Dive Brief:
- The New Jersey Department of Transportation is asking for feedback on truck parking issues in the state, releasing a pair of surveys intended for short-haul and long-haul drivers.
- The two surveys are geared toward drivers, posing questions about their parking needs, how they search and how long it typically takes to find a spot. Industry participation is welcome, however.
- The surveys are open until June 16, according to the website.
Dive Insight:
New Jersey, home to the nation’s persistent top freight bottleneck in Fort Lee, is seeking to better understand its existing truck parking problems and collaborate with the industry on solutions.
“The objective is to investigate challenges through data collection, stakeholder input, and review of operational and technological trends,” the survey website says. “Based on these findings, the team will develop solutions, strategies, and policies to address any challenges.”
The surveys ask some different questions of the two driver groups.
But a section asking them to rate the effectiveness of various potential solutions offered the same categories in each survey: expansion of facilities, technology, increased street parking, paid parking and delivery hours.
The lack of truck parking is a nationwide issue, with the industry estimating the shortage at one available spot for every 11 trucks on the road. The issue received enough attention to merit hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
But local governments have exacerbated a lack of truck parking by banning it in their jurisdictions, while a bipartisan push for annual federal funding has stalled in recent years.
