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HANDLING AND DELIVERY ARE CRITICAL PARTS OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS FOR ANY BUSINESS.

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CASE STUDY: THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO FRANK GEHRY STAIRCASE PADDOCK DELIVERS

The staircase may be dramatic but, thanks to Paddock, moving it was not. Paddock first transported the staircase from Mariani’s location in Etobicoke to Bolton, Ontario, for sandblasting and painting. Next, the Paddock team moved the 22 freshly finished pieces safely to their new home in the heart of Toronto. It took careful, creative planning and flawless execution to ensure the large, fragile staircase sections were safely secured for transport and delivered according to strict timelines to their final, high-traffic downtown destination, including obtaining permits and police escorts.

“When the grant announcement came through for truck parking, we immediately reached out to FDOT, and they immediately submitted the grant proposal, and we were one of the first to get the grant money, so that was a successful effort to start,” she said. She praised FDOT for its quick response to the grant announcement.

“We are proud that we were the first to receive this state funding, and I’m not surprised by it,” she said. “Florida Department of Transportation has always been a leader when it comes to innovation and creative solutions, and they have always been a wonderful partner to us..”

The grants to Florida and Tennessee represent small steps in addressing a nationwide problem. The parking issue was described in a letter dated Feb. 18 to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg that was jointly written by the ATA’s president and CEO, Chris Spear, and Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. It noted that the United States Department of Transportation’s 2019 Jason’s Law Report found that 98 percent of drivers regularly have problems finding a safe place to park, compared to 75 percent in 2015. The result is that 70 percent have been forced to violate federal hours-of-service rules, Spear and Spencer wrote. Drivers lose an average of 56 minutes of driving time each day, costing them $5,500 in lost income, or the equivalent of 12 percent of their annual pay.

They also park in unsafe locations such as interstate ramps. Eighty-four percent of drivers feel unsafe when parking in these unauthorized areas. Jason’s Law is named for Jason Rivenburg, a truck driver who was murdered while parked at an abandoned gas station in 2009.

It’s no wonder that “Truck Parking” ranked first among truck drivers in the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual “Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry” survey, which attracted more than 4,200 responses from drivers, motor carrier executives and others. It ranked as the third most critical issue overall, behind fuel prices and the driver shortage.

“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get the dedicated funding because now parking has to compete with everything else, and there are more needs than money in the highway space, but at least there’s the potential for addressing this problem with all the new money that’s out there,” said Roth.

—Darrin Roth, vice president highway policy, American Trucking Associations

The FDOT’s Statewide Truck Parking Study identified 10,093 truck parking spaces in Florida, 30 perent of which were provided by the public sector and 70 percent offered by private sector truck stops. The FDOT also solicited input from internal and external stakeholders and conducted an online survey that generated 136 responses, the majority coming from the trucking industry. Respondents said parking is lacking in metropolitan areas.

The study was part of an effort by FDOT to establish a statewide truck parking program to replace its past project-by-project approach. It says parking improvements should be funded at $10 million per year for at least five years.

Currently, four other truck parking projects are funded through 2027 with $58 million in National Highway Freight Program funds. Parking projects on or near the National Highway Freight Network are eligible for such funding.

Michael Williams, FDOT deputy communications director, said the department seeks to strategically direct resources to the network, with projects selected based on freight mobility factors. The study also calls for continuing to develop the state’s Truck Parking Availability System. The system currently alerts truck drivers as to the number of spots available among 2,352 spaces at rest areas, weigh stations and welcome centers.

It also calls for developing public-private partnerships. Darrin Roth, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of highway policy, said a number of private developers have become interested in providing parking services in parts of the country.

The five-year Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act did not include any additional funding dedicated solely to truck parking, but it made money available for INFRA grants like this one. It also increased highway funding by 38 percent, and state and local governments can use highway funding formula money to improve parking facilities.

“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get the dedicated funding because now parking has to compete with everything else, and there are more needs than money in the highway space, but at least there’s the potential for addressing this problem with all the new money that’s out there,” said Roth.

Miller said the U.S. Department of Transportation is aware of the truck parking issue, which she noted is a major concern for female drivers but also all drivers who deserve a safe place to park.

“I think people understand the supply chain better than ever after the pandemic and after the supply chain crisis, so they’re understanding that there are logistical challenges and needs that need to be met,” she said. “This is not just an issue of safety, but one of recruiting and retaining the next generation in the industry— particularly women.” FTN industry. Trucking is an interstate industr y, so Floridabased carriers likely will eventually drive through Rhode Island. Other areas of the country could adopt discriminatory tolling policies.