Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/641412
50 commercial carrier journal | february 2016 COVER STORY: PARKING FIND A LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR AT MINIMIZER.COM OR CALL 800.248.3855 MINIMIZER POLY PRODUCTS • TESTED AND TORTURED TM • DAILY BY TRUCKERS FOR TRUCKERS TESTED AND TORTURED TIRE BENCH Times change. So should you. NICE TRY NAILED IT Minimizer Poly Fenders Guaranteed for life Typical dented, cracked, and rusted metal fenders Guaranteed to look terrible FLOOR MATS TOOL BOXES TOOL BENCH TIRE MASK Untitled-20 1 1/20/16 9:58 AM Grenerth believes availability informa- tion systems are "useful tools and a part of the solution" to the parking problem. However, "they're only helpful when there really is parking" available. A NATIONAL COALITION The first meeting of the National Coali- tion on Truck Parking was held last November. The agenda included the establishment of regional task forces with meetings coming this year to recommend actions to improve parking in each region. Rivenburg has pledged to bring truckers' concerns to coalition meetings both regional and national. "I plan on being at every meeting that is held," says Rivenburg. Drivers who experience a lack of parking also can help, she says. "Take a few minutes and jot down where and what time, and contact that state's DOT: 'You have x amount of spots and distribution centers here, and we can't find a place to park. What can you do to help us?' " The Jason's Law parking study "gives us a good starting point," Rivenburg says. "If you take the worst state with the biggest shortage of parking" and then "move on down the list," meaning- ful change could occur, she says. Grenerth says change will happen only if planners explore "creative ways to deal with that NIMBY" (not in my backyard) issue, "ways we can present ourselves as a better neighbor, making sure people know the real and honest facts. We're not talking about 'the pros- titutes and the drug dealers will show up' and our supposed millions of 'free hours to screw around.' " Prior to moving to the Kansas City area last year, Grenerth's northern Ohio area made "millions of dollars available for 'brownfield' sites to be redeveloped," he says. Brownfields are not only envi- ronmentally contaminated places such as Superfund sites but also dormant properties not generating tax revenue. "You have a fully intact warehouse, so you probably have room for a heck of a lot of trucks around it. That could be an opportunity for what I will call almost a turnkey operation – lighting, electric, pavement in place. Throw up some drywall for a driver's lounge – do a one-year, two-year lease to generate tax revenue for the local economy while they look for a long-term tenant." Years ago, Rivenburg led protests of the closing of some New York rest ar- eas, since reopened. "One driver said he just stopped to wish us luck, but then the media had done an interview with him," she says. "He said, 'Hope, I didn't think my voice would count.' But their voices do count. The drivers are the ones that face this every day, they know the ins and outs, where the problems are the worst. Without their help, we couldn't be where we are."