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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

Report
This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Publication Number: FHWA-RD-01-159
Date: March 2002

Model Development For National Assessment of Commercial Vehicle Parking

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose of study

1.2 Objective of this report

2.0 BACKGROUND

2.1 Tennessee

2.2 Minnesota

2.3 New York

2.4 Iowa

2.5 Michigan

2.6 Maryland

2.7 Kentucky

3.0 ESTIMATING TRUCK PARKING DEMAND

3.1 Model Development

3.2 Data Requirements and Parameter Values

3.3 Parking Demand Model

3.4 National Assessment of Commercial Vehicle Parking

3.4.1 Step 1:Identify Major Trucking Corridors and Select Analysis Segments

3.4.2 Step 2:Inventory Truck Parking Facilities

3.4.3 Step 3:Apply Truck Parking Demand Model

4.0 TRUCK PARKING DEMAND MODEL CALIBRATION

4.1 Observational Studies

4.1.1 Methodology

4.1.2 Survey Administration

4.1.3 Field Observation Results

4.2 Model Calibration

4.2.1 Calibrate Long-Haul Peak Parking Factor

4.2.2 Calibrate Short-Haul to Long-Haul Ratio

5.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.Example of tight parking for trucks

Figure 2. Truck parking signage at a motel

Figure 3. Truck parking signage at a fast food restaurant

Figure 4. Example of truck parking available at a large retail store

Figure 5. Results of field observational study—location of parked trucks

Figure 6. Example of truck parking demand model spreadsheet

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.Data requirements for truck parking demand model

Table 2.Demand model parameters

Table 3.Derivation of the proportion of parking demand for public rest areas and private truck stops

Table 4.Terms calculated in step-by-step model process

Table 5.National truck parking assessment process

Table 6.Highway segments for observational studies

Table 7.Summary of model results—calibrated long-haul peak parking factor of 0.11

Table 8.Summary of model results—calibrated long-haul peak parking factor of 0.09

Table 9.Summary of model results—calibrated short-haul to long-haul ratio

FOREWORD

This report provides detailed technical documentation supporting the Report to Congress on the study called for in Section 4027 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to “determine the location and quantity of parking facilities as 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 report details the development and validation of a model for estimating commercial truck parking demand.

Janet A. Coleman

Director, Office of Safety Programs

Safety Core Business Unit  

Michael F. Trentacoste

Director, Office of Safety

Research and Development

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.Trade and manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of the document.

1. Report No.
FHWA-RD-01-159
2. Government Accession No.
3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle
MODEL DEVELOPMENT FOR NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PARKING
5. Report Date
March 2002
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
Kelley K. Pécheux, Kathryn J. Chen, John Farbry, Jr., and Stephen A. Fleger
8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Science Applications International Corporation
8301 Greensboro Drive
McLean, VA 22102
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-98-C-00059
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Safety Research and Development (HRDS)
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, Virginia 22101-2296
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report
October 1999-2001
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative: Raymond A. Krammes, HRDS; M. Joseph Moyer, HRDS
16. Abstract
The objective of this research was to estimate the extent and geographic distribution of truck rest parking supply and demand along the National Highway System in accordance with Section 4027 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. This report presents the development, calibration, validation, and application of the truck parking demand model used to meet the Section 4027 requirements.

The parking demand model developed for this study estimates parking demand for a highway segment (defined by the analyst) rather than a single parking facility.The model incorporates a variety of factors known to affect the demand for truck parking, which include:traffic engineering factors (e.g., annual average daily traffic, travel time, peak hour factors), truck driver behaviors (e.g., time spent loading/unloading, time spent at home, time spent resting at shipper/receiver), and Federal hours-of-service regulations (e.g., a maximum 70 hours on duty in eight days). A step-by-step method for selecting analysis segments and applying the model is presented. The first step in alleviating parking shortages is to identify the locations where shortages exist. The demand model is a good first step in achieving this goal.Overall, the model produces acceptable estimates of parking space demand. For 29 segments where parking counts were conducted, the model error was only –2 percent, an estimate within 269 spaces of the observed parked trucks. However, the model is not microscopic enough to always accurately predict segment-specific demand. This is because the model does not consider a number of factors that can affect the local distribution of demand (e.g., proximity to distribution centers that results in “staging,” proximity to other parking facilities that absorb demand, and factors that affect the short-haul/long-haul ratio).Because of these limitations, the model should be used as a guideline for identifying possible locations of parking shortages that can be evaluated more carefully through additional study and field observations.
17. Key Word
Truck Parking, Commercial Motor Vehicles, Parking Demand Model, Parking Studies, Human Factors, Rest Area, Truck Stop, Parking Supply
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified
20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified
21. No. of Pages
46
22. Price

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