PennDOT
If your driving takes you to or through Pennsylvania, it ought to soon be easier to find someplace to park legally.
The commonwealth Monday announced it's creating more than 1,200 new truck parking spaces in 133 locations between now and the end of 2026. In addition, the Pennsylvania Turnpike said it is evaluating opportunities for more than 600 additional truck parking spaces across its system.
The announcement was made at a press event by the Office of the Governor, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the State Police, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The move was praised by the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, which said in a Facebook post it "has long pushed for this change and played a central role in shaping the vision behind it."
PMTA President and CEO Rebecca Oyler said, "Every new space added means one more trucker has a safe, secure place to stop tonight.”
PMTA said it worked on the Truck Parking Task Force, and partnered with state and regional organizations — including the York County Planning Commission’s Freight Advisory Committee — to turn the Truck Parking Study’s recommendations into action.
In a sense, the state is formalizing what many truckers have been doing for quite some time. PennDOT said its new designated truck parking spots will be established on interstate on-ramps with no sight distance or safety concerns, weigh stations used for state police motor carrier safety enforcement, and various other locations within highway right of way.
PennDOT said it has collaborated closely with the state police to identify sites that can be designated quickly and cost-effectively. Spots will be marked with truck-parking signage installed by PennDOT.
“Truck parking is a nationwide issue, and with the high volume of freight traffic coming through Pennsylvania, the Shapiro Administration knew that we needed to tackle this problem,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. “As a commercial driver’s licenseholder myself, I know how important this commonsense approach is to our economy and workforce. By adding these spots – and looking at ways to add even more – we’re giving truckers many more options to safely park and meet their rest requirements.”
To complement the added spaces, PennDOT also unveiled a new “Public Truck Parking” option on www.511PA.com and the 511PA smartphone application. The map displays existing truck parking options and both agencies’ newly designated locations will be added as the parking becomes available.
As part of its ongoing investment to the trucking community, the PA Turnpike said it is evaluating the feasibility of additional spaces at various locations throughout its system, including emergency pull-offs, interchange on-ramps and service plaza on-ramps.
Over the last two decades, the PA Turnpike said it has added parking where it can, investing more than $30 million to expand truck parking at numerous service plazas. As it converts to Open Road Tolling, the PA Turnpike is reviewing the reconfiguration of interchanges it said can create opportunities to provide additional spaces for truck parking.
"The trucking community is essential to our mission of supporting national commerce,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “We are dedicated to finding innovative solutions that address the increasing truck parking shortages along our system, and we take pride in collaborating with partners throughout the Commonwealth to enhance driver safety and improve logistics efficiency."
