The cost of the report nor environmental impact were mentioned. Nor is any kind of entitlement mentality. It is "a study to determine the location and quantity of parking facilities at commercial truck stops and travel plazas and public rest areas that could be used by motor carriers to comply with Federal hours of service rules. The study shall include an inventory of current facilities serving the National Highway System, analyze where shortages exist or are projected to exist, and propose a plan to reduce the shortages."
It's not a question of just paving more corn fields for parking spaces. It's a question of how many, where, and what kind. It is noted that, "...drivers prefer commercial truck stops and travel plazas for most activities that require them to park, but they prefer public rest areas when stopping for taking a quick nap."
"An inadequate supply of truck parking spaces can result in two negative consequences: (1) tired truck drivers may continue to drive because they have difficulty finding a place to park for rest, and (2) truck drivers may choose to park at unsafe locations, such as the shoulder of the road and exit ramps, if they are unable to find available parking. Both of these consequences generate a safety hazard for the truck driver and for other drivers using the NHS. However, any program meant to address the problems of an inadequate supply of truck parking spaces must concentrate on a number of issues beyond simply providing additional parking spaces. For example, a Federal program that simply earmarks funds for each State to build new truck parking may not completely address the “big picture” need. Earmarking funds for every State may not be necessary if some States already have a sufficient supply of truck parking. Also, building spaces that have neither the convenience nor the amenities necessary to convince a truck driver to use the spaces would not help; tired truck drivers would either continue to drive to locate spaces with preferred amenities or would park in unsafe locations because of the greater convenience. Finally, parking spaces need to be adequately spaced so that a surplus of spaces is not developed in a select group of locations while other roadway segments continue to have an inadequate supply of spaces."
No mention is made concerning the convenience or preference of truck drivers to park their trucks on nice grassy spots normally used for dogs. However, "...there is a shortage of truck parking spaces at many locations in the United States and that this shortage is worse for parking at public rest areas than at commercial truck stops and travel plazas. Shortages also appear to be worse for non-Interstate highways, though the fact that those highways are often not access-controlled makes it more likely that other types of parking spaces (i.e., not at public rest areas or commercial truck stops or travel plazas) are used as supplemental parking." One can conclude that "supplemental parking" would include parking on the lawn.
It's a worthwhile report, and a good one, and if it were part of my job to have to find appropriate parking in order to comply with HOS regulations, I'd want to read at least the Summary and Conclusions, if not the whole report.
