Study finds Minnesota has truck parking shortage

A new study shows what truckers have known for quite some time: there’s not enough truck parking available in one heavily-traveled Midwest state.

In the study released this week, the Minnesota Department of Transportation found there are only 4,834 truck parking spaces open at any given time. It also found there are some 26,000 truck trips daily in the state.

MnDOT’s study also discovered the majority of available overnight parking in the state is at private, commercial truck stops. In addition, the agency said the push to find more overnight truck parking is needed as local municipalities look to control truck parking within city limits.

“Cities like Minneapolis are actually looking to ban truck parking across their entire city so as we think on a state level, that’s going to increase those demands and pressure on our existing rest areas in the future,” MnDOT statewide freight planner Andrew Andrusko said in an interview with KTSP-TV, which is located in St. Paul.

MnDOT plans to hold outreach events and seek public comment during the next several months. The agency is then expected to look at programs and funding to increase truck parking throughout the state.