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Feb 14, 2017

PARKING SPACES FOR TRUCKS * USA: A nightmare every day for truckers

* Colorado - Truck parking is quiet crisis facing industry
--- Each night, thousands of truck drivers across the country find themselves in a horrible game of “musical chairs” — searching for parking spaces to take their mandated 10-hour rest period... This occurs because of a major shortage for truck parking, which has not kept up with the volume and growth of trucks traveling across our country each day... Tom Lee to illustrate this problem, one needs only to look at a recent statement by the former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Mark Gottlieb, who noted that the average over-the-road truck driver “spends 56 minutes each day looking for places to park that are safe, where the driver can get the necessary rest time, and that 56 minutes a day translates into $4,600 annually in lost wages for that driver and for that company.” The drivers’ lost wages and companies’ higher costs are the tip of this problem’s iceberg... The additional time spent searching for a space translates into greater congestion on roadways, increased emissions and more energy use... But the greatest concern is how the parking shortage may affect safety as fatigue may set in for drivers searching for parking. Inadequate truck parking also factors into driver retention and recruitment...
(Photo: Truck drivers give up nearly an hour of available driving time each day by parking)   --   Denver, COL, USA - Transport Topics, by Tom Lee First Vice President Empire Warehouse - Feb. 13, 2017

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Aug 24, 2015

TRUCKS PARKING SHORTAGE * USA: A trucking trouble

* DC - Study: Finds shortage of truck parking a ‘Safety Concern’
-- Parking shortages that could cause truck drivers to continue driving while tired or to stop and spend the night on road shoulders and exit ramps “are a national safety concern,” according to a study the Federal Highway Administration is expected to release on Friday... “Ideally each driver requiring rest should be able to access a safe, clean, full service parking space to obtain long-term rest whenever the need for long-term parking arises,” the 119-page study says. “In reality, there is often a mismatch between driver demand…[and] the availability of an adequate parking space at that point and time” ... The FHA’s survey is the latest and most comprehensive attempt to tackle the problem... More than 75% of the truck drivers surveyed in the study and nearly 66% of logistics personnel reported they regularly had trouble finding safe parking when it was time to rest. Ninety percent reported “struggling to find safe and available parking” at night... The study reveals why the problem is so intractable. There is no single entity—not federal or state governments, not trucking companies or shippers—responsible for truck parking facilities. Moreover, the vast majority of truck parking—88% of the 309,000 spaces documented in the study—is at private truck stops, not in public rest areas... But truck-stop operators reported challenges with expanding their parking. They need to account for customer demand and real-estate costs, and they also frequently run into zoning and environmental laws. Many communities don’t want more trucks stopping nearby for the night... Lisa Mullings, chief executive of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, says she hopes the study will encourage better planning by truck fleets... 
(Photo by Kyle Granthan/The WSJ: When drivers were asked to identify problem parking regions, the mid-Atlantic area ranked first)   --  Washington, DC, USA - The WSJ, by BETSY MORRIS - Aug. 21, 2015

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Nov 24, 2009

TRUCK PARKING * Canada - Drivers asked to weigh on

Ottawa,ONT,CAN -Truck News -23 Nov 2009: -- It’s no secret among professional drivers that there are too few places for truckers to stop for rest. Now it appears the situation is on the radar of some influential decision-makers... The Owner-Operator Business Association of Canada (OBAC) is asking all drivers and owner/operators to complete a Transport Canada survey that will be used to help identify the scope of the problem and maybe even influence future funding...

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posted by Unknown @ 6:47 AM  0 comments

Sep 12, 2009

Parking Lot * USA - Hollywood Blvd Embraces its Truck Stop Future

Hollywood Blvd. is one of the most famous streets in the world and to many people, it's known as the Walk of Fame. It has also become the City’s truck stop



Los Angeles,CAL,USA -City Watch, by Stephen Box -11 Sept 2009: ... Tourists come from around the world to walk the Boulevard, starting at LA Brea and passing the Roosevelt Hotel, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theater, Ripley's, Madame Tussauds, the El Capitan, the Egyptian, the Pig 'n Whistle, Musso & Frank's, Boardner's ... phew! We haven't even hit Vine Street! Keep going and there's the Pantages Theater, the Music Box Theatre, a great view of the Hollywood sign and an equally good view of the Griffith Observatory. It's as if Hollywood Boulevard is the center of the Entertainment Industry universe... All of which could change quickly, especially if LA's leadership continues to support the Trucking Industry with the bold and cavalier carte blanche that they have offered thus far... Hollywood Boulevard is designated as a Major Highway. Calls to Council members Eric Garcetti and Tom LaBonge yield instructions from local deputies on how to dial 311, an exercise in futility that leaves the caller frustrated and the 311 operator confused. The LAPD defer to the LADOT, the LADOT has been aware of the problem for two years and Chief Jimmy Price himself has claimed that the department is all over it and yet...the Hollywood Boulevard is still an 18 Wheeler Parking lot... The simple secret is this: the parking ticket is cheaper than the off-street parking fee plus the shuttle back home. Locals park 18 Wheelers on Hollywood Boulevard because they can... (Video from YouTube, by stephenmbox - 10 Sept 2009: "Hollywood Blvd Trucks". Hollywood Blvd is world famous. It's the Walk of Fame! It's also a busy Major Highway, two lanes in each direction with no bike lanes and little room for negotiation. That's what makes it so hard to believe when the City of LA's leadership ignores the 18 Wheelers parked illegally and in such a way that they impede traffic on the already congested boulevard. C'mon now, this is Hollywood!)

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May 8, 2009

TRUCKS' PARKING TROUBLES WORLDWIDE

* Europe - Better and safer parking areas for trucks

Brussels,Belgium -HGV IRELAND (Dublin,Ireland) -6 May 2009: -- Policy makers and business leaders operating in transport gathered in Brussels last week to look at the best way forward to improve security, quality and availability of parking areas for heavy goods vehicles along the European road network. The conference was organised under the auspices of the European Commission... The conference explored solutions for improving truck park security, information, certification and capacity. It presented the results of EU-funded projects aimed at promoting good practice for security and quality of truck parking areas. The conference also gave an overview of existing key national initiatives in the field. Some of the key highlights included a release of a European best practice handbook, a call for interest to truck parking developers to get a European label of quality and the launch of new on-line service providing information on existing parking areas in Europe... (Picture: bloomberg)


* USA - Jason’s Law: ATA pushes for quick passage of truck-parking measure

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner, by Brian Straight -May 7, 2009: -- The murder of a truck driver, and his family's dedication to the job he loved so much, is driving legislation through Congress to improve safe parking for truckers. Nicknamed "Jason's Law," House bill H.R. 2156 and Senate bill S. 971 aim to create a pilot program to increase truck parking facilities... The bills will allow the Secretary of Transportation along with state, regional and local governments, to direct funds to improve rest areas along the National Highway System, ATA said. According to the trucking organization, the money would allow construction of rest areas that include parking for commercial vehicles; opening existing facilities to commercial vehicles, including inspection and weigh stations; promote the availability of appropriate rest areas; and provide money for capital improvements to facilities currently closed on a seasonal basis... The bills come at a time when many states are considering closing rest stops to save money. Virginia is considering closing 25 of 41 rest areas in the state and several other states have similar proposals...


* Australia - Governments agree to fix 'unacceptable' rest areas

Brisbane,Qld,Australia -Owner Driver -9 May 2009: -- Work will soon begin on 28 new and upgraded rest areas across NSW as part of a joint government agreement to spend $16 million improving roadside facilities... The federal and NSW governments will each commit $8 million to the venture, with NSW Minister for Roads Michael Daley, saying it will go a long way towards reducing fatigue-related incidents in the trucking industry... Under the agreement, the governments will fund six new rest areas along key freight routes, while another 22 will be upgraded... Labelling the current state of rest areas an “unacceptable situation”, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, says all jurisdictions are committed to working with the industry to improve rest areas...

* ATA CONVENTION: Truss could block 'mischievous' tax grabs

Brisbane,Qld,Australia -Owner Driver, by Brad Gardner -9 May 2009: -- ... Opposition spokesman on transport, Warren Truss, told delegates the Coalition would build 500 rest areas over 10 years if elected... However, one delegate questioned his promise, saying the Coalition had 12 years to invest in rest areas... “You were in office for a number of years. Why didn’t we do it before, Warren?” the delegate asked...


* Ghana - Lack of parking spaces compel haulage drivers to park along roads

Tema,Ghana -The Ghana Home Page -April 30,2009: -- Haulage drivers in Tema on Wednesday said absence of parking spaces along highways had compelled them to park their trucks on shoulders or almost in the middle of roads... The drivers said when their trucks develop fault, they do their best to find appropriate place to back "but where it becomes impossible we park along the roads against our wishes."... (Photo from mijnmercedes: Ghana truck)

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Jan 3, 2009

TRUCKS PARKING TROUBLES * USA - ‘Get in and get out’ mind-set limits parking options

The lack of truck parking and escalating restrictions on where truckers can park are growing problems across the country

Watertown,WI,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Clarissa Kell-Holland -December 31, 2008: -- ... Even though cities and states depend on the goods trucks bring their way, they seem to have a “get in and get out” attitude toward truckers... That’s a sentiment OOIDA member and produce hauler DuWayne Marshall of Watertown, WI, knows about all too well... For now, Marshall said he just wants to know where he can park to take his break... “Instead of ticketing me for where I can’t park, they could at least provide me with a suggestion of where I can park,” he said...

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Nov 21, 2007

TRUCKERS' POLL * USA - Parking becoming more and more difficult

Truckers agree on at least one thing: Parking places are getting scarce as hen's teeth

Anniston,AL,USA -The Trucker -20 Nov 2007: -- Gather a group of 12 truckers, ask a simple question and you’ll likely get at least eight different answers, maybe even 12. Unless that question is about parking, and then you’ll get an overwhelming majority with the same answer... Such was the case in the latest poll on www.thetrucker.com... When asked the question, “Truck parking is a growing problem. How much more difficult is it for you to find a parking place each night than one year ago,” 63.2 percent said it was “extremely more difficult” and 27.6 percent said it was “a little more difficult”... Only 1.3 percent said it was “not as difficult” and 7.9 percent said it was “about the same”...

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