Model Development for National Assessment of Commercial Vehicle Parking FHWA-RD-01-159

FINAL REPORT

Cover: Three photo collage depicting a commercial vehicle backing into a parking space.

Model Development For
National Assessment of
Commercial Vehicle
Parking

FHWA-RD-01-159
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(4.69 mb)

Prepared for

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101

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 21^st 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

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 21^st 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

Model Development For National Assessment of Commercial Vehicle Parking

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Model Development For
National Assessment of
Commercial Vehicle
Parking