A recent story in the Morning Call highlighted another issue with increased warehouse development in the state of Pennsylvania: Where will they all park?

A report by the Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee found the state had 11,500 truck-parking spots in public and private rest areas, truck stops and service plazas in 2007, but 13,000 trucks requiring parking accommodations.

The need was even greater than the raw numbers indicate; some of those spots were not along major trucking corridors, where the demand is greatest.

Based on those figures, the state determined 4,400 more parking spots were needed in 2007.

The demand is likely greater now due to the growth of of e-commerce and the logistics industry in and around Pennsylvania.

Trucks moved more than 867 millions tons of goods through Pennsylvania highways in 2011, according to PennDOT. It estimates that number will nearly double by 2040.

Source

As with so many things surrounding the warehouse proposal, the developers are guessing and estimating, but known shortcomings in existing warehouse areas are evident. And it’s not just for parking between pick-ups and drop-off: there are issues galore around mandated rest/work periods. If the trucks and their drivers aren’t supposed to be in motion, where will they go?

So again we ask the basic questions:

• How many trucks will really be coming in and out of the proposed million-square-foot warehouse?
• And where will they park if there’s no space?

You guessed it: our communities will become impromptu truck stops.

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