Innovative Use of Spatial Data Assists in Solving Truck Parking Shortage

Adequate truck parking at public rest areas and commercial truck stops and travel plazas is a nationwide concern for the freight transportation industry. Most of the nation's freight moves by truck, and experts project that this traffic will increase significantly in the coming years. A shortage of safe and affordable truck parking facilities increases congestion, decreases overall road safety, hinders compliance with hours of service rules designed to reduce fatigue-related accidents, and impedes national commerce. Research­ers at the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Educa­tion (CFIRE) developed innovative tools to help analyze this shortage.