Around 1,000 additional truck parking spaces will be created by motorways in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region over the next three years, reports local radio station Radio Herford.
Within the Herford area itself, new spaces will be built on the A2 motorway. The reason for the expansion of the rest areas is, of course, the expansion in the volume of HGV traffic.
A new rest area is also now completely open to traffic on the A43 near Recklinghausen, while the Teutoburg Forest car park on the A33 near Osnabrück will follow next week.
Moreover, late last month, the German Federal Ministry of Transport (Bundesverkehrsministerium – BMVI) announced funding of €90 million for plans to create additional truck parking spaces within a three-kilometre radius of motorway junctions.
The lorry parks must
- operate for at least 10 years
- be open all year round at least from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- have at least 30 lorry parking spaces for new construction or expansion measures or 10 parking spaces for the redesign of existing areas
- have adequate sanitary facilities (e.g. toilets and showers)
- have a system that records the current occupancy rate and makes it available online on the Mobility Data Marketplace (MDM)
Commenting on the launch of the funding, Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure Andreas Scheuer spoke about the importance of appropriate lorry park spaces so that drivers can have a rest and “recharge their batteries”.
“The prerequisite for this is that the trucker actually finds a parking space (…) because otherwise, they would violate their driving and rest times. With our new funding program, we want to help resolve this dilemma and at the same time eliminate a source of danger for other road users. That is why we are investing specifically in the expansion of parking spaces – for the first time also at truck stops and in commercial areas. Only when truck drivers are well rested and well cared for can they continue their tour safely and relaxed” – he added.
Photo credit @ Trans.INFO