State lawmakers from the Southwest to the Northeast want action to address truck parking.
Truck drivers are well aware that available truck parking continues to be an issue nationally.
A Jason’s Law survey showed there were about 313,000 truck parking spaces nationally. About 40,000 spaces are at public rest areas and 273,000 are at private truck stops.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has emphasized that expanding safe truck parking improves safety for all road users.
Pennsylvania
One Pennsylvania bill would create a tax credit to help address a truck parking shortage in the state.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported there are 11,500 truck parking spaces available throughout the state. The spaces included are at private truck stops, PennDOT rest areas and welcome centers and Pennsylvania Turnpike service plazas.
The Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee previously indicated there is a shortage of about 4,400 truck parking spaces across the state. The shortfall results in about 1,100 trucks parked nightly on highway shoulders and ramps.
Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre/Mifflin, is behind a bill to increase the availability of truck parking by giving businesses a tax credit for building additional truck parking spaces.
Benninghoff cited two main reasons for the need for truck parking: distribution centers and inadequate truck parking.
“Distribution centers do not allow truckers to stay on their property should they arrive early with their load. This gets coupled with the reality that truckers must abruptly stop their journeys to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service rules,” Benninghoff wrote in a bill memo.
With distribution centers concentrated in cities and near each other, “trucks run into the issue of having to compete for the limited number of spots that are available at one location.” As a result, he said, truckers are forced to illegally park on shoulders and ramps “that create an unsafe situation for the truck driver and other motorists.”
Benninghoff added that businesses along highways do not provide needed truck parking because there is not an economic incentive to do so.
“This tax credit aims to be the economic incentive needed for businesses to create truck parking.”
HB709 would create a $5,000 annual tax credit to apply to each publicly available and free truck parking space created in certain areas.
A minimum of five new spots would be required to qualify for the tax credit. The maximum amount a taxpayer could claim would be $100,000.
Eligible businesses would be limited to locations within the state’s Tier 1 or Tier 2 corridors identified in a truck parking study done by the Transportation Advisory Committee.
“Overall, our truckers who transport our food, medicine and goods deserve more action from our state government here in Harrisburg to make sure that they remain safe and in compliance with the law without endangering them,” Benninghoff said.
HB709 is in the House Finance Committee.
New York
Multiple New York bills cover truck parking. The legislation would allow for increased fines for parking in certain areas.
The first bill, S6876, would authorize a $1,000 fine for parked or unattended semi-trailers or trailers on New York City streets.
A bill memo reads that owners or operators of illegally parked tractor-trailers or semi-trailers now are not fined. Owners can retrieve their vehicles by paying a $160 towing fee.
Sen. Leroy Comrie, D-Queens, wrote that the fee is “a small price to pay compared to what it can cost to legally park a tractor-trailer in the city.”
His proposed $1,000 fine is touted to help encourage the legal parking of affected vehicles and to help maintain the “quality of life” in city neighborhoods.
The legislation has twice passed the Senate in recent years. Both times, however, Assembly lawmakers failed to advance the pursuit.
S6876 awaits consideration in the Senate Transportation Committee.
Another Comrie bill, S6877, would impose a $400 fine for tractor-trailers that park overnight in Southeast Queens. Repeat offenses within six months would result in $800 fines.
The pursuit is focused on the area between John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.
The bill memo states that “while commercial trucks have a place to pick up and drop off supplies they are delivering, there is no place for them to park.” As a result, trucks park in residential areas between overnight shifts, taking up spaces in front of houses.
Comrie said the trucks are an environmental hazard and are troublesome to families.
The pursuit has passed the Senate in each of the two previous legislative sessions but died in the Assembly.
This year’s bill starts in the Senate Cities 1 Committee.
Texas
Two Texas bills address concerns about truck parking.
SB2385 would outlaw overnight truck parking in certain areas of Waller County.
This county northwest of Houston has four major corridors, including Farm to Market 359 and 362, Interstate 10 and U.S. 290.
Waller County has a commercial vehicle enforcement unit. A 2023 state law granted the county sheriff’s department authority to enforce truck rules.
SB2385 would prohibit overnight truck parking in or near residential subdivisions.
The bill is in the Senate Transportation Committee.
A related House bill, HB3881, would amend truck parking rules throughout the state.
State law prohibits parking a commercial vehicle overnight in or near residential areas on a street that is maintained by a county or municipality. Signage must be posted.
The rule also applies to a residence, school, place of worship or park located within 1,000 feet of the property line.
The bill would remove the overnight limitation. The change would authorize enforcement of the truck parking rule throughout the day.
Additionally, the rule would be expanded to include retail areas.
Trucks found in violation could be towed.
An exception would be made for a truck parked for up to two hours as long as the operator is present in the vehicle and is taking a rest break or “other lawfully mandated break.”
New Jersey
In New Jersey, an Assembly bill calls for creating a rule to require that truck parking be included in any plans for certain warehouse developments.
A3370 would require an application for development proposing a large warehouse to provide an “adequate number of onsite parking spaces” for tractor-trailers servicing the warehouse as a condition of preliminary site plan approval.
Another condition of the bill is that trucks servicing a warehouse must not contribute to an overflow of tractor-trailer parking onto other properties or rights-of-way during overnight hours. LL
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