Pennsylvania House panel advances truck parking study pursuit

A Pennsylvania House committee has taken the first step toward addressing a shortage of truck parking in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reports there are about 11,600 truck parking spaces available throughout the state at private truck stops, PennDOT rest areas and welcome centers, and Pennsylvania Turnpike service plazas.

Data from the Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee indicates there is a shortage of about 4,400 truck parking spaces across the state. The shortfall results in about 1,100 trucks parked on highway shoulders and ramps on a typical night.

An important study

The Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee voted unanimously on Monday, Oct. 30, to advance a resolution to help counter the lack of truck parking.

Sponsored by Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, HR236 directs the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a “thorough and comprehensive study of truck parking” in Pennsylvania.

Heffley said the study is intended to provide recommendations for achieving adequate truck parking across the state.

“We all see it. We all travel on the highways and the interstates. You see trucks parked on the shoulder of the road,” Heffley told committee members.

“We want to give these drivers the dignity to be able to park somewhere safe to take their 10-hour break. Somewhere they have access to facilities to wash their hands and use the bathroom, maybe grab a bite to eat. Aside from that, just somewhere to safely park, not along the interstate, where they can get a good night’s rest so they can get out there and do their job.”

He added that it is important to look at all options to help the industry.

Rep. Brian Smith, R-Jefferson/Indiana, told his committee companions it is very important they address truck parking.

“As a former trucking company owner, I knew for my drivers, and even when I was out driving, that was an issue – finding a parking spot,” Smith said. “In today’s world with electronic logs and having to plan your day to get to some point, when you got to the end of your driving day, it wasn’t guaranteed you would find a place to park your truck.

“It’s very important we do this study and hopefully help the truckers out in Pennsylvania, and the truckers traveling through.”

The resolution awaits further consideration on the House floor.

OOIDA calls for action

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association believes that expanding safe truck parking improves safety for every road user.

“Truckers don’t want to park on road shoulders, offramps and onramps. They park there because they run out of regulated hours and literally have nowhere else to park and get some rest,” said OOIDA Communications Director George O’Connor. “This is a serious safety hazard for the drivers of the trucks as well as other road users forced to navigate around the parked trucks. Countless innocent lives are lost every year to tragedies that are completely preventable.”

Doug Morris, OOIDA’s director of state government affairs, said the Association has seen many truck parking studies and surveys.

“It’s time to actually produce the space and pavement for additional spots,” Morris added.

OOIDA supports federal legislation to address the national truck parking shortage via dedicated funding.

Specifically, U.S. House and Senate legislation would allocate $755 million over three years to the construction of more truck parking spots. All new parking would be required to be publicly accessible and free of charge. LL

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