University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

This project identifies factors that affect three truck-related parameters: idling, searching for parking, and parking demand. These parameters are examined in communities in Kern County California that have high air pollution levels and are located near transportation corridors, industrial facilities, and logistics centers. Daytime truck idling is concentrated in and around commercial and industrial hubs, and nighttime idling is concentrated around major roads and highway entrances and exits. Truck idling, searching for parking, and parking demand correlate with shorter distances from freight-related points-of-interest such as warehouses, increased size of nearby industrial or commercial land use, and proximity to areas of dense population or income inequality. Based onthese findings, policy recommendations include targeted anti-idling interventions, improved truck parking facilities,parking systems that provide real-time availability information to drivers, provision of alternate power sources in parkingfacilities to allow trucks to turn off, cleaner fuels and technologies, enhanced routing efficiency, stricter emission standards, and stronger land-use planning with buffer zones around residential areas.