Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/611028
December 2015 | Overdrive | 31 TRUCK STOP EXPANSION Major truck stop chains, notably Love's Travel Stops, continue to expand. The company has about 17,700 spaces at more than 350 locations, about 50 of them being C-store-only locations. "We're on track to open in the neighborhood of 30 locations this year," says Love's spokes- person Kealey Dorian. In 2017, an esti- mated 4,100 parking spaces will be added and available at new facilities. Some of that growth is in secondary markets, sized on the low end of Love's typical 60- to 110-space stops. "We're committed to expanding everywhere, not just the major thoroughfares," Dorian says. She acknowledges driver criticism that many of the new major market stops are too far from metro areas. TravelCenters of America, operator of TA and Petro Stopping Centers, also has been in expansion mode, adding 2,800 spaces over the last three years. A new Petro in Gary, Ind., added 405 new spaces to "a very congested I-80/I-90 corridor," says spokesman Tom Liutkus. In Virginia, a parking problem state, a TA Petro location along I-81 is adding another 300 spaces. Liutkus says three new facilities will open in 2016 in three other states known for parking problems: Tennessee, Texas and Illinois. This year, Pilot Flying J has added about 18 sites with an average 110 park- ing spaces in each. In 2016, another 25 sites of similar size are coming online. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS In the public arena, the MAP-21 high- way bill's Jason's Law language not only required the recently released study but also created new avenues for federal funding of truck-parking initiatives, both public and private. The good news is that projects funded by programs created by the highway bill prior to MAP-21 are seeing action today, with some well in place. The Jason's Law report laid out the following large-scale technology initiatives to provide space- availability information to drivers: • A "Rest Area Parking Information and Deployment System" on I-81 near Harrisburg, Pa. • Minnesota's $2 million to build an automated space detection and info sys- tem on I-94, up and running near three rest areas. • Wisconsin DOT's $1 million for a similar project. • Michigan DOT's $4.5 million for a Photo by Max Heine Source: OverdriveOnline.com poll How often do you experience difficulty finding a suitable parking space? Nearly every day 46% A couple/few times a week 25% 14% More than once daily 7% Almost never 5% Several times a month 3% Once a week For six in 10 Overdrive readers, parking difficulties are a daily occurrence on the road.