Despite a severe, nationwide shortage, truck parking projects have been sidelined, making the problem worse. One House representative who has been leading the charge for more parking in Congress got stakeholders together to find solutions in his district.
Congressional District 12 in Illinois sits on the southwestern portion of the state, including parts of the St. Louis metro area. Rend Lake rest area is located around mile marker 75 on Interstate 57. More than 15,000 trucks travel that portion of the interstate every day, accounting for about 45% of traffic.
Parking at that rest area was plentiful at noon on a Tuesday, when Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., stopped by. When the sun starts to go down, and truck drivers begin to park for the night, the situation is much different.
Bost is well aware of the truck parking crisis. Before entering politics, he ran his family’s trucking business. With the House in recess, Bost gathered up some stakeholders to find out what the parking situation is in his district.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, several trucking industry representatives and state and local officials convened at the West City, Ill., city hall. The sole topic of discussion: truck parking.
Stakeholders got together in West City, Ill., to discuss truck parking with Rep. Mike Bost.
West City is a small town just down the highway from the Rend Lake rest area. The population of less than 1,000 has witnessed the truck parking crisis grow in its village, a story similar to many towns situated near an interstate across the country.
Truck parking was not always a major issue. But as more freight needs to be moved and fewer businesses allow parking, West City has a problem on its hands.
“We are asked on a daily basis where we can safely park every day,” West City Police Chief John Graskewicz said. “Walmart used to allow them to park there, but then they changed it to just Walmart trucks only can park there overnight. We have different parking lots that will let them park, but then they block each other in, and then we have a problem in the morning. So, they’re always looking for somewhere safe to park.”
West City Sgt. Sarah Parke said truck parking has been a problem for a long time. An extra vacant lot used for parking is now a gas station that does not allow truck parking. That is another scenario seen across the country: commercial development gobbling up land once used for parking.
Bost has firsthand knowledge of that situation. He told a story of one of his former drivers looking for a parking spot far from the interstate in a small town. Running out of hours, he parked at a Walmart, where he was told to leave. The driver then found an empty gas station lot. However, local police told the driver to move it or get a ticket, unsympathetic to the fact that by driving the truck an inch further, the trucker would violate hours-of-service regulations.
Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, pointed out there needs to be more hours-of-service flexibility, precisely for this reason.
Rep. Mike Bost, left, and OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh listen to West City, Ill., city officials explain their truck parking problem.
Illinois DOT getting things done
While West City is struggling to keep up with truck parking demands, the Illinois Department of Transportation is moving as fast as it can to fix the problem.
Carrie Nelson, the Region Five engineer at IDOT, said a grant has been awarded for a truck parking project at the Fort Massac rest area on Interstate 24 at mile marker 37. Currently, there are 18 parking spots there. Expanding the lot from 3,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet will create 64 parking spaces.
Illinois DOT Region Five Engineer Carrie Nelson, left, and OOIDA The Spirit tour truck driver Marty Ellis.
There is also a truck parking project in the pipeline along Interstate 64. Nelson said if grants are awarded, there could be more parking expansion along I-70, I-57 and I-55.
“It’s been a priority for the last eight years,” Nelson said.
Bumps in the road
While everyone at the roundtable discussion was motivated to expand truck parking, they acknowledged the obstacles along the way.
Although truck stops can create more truck parking spaces faster, Pugh said many drivers prefer rest areas. They are easy to get in and get out, which, in the time-crunch era of mandated electronic logging devices micromanaging a driver’s time, time cannot be wasted navigating large truck stops.
Matt Hart, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Association, said that is especially true for women drivers.
“We like all truck parking, but especially the rest areas,” Hart said. “We’ve actually polled our women drivers because we’re trying to get more females into this industry because only about 7% of our driver workforce is female. They actually prefer rest areas as opposed to truck stops. We see that as another tool to help us continue to get more females into this industry. If they know there are amenities, cameras, well lit … it’s a safe place for them to stop. That’s key.”
Matt Hart, Illinois Trucking Association executive director
Hart also pointed out that Illinois is sitting on $7 billion in its road fund, but that money is not getting out fast enough. That money comes from an increase in user fees, including doubling the fuel tax. Hart said they are not getting that money back in investments.
At the DOT level, Nelson said there are many obstacles, including community resistance and land acquisition. Perhaps her biggest challenge is funding.
State DOTs across the nation are strapped for cash. When deciding which projects to prioritize, truck parking usually comes out on the losing end. It is much easier to sell road and bridge improvements to the general public than truck parking.
If only there was a fund dedicated to truck parking projects …
Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act
Bost first introduced a truck parking bill more than six years ago. It is closer than it has ever been to becoming a reality.
The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act would allocate $750 million over five years to only projects that expand parking capacity. Free parking. No projects funded by the bill can charge drivers to park.
Nelson said money dedicated to truck parking could move parking expansion projects throughout the country across the finish line.
Bost’s bill has gone through different Congresses. Each time it gains more support and moves further along the process. Currently, the bill has been rolled into the BUILD America 250 Act, “the most pro-trucker highway bill in recent memory.”
If Congress can get the highway bill out the door, state DOTs will have hundreds of millions of dollars available to begin pouring some more asphalt and painting white lines.
“That’s not nearly enough, obviously, but at least it does help you all out,” Bost said. LL
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