Parking spots for truckers have become tougher to find off Connecticut highways.

On some nights, on and off ramps on Interstate 91 and Interstate 95 can be dotted with trucks because of the lack of parking spaces.

Researchers at UConn’s Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center and the Connecticut Department of Transportation are looking for ways to help. The goal is increasing safety, expanding parking availability, efficiency, and aiding truckers in complying with rest regulations.

“Truck parking has been a major focus of the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) for the last four or five years,” said Eric Jackson, the executive director of the Connecticut Transportation Institute and the director of Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center. “We are trying to find ways to accommodate truckers and make it as efficient as possible.”

Jackson said his organization is in the process of creating a parking inventory across the state.

“Over the last year we were visiting sites and going on Google Earth to make sure parking is up to date and seeing if there are restrooms and a place to shower,” Jackson said. “We are documenting what exists and we are finishing that.”

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Jackson said the state Department of Transportation is also focused on public parking and his organization is researching private parking lots at and around Travel Centers of America off Exit 72 on I-84 in Willington.

A safety issue

In an example of the significance of trucks in moving goods in the United states, the American Trucking Association reports that the big rigs moved 11.46 billion tons of freight in 2022. The Motor Transport Association reports that “85.8% of Connecticut communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods.”

Trucks, as are other vehicles, are regularly part of the construction-related traffic jams seen across Connecticut, with some back ups stretching for miles and hours.

“We are looking to set up a pilot program to track in real time how many parking spots are available throughout the state,” Jackson said.

Jackson said there has been a recent switch from manual logbooks in trucker’s cabs to more efficient and electric logs that track drivers closely. Once 10 straight hours of driving has been reached, the driver must take break and pull over to avoid facing penalty, he said. In some case the rule is 11 hours of driving, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

“If drivers are running against hours of service and there is nowhere to park, they must stop – that’s when they start parking on off-and-on ramps on highways and that’s not safe for anyone,” he said. “It’s a major safety issue.”

Jackson said he saw firsthand around the country that there is a lack of parking. He took an RV to Kentucky and saw all spots full at rest stops and the highway ramps filed with trucks – like what is seen in Connecticut, he said..

“Just about every rest area we saw this issue,” Jackson said. “There are more trucks on the road.”

Jackson said his organization considered an app for drivers in the state but has shifted the philosophy.

“The landscape is changing rapidly,” Jackson said. “We are going to focus on how to populate the data and use it in existing apps. It doesn’t make sense to have an app just for Connecticut. We are going back to the drawing board a little bit and still in the process of seeing the best way to get the information to the truckers.”

UConn’s Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center is working with FMCSA and the CTDOT as well as other groups.

One of the ideas is to put cameras in parking lots and detectors to see where vacant spaces are and have a count of the number of open spaces as a sign on the highway. Jackson’s organization has a request for proposal to get some pilot data about parking.

“We are looking at different technology,” Jackson said. “We want a full inventory.”

The Connecticut Transportation Institute also collects and shares crash data in the state and is currently researching any crash information involving parked trucks.

John Blair, the president of Motor Transport Association of Connecticut said this has been a federal issue over the past few years and since U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited the state in January 2023.

“Secretary Buttigieg came to the state and spoke about the issue, and he spoke about the truck parking issue and improving infrastructure for some corridors,” said Blair, who has been the organization’s president for the last two years.

“The technology has improved over the years, but it doesn’t do much if all of the parking spaces are full,” Blair said. “If any of us are traveling on 91 or 95 you see cars parked along the entrance way and that’s not the safest place to park.”

“You have to build out the infrastructure for the rest stops,” Jacksons said. “They need to be expanded. At the federal level, the American Trucking Association has been pushing for improvement for truck parks and expansion across the country.”

Jackson, who grew up in Farmington and now lives in Hartford, said he would support technology that would improve drivers learning about spots, if it doesn’t come at too large of a cost for truckers to put it in their vehicles.

“Many may not want to invest because the margins are so tight,” Jackson said. “But I believe improvements are coming. It hasn’t trickled down from the federal level yet, but we will probably see it more over the next year and a half.”

“I hope there is a focus on safety so we can provide safe roadways for our drivers and truck drivers and have more options for parking for the trucking community,” he said.

The state Department of Transportation released the 60-page Connecticut Truck Parking Study in June 2023. It also found issues with the quantity of spaces available.

The study looked at much of what Jackson’s group is researching, including: inventory of existing truck parking in the state and analysis of identified truck parking sites; analysis of undesignated truck parking at identified truck parking sites; truck parking supply and demand assessment of key corridors; summaries of truck driver surveys from a truck parking perspective and truck parking implementation strategies.

“Almost 92 percent of the estimated truck parking demand in 2019 (i.e., 642 out of the 700 truck parking spaces needed during peak hour) is concentrated on I-95, I-84, I-91, and I-395 corridors,” the report said. “Parts of I-84, I-91, and I-395 corridors have a non-uniform supply (i.e., lack truck parking facilities once every hour of truck travel).

“The non-uniformity in truck parking supply makes it difficult for truck drivers to meet their hours of service (HOS) regulations on the state’s transportation network. At the time of this analysis, a major supply shortfall location is identified as I-84 corridor between US 7 and I-691, which needs development of new truck parking sites.”

The report said peak hours are from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. at I-95 Darien north and southbound service plazas, I-84 eastbound in Southington and I-84 westbound in West Willington. These sites have longer term parking 4-to-8 hours or longer in duration. There is slower turnover and more parking in undesignated areas.

The sites of I-95 southbound at the North Stonington Welcome Center, Pilot Travel Center #882 and Pride Hartford Truck Stop all have 30 or more parking spaces apiece and regularly have more spots available – according to the report.

The report also said the demand for I-95 corridor segments is higher compared to the I-91 and I-395 corridors and should be prioritized for expansion around the existing truck parking sites or development of new truck parking sites.

Showers, laundry and truck washes are only present on I-95 corridors and laundry is available on I-95, I-84 and I-95, the report says, while pushing for the amenities to be more readily available.

The report states that there are 30 parking sites in the state, 20 are public and 10 are private. There are 1,226 total available parking spots for 5-axle and greater trucks in the state, it says.

The 10 private sites provide approximately 863 spots, which is 70 percent of parking spaces in the state. The 20 public parking spots provided 363 spots, the report says.