KDOT to go live on regional truck parking management system

[route56]

I can't make the scheduled ribbon-cutting on Friday, but I might be able to get some pics of the system over the weekend.

Topeka - The Kansas Department of Transportation will cut the ribbon January 4 at 9:00 a.m. on the westbound side of the Paxico rest area to officially begin operating a multi-state system to improve truck parking.

The Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) project ties eight mid-America states together to provide commercial truck drivers with reliable, real-time information to make smarter and more efficient truck parking decisions along commercial truck corridors through a combination of computer-monitored truck parking areas, dynamic message signs and web and mobile applications.

KDOT's Bureau of Transportation Planning was the lead agency for the regional project, and the ribbon cutting officially deploys the system regionally.

"This project is one of the biggest steps forward in improving efficiency and safety for our commercial truckers,"  said Davonna Moore, KDOT transportation planner and TPIMS regional project leader. "More efficient movement of goods, reduced fuel costs and safer parking benefits markets globally."

The project is part of a coordinated effort with the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO), the trucking industry, and the transportation departments of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Other states are expected to join the system in the near future.

The system is funded through a $25 million federal grant and each participating state contributed additional funds for the project. The system will use existing intelligent transportation systems (ITS) infrastructure and capabilities, along with emerging vehicle detection and data collection technologies, to monitor the availability of truck parking. It will then provide real-time information through multiple platforms to commercial vehicle operators for over 150 parking sites across the MAASTO region.

More information about TPIMS is available at https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burRail/Rail/Documents/TPIMS_Summary.pdf

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^
Question:  Seems that the info obtained from the cited site seems to point toward this project as simply information-based -- in other words, directing commercial traffic to the most appropriate (and temporally available) parking/rest location.  Is any part of those grant funds available to finance, fully or even partially, an expansion of those facilities, particularly those attached to publicly-operated rest areas -- including increased security measures (lighting, patrolling) for them?   It seems that since among the sponsors/backers of this project are commercial truck stops that ostensibly charge, directly or indirectly, for their parking spaces, that there might be some conflict of interest inherent in the measure -- with these commercial establishments potentially opposing expansion and/or upgrading of the public rest-stop truck parking areas in order to bring more commercial traffic to their facilities -- where presumably any of that type of expansion/upgrade would be at least partially subsidized by public funds. 

This would, at least by intent, correspond to the closer monitoring of hours spent on the road by commercial truckers to address "drowsy driving".  I just hope that it isn't configured more as a subsidy to truck-stop operators than as a safety measure. 

[J N Winkler]

Question:  Seems that the info obtained from the cited site seems to point toward this project as simply information-based -- in other words, directing commercial traffic to the most appropriate (and temporally available) parking/rest location.  Is any part of those grant funds available to finance, fully or even partially, an expansion of those facilities, particularly those attached to publicly-operated rest areas -- including increased security measures (lighting, patrolling) for them?

I think it is ITS components (truck parking displays and the equipment needed to monitor occupancy of truck parking spaces) only.  I can't imagine any significant expansion of rest area parking being done for less than $1 million per rest area.  In fact, the ITS elements for two rest areas on I-135 between Salina and Wichita came to $2.9 million.

It seems that since among the sponsors/backers of this project are commercial truck stops that ostensibly charge, directly or indirectly, for their parking spaces, that there might be some conflict of interest inherent in the measure -- with these commercial establishments potentially opposing expansion and/or upgrading of the public rest-stop truck parking areas in order to bring more commercial traffic to their facilities -- where presumably any of that type of expansion/upgrade would be at least partially subsidized by public funds.

This would, at least by intent, correspond to the closer monitoring of hours spent on the road by commercial truckers to address "drowsy driving".  I just hope that it isn't configured more as a subsidy to truck-stop operators than as a safety measure.

I am familiar with the signs that provide real-time indication of truck parking space availability, but not with any other measures (such as a parking availability website or app) that might make free spaces more readily discoverable by truckers.  I can see availability information, depending on how easily accessible it is to truckers, resulting in more takeup of free spaces at times of low demand and more business for the commercial truck stop operators at times of high demand.  Whether this redounds overall to the benefit of the commercial operators is not a question I feel I have the data in hand to answer.  I also wonder if the research done into the effectiveness of real-time VMS indication of parking space availability in congested city centers (fairly common in Europe, less so in the US) is applicable to this situation.

[route56]

BUMP! I finally got around to checking out one of the new TPIMS signs:



Furthermore, it looks like the KTA is following suit: