Announcement of Application Procedure and Deadlines for the Truck Parking Initiative, 50967-50969 [E6-14254]

Agencies

• Federal Highway Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 166 (Monday, August 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50967-50969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14254]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration


Announcement of Application Procedure and Deadlines for the Truck 
Parking Initiative

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; solicitation of applications.

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SUMMARY: This notice solicits applications for the truck parking 
initiative for which funding is available under Section 1305 of the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). SAFETEA-LU directs the Secretary to 
establish a pilot program to address the shortage of long-term parking 
for commercial motor vehicles on the National Highway System. States, 
metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and local governments are 
eligible for the funding available for fiscal years (FY) 2006-2009. 
Section 1305 allows for a wide range of eligible projects, ranging from 
construction of spaces and other capital improvements to using 
intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technology to increase 
information on the availability of both public and private commercial 
vehicle parking spaces. For purposes of this program, long-term parking 
is defined as parking available for 10 or more consecutive hours.

DATES: Applications must be received by the FHWA Division Office no 
later than November 27, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The FHWA Division Office locations can be found at the 
following URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html#fieldsites.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Mahorney, Office of 
Freight Management and Operations, telephone 202-366-6817 
bill.mahorney@dot.gov; for legal questions, Mr. Robert Black, Office of 
the Chief Counsel, Federal Highway Administration, telephone: (202) 
366-1359 robert.black@dot.gov; Federal Highway Administration, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    An electronic copy of this notice may be downloaded from the Office 
of the Federal Register's home page at https://www.archives.gov and the 
Government Printing Office's Web site at https://www.access.gpo.gov.

[[Page 50968]]

I. Background

    The Truck Parking Initiative could further the goals of the 
Department of Transportation's new National Strategy to Reduce 
Congestion on America's Transportation Network, announced on May 16, 
2006.\1\ By creating a program that provides funds to address long-term 
truck parking on the National Highway System, the Department 
anticipates that commercial motor vehicles will be better able to plan 
rest stops and better time their transit or loading/unloading within 
urban areas, thereby reducing the urban area's congestion.
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    \1\ Speaking before the National Retail Federation's annual 
conference on May 16, 2006, in Washington, DC, former U.S. 
Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta unveiled a new 
plan to reduce congestion plaguing America's roads, rail, and 
airports. The National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America's 
Transportation Network includes a number of initiatives designed to 
reduce transportation congestion. The transcript of these remarks is 
available at the following URL: https://dot.gov/minetasp051606.htm.
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    The shortage of long-term truck parking on the National Highway 
System (NHS) is a problem that needs to be addressed. The 2002 FHWA 
Report ``Study of Adequacy of Parking Facilities'' \2\ indicated that 
truck parking shortages are either non-existent or corridor-specific in 
some States, but more severe and pervasive in some States and regions. 
The report recommendations include expansion or improvement of public 
rest areas; expansion or improvement of commercial truck stops and 
travel plazas; use of public-private partnerships; educating or 
informing drivers about available spaces; and changing current parking 
rules. This lack of available parking not only adds to congestion in 
urban areas, but may affect safety by reducing the opportunities for 
drivers to obtain rest needed to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Regulations, Hours of Service of Drivers (49 CFR part 
395.3(a)(1)), which prohibits ``driving more than 11 cumulative hours 
following 10 consecutive hours off-duty.'' Further, parking areas are 
often designed or maintained for short-term parking only, and as a 
result, allow parking for limited time periods. Section 1305 of 
SAFETEA-LU (Pub. L. 109-59; Aug. 10, 2005) directed the Secretary of 
Transportation to establish a pilot program to address the long-term 
parking shortages along the National Highway System (NHS). Eligible 
projects under Section 1305 include projects that:
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    \2\ A copy of this document is available for inspection in the 
docket for this notice.
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    1. Promote the real-time dissemination of publicly or privately 
provided commercial motor vehicle parking availability on the NHS using 
ITS and other means;
    2. Opening non-traditional facilities to commercial motor vehicle 
parking, including inspection and weigh stations, and park and ride 
facilities;
    3. Making capital improvements to public commercial motor vehicle 
parking facilities currently closed on a seasonal basis to allow the 
facilities to remain open year round;
    4. Constructing turnouts along the NHS to facilitate commercial 
motor vehicle access to parking facilities, and/or improving the 
geometric design of interchanges to improve access to commercial motor 
vehicle parking facilities;
    5. Constructing commercial motor vehicle parking facilities 
adjacent to commercial truck stops and travel plazas; and
    6. Constructing safety rest areas that include parking for 
commercial motor vehicles.
    The FHWA believes that projects designed to disseminate information 
on the availability and/or location of public or private long-term 
parking spaces provides the greatest opportunity to maximize the 
effectiveness of this pilot program.

II. Funding Information

    1. The Administrator has determined that $5.385 million is 
available for grants in FY 2006 under Section 1305, after obligation 
limitations.
    2. Section 1305 authorizes $6.25 million for each of the fiscal 
years 2006 through 2009. Each year, after Congress has appropriated 
funds for the program, the obligation limitation will be determined. A 
similar solicitation for grant applications will be published each 
fiscal year. Funds authorized to carry out this section remain 
available until expended.
    3. Projects funded under this section shall be treated as projects 
on a Federal-Aid System under Chapter 1 of Title 23, United States 
Code.
    4. Grants may be funded at an 80 to 100 percent funding level based 
on the criteria specified in Sections 120(b) and (c) of Title 23, U.S. 
Code.
    This notice will also be posted on the FHWA Office of Freight 
Management and Operations Web site, https://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/
freight. An original and ten copies of each application must be 
submitted by a State Department of Transportation to the FHWA's Office 
of Freight Management and Operations, via the FHWA Division Office in 
the State in which the application was submitted. Awarded projects will 
be administered by the applicable State Department of Transportation as 
a Federal-aid grant. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 
OMB has provided emergency clearance for this action (OMB Control 
number 2125-0610, July 28, 2006). A request for comments for the new 
information collection (Docket No. 2006-25066) was published in the 
Federal Register on June 26, 2006. Comments may be submitted in 
response to this request until August 25, 2006.

III. Proposal Content

    All proposals should include the following:
    1. A detailed project description, which would include the extent 
of the long-term truck parking shortage in the corridor/area to be 
addressed, along with contact information for the project's primary 
point of contact, and whether funds are being requested under 23 U.S.C. 
120(b) or (c). Data helping to define the shortage may include truck 
volume (Average Daily Truck Traffic--ADTT) in the corridor to be 
addressed, current number of long-term commercial motor vehicle parking 
spaces, use of current long-term parking spaces, driver surveys, 
observational field studies, proximity to freight loading/unloading 
facilities, and proximity to the NHS.
    2. The rationale for the project should include an analysis and 
demonstration of how the proposed project will positively affect truck 
parking, safety, traffic congestion, or air quality in the identified 
corridor. Examples may include: advance information on availability of 
parking that may help to reduce the number of trucks parked on 
roadsides and increase the use of available truck parking spaces.
    3. The scope of work should include a complete listing of 
activities to be funded through the grant, including technology 
development, information processing, information integration 
activities, developmental phase activities (planning, feasibility 
analysis, environmental review, engineering or design work, and other 
activities), construction, reconstruction, acquisition of real property 
(including land related to the project and improvements to land), 
environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of 
equipment, and operational improvements.
    4. Stakeholder identification should include evidence of prior 
consultation and/or partnership with affected Metropolitan Planning 
Organizations (MPOs), local governments, community groups, private 
providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, and motorist and

[[Page 50969]]

trucking organizations. Also, include a listing of all public and 
private partners, and the role each will play in the execution of the 
project. Commitment/consultation examples may include: Memorandums of 
Agreement, Memorandums of Understanding, contracts, meeting minutes, 
letters of support/commitment, and documentation in a metropolitan 
transportation improvement program (TIP) or statewide transportation 
improvement program (STIP).
    5. A detailed quantification of eligible project costs by activity, 
an identification of all funding sources that will supplement the grant 
and be necessary to fully fund the project, and the anticipated dates 
on which the additional funds are to be made available. Public and 
private sources of funds (non-Federal commitment) will be considered by 
the FHWA as an in-kind match contributing to the project. State 
matching funds will be required for projects eligible under 23 U.S.C. 
120 U.S.C. (b).
    6. Applicants should provide a timeline that includes work to be 
completed and anticipated funding cycles. Gantt charts are preferred.
    7. Environmental process: Please include a timeline for complying 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, if 
applicable.
    8. Include a project map that consists of a schematic illustration 
depicting the project and connecting transportation infrastructure.
    9. Measurement Plan. Submitter must describe a measurement plan to 
determine whether or not the project achieved its intended results. The 
measurement plan must continue for three years beyond the completion 
date of the project. After the three-year period, a final report 
quantifying the results of the project must be submitted to the FHWA.
    10. Proposals should not exceed 20 pages in length.

IV. Applicant Review Information

    Grant applications that contain the mandatory elements will be 
scored competitively according to the soundness of their methodology 
and subject to the criteria listed below. Sub-factors listed under each 
factor are of equal importance unless otherwise noted.

A. Scoring Criteria

    1. Demonstration of severe shortage (number of spaces, access to 
existing spaces or information/knowledge of space availability) of 
commercial motor vehicle parking capacity/utilization in corridor or 
area to be addressed (20 percent).
    Examples used to demonstrate severe shortage may include:
     Average Daily Truck Traffic (ADTT) in proposal area.
     Average daily shortfall of truck parking in proposal area.
     Ratio of ADTT to average daily shortfall of truck parking 
in proposal area.
     Proximity to NHS.
    2. The extent to which the proposed solution resolves the described 
shortage (35 percent).
    Examples should include:
     Number of truck parking spaces per day that will be used 
as a result of the proposed solution.
     The effect on highway safety, traffic congestion, and/or 
air quality.
    3. Cost effectiveness of proposal (25 percent).
    Examples should include:
     How many truck parking spaces will be used per day per 
dollar expended?
     Total cost of project, including all non-Federal funds 
that will be contributed to the project.
    4. Scope of proposal (20 percent).
    Examples should include:
     Evidence of a wide range of input from affected parties, 
including State and local governments, community groups, private 
providers of commercial motor vehicle parking, and motorist and 
trucking organizations.
     Whether the principles outlined in the proposal can be 
applied to other locations/projects and possibly serve as a model for 
other locations.

B. Review Standards

    1. All applications for grants must be submitted to the FHWA 
Division Office by the State DOT by the date specified in this notice.
    2. State DOTs should ensure that the project proposal is compatible 
with or documented on their planning documents (TIP and STIP). They 
should also validate, to the extent the can, any analytic data.
    3. Each application will be reviewed for conformance with the 
provisions in this notice.
    4. Applications lacking any of the mandatory elements or arriving 
after the deadline for submission will not be considered. To assure 
full consideration, proposals should not exceed 20 pages in length.
    5. Applicants may be contacted for additional information or 
clarification.
    6. Applications complying with the requirements outlined in this 
notice will be evaluated competitively by a panel selected by the 
Director, Office of Freight Management and Operations, and will be 
scored as described in the scoring criteria.
    7. If the FHWA determines that the project is technically or 
financially unfeasible, FHWA will notify the applicant, in writing.
    8. The FHWA reserves the right to partially fund or request 
modification of projects.
    9. All information described in the submitter's mandatory proposal 
elements must be quantifiable and sourced.
    10. Submitter must describe a measurement plan to determine whether 
or not the project will achieve its intended results. The measurement 
plan must continue for three years beyond the date of the project. 
After a three-year period, a final report quantifying the results of 
the project must be submitted to the FHWA.
    11. The proposed projects should not compete with local businesses 
or commercial enterprises.

V. Selection Process

    The grant applications will be ranked by final score. The FHWA will 
select applications based on those rankings, subject to the 
availability of funds.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

    The FHWA recognizes that each funded project is unique, and 
therefore may attach conditions to different projects' award documents. 
The FHWA will send an award letter with a grant agreement that contains 
all the terms and conditions for the grant. These successful applicants 
must execute and return the grant agreement, accompanied by any 
additional items required by the grant agreement.

B. Performance Reporting and Measurement

    Failure to provide the measurement plan will be considered during 
the past-performance element of future grant applications.

    Authority: Pub. L. 109-59; Aug. 10, 2005.

    Issued on: August 23, 2006.
Frederick G. Wright, Jr.,
Federal Highway Executive Director.
[FR Doc. E6-14254 Filed 8-25-06; 8:45 am]
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