Truck Parking Study: Unveiling the Parking Space density and Truck Volume Relationship: Phase 1

Truck parking has been a national concern for many years. There are several reasons behind it. One is that truck driving and on-duty hours are regulated by the federal law for the sake of traffic safety. Truckers cannot drive for more than 7 hours within any consecutive 24 hours of time. Truckers, especially those for inter-city travel, must find a resting spot when the driving hours reaches its federally enforced limit. Due to unavailability of truck parking space at locations, it is needed, truckers are often found to park illegally on highway ramps or other unsafe spots. Alternatively, some truckers are caught driving beyond the hours limit, which significantly contributes to the highway fatal rate. The objective of this study is to study the relation between truck volume and parking space density in a simulation environment as phase I. The truck space availability issue is essentially one between volume and density subject to boundary conditions. The intuitive observation is that a higher volume demands more parking space statistically. The boundary condition is that there must be a minimum density no matter how low the volume is. In realistic situations such as those along the corridors of I-94 in Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as I-35, HW29 in Iowa and Texas, the team believes that there must be an inherent relationship between the space needed and the truck volume. The study means is a computer simulation, which allows to flexibly examining all different situations along the interstate highways in terms of volumes and density. The goal is to explore a statistical formula for this relationship in a hope that policymakers may use to examine the adequacy of truck parking space within their jurisdiction areas.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $60000
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747120

• Sponsor Organizations:

  United States Department of Transportation - FHWA - LTAP

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC    20590

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Freight Mobility Research Institute

  Florida Atlantic University
  Boca Raton, FL  United States  33431
• Project Managers:

  Stearns, Amy

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135
• Principal Investigators:

  Wang, Xiubin

  Zhang, Yunlong

• Start Date: 20170901
• Expected Completion Date: 20181001
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Interstate highways; Parking; Parking facilities; Simulation; Statistical analysis; Traffic volume; Trucks
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01677605
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Freight Mobility Research Institute
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747120
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 11 2018 10:20PM