT’s analysis reveals some gaps throughout the state.
According to the first Jason’s Law survey conducted in 2014, Nevada had fewer than nine public truck parking spaces per 100 miles of the National Highway System, putting the state in the lowest quartile in that category. However, only 12% of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association members who took the survey indicated Nevada as a state with a parking shortage. Regardless, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance reported 60 incidents of illegal parking in the state, the fourth most among all states. I-80 was recognized as one of the worst interstates for truck parking, following only Interstate 90 and Interstate 40.
The second version of the Jason’s Law survey released in 2020 revealed more of the same. Nevada continued to have a low percentage of truckers citing the state as having a truck parking shortage. However, the state appeared to significantly improve unauthorized parking, reporting among the fewest incidents.
In NDOT’s truck parking implementation plan, the state points out that a statewide truck parking shortage impacts northern Nevada, especially during winter storms that shut down I-80 in the Sierras. In the southern portion of the state, more warehouse developments are driving up demand for parking.
NDOT also found locations with no truck parking facilities with amenities within a two-hour drive, including U.S. 93 between Las Vegas and Ely, U.S. 93 between Tonopah and Fernley, and U.S. 95 between Winnemucca and Marsing, Idaho. Other problem areas include:
- Clark County, with a deficit of more than 550 parking spaces
- Washoe County, Reno and Sparks area, lacking about 250 spaces
- Churchill County and near Carlin on I-80
- U.S. 6 near California border
- U.S. 95 near Indian Springs
- U.S. 93 near U.S. 93/93A split
The 2022 statewide freight plan update proposes more than a dozen projects totaling more than $70 million. About half of those projects include adding truck parking spaces at rest areas. LL
Other truck parking surveys:
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