Truck Parking and Rest Areas Along Southern Ontario Highways Part 1
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Drivers: please complete this important survey on paper, and return to your employer or mail directly to us as noted at the end of the survey. The survey aims to help the trucking sector & drivers with parking & financial & other impacts, and should only take about 15 minutes, as we ask only about main highways you use. Truck Parking and Rest Areas Along Southern Ontario Highways A Study for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, with support of Canadian Trucking Associations __________________________________________________________________________ Drivers! Tell the Ministry of Transportation how to improve access to parking and make your life easier. Improved truck parking will help to reduce the time you have to spend looking for parking, reduce stress and fatigue and reduce financial losses. If you have driven on Southern Ontario highways for at least 2 days in the past 12 months, we would greatly appreciate your completing our survey. This study, initiated by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, is supported by trucking/drivers' associations across Canada. We are asking for your assessments because we feel that truck drivers are the most knowledgeable about the truck parking shortage and are best able to provide recommendations to the Ministry regarding the development of new or improved parking and rest areas. The survey asks about the challenges you may have faced trying to find suitable parking on specific highways and the amenities that are currently provided at truck stops. We would like to hear from all truck drivers who use Southern Ontario highways, whether or not based in Ontario. By asking about the extent to which existing truck stops meet drivers' needs, we can make more informed recommendations to the province regarding improvement of truck parking and rest areas. Your identifiable answers will be kept confidential not be shared with anyone outside of the SPR research team. SPR's 30-year track record in surveys supports this guarantee. A summary report of the findings will be made available to participants. ________________________________________________________________________ Part 1: Demographic and General Questions The following questions will aid the researchers in generalizing the results to all drivers. 1. As a commercial truck driver, approximately how many days in the past 12 months have you spent driving on Southern Ontario highways? (Select one) Less than 20 days 20 - 50 days 51 - 100 days 101 - 200 days More than 200 days 2. Are you: (Select one) An employee of a trucking company An employee of a trucking division in a larger company An independent owner-operator Other (please specify): _________________________________________________ 3. Where are you based? Newfoundland/Labrador Ontario Yukon New Brunswick Manitoba NWT PEI Saskatchewan Nunavut Nova Scotia Alberta USA Quebec BC 1 4. What is your overall assessment of the availability of safe and sufficient truck parking along Southern Ontario highways? (Select one) There is a severe shortage of truck parking There is a noteworthy and significant shortage of truck parking The shortage of truck parking is not very severe There is no shortage of truck parking Cannot assess 5. Have you experienced financial loss or personal stress in the past year due to a lack of truck parking along Southern Ontario highways? (Select all that apply) Yes, financial loss (e.g. in terms of lost hours of work) Yes, personal stress (e.g. anger, anxiety, lost sleep) No 6. Which of the following sections of Southern Ontario highways have you used substantially in the past 12 months? (Select all that apply) Windsor-to-Toronto section of the 401 (assuming Yonge Street is the dividing line between east and west sections of the 401) Toronto-to-Quebec border section of the 401 (assuming Yonge Street is the dividing line between east and west sections of the 401) Other 400 series highways in Southern Ontario Secondary provincial highways (non-400 series) in Southern Ontario What makes a good truck stop? 7. How important is it to have the following features and services/amenities at truck stops/rest areas? (Select one for each of (a) to (n)) Not at all Somewhat Absolutely Important Important Essential (a) Adequate types and numbers of truck parking spaces, year-round (b) Being able to park for 8-12 hours, year-round (c) Being able to park without a fee (d) Not having to buy fuel in order to park (e) Washrooms that are open 24/7, year-round (f) Restaurant that is open 24/7, year-round (g) Access to showers 24/7, year-round (h) Access to a truckers' lounge 24/7, year-round (i) Electrical charging station 24/7, year-round (j) Access to free WiFi 24/7, year-round (k) A high level of security/safety (l) Adequate lighting (m) Healthy food choices (n) Exercise facilities 2 Part 2: Highway use, the need for truck parking, and truck stop services and amenities Use of the Windsor-to-Toronto Section of the 401 in the Past 12 Months 8. Have you used the Windsor-to-Toronto section of the 401 for your work in the past 12 months? Yes, used frequently Yes, but used only occasionally (SKIP TO Q.14) No (SKIP TO Q.14) 9. For each of the following western segments of the 401, please indicate if you used the segment and tell us about your parking experience over the past 12 months: Did you use this Were you always able section of highway 401 to park at a truck stop in the past 12 months? when you needed to? Yes No Yes No (a) Windsor to Chatham-Kent (b) Chatham-Kent to London (c) London to Cambridge (d) Cambridge to Toronto 10. How many times (if any) did you have difficulty finding parking along the above segments of the western 401 or in nearby cities in the past 12 months? Never had any difficulty finding parking (SKIP TO Q.12) 1 - 5 times 6 - 10 times 11 - 25 times 26 - 50 times More than 50 times 11. On average, how many hours of productive driving did you lose each time you had difficulty parking and had to look for parking or had to move at the request of the OPP/other authorities? Less than 1 hour 1 - 2 hours 3 - 4 hours 5 - 6 hours 7 - 8 hours More than 8 hours Truck parking along the Windsor-to-Toronto Section of Highway 401 12. Are you familiar enough with truck stops along the Windsor-Toronto section of the 401 to rate the quality of truck stops, parking and their services/amenities along this section of the 401? Yes No (SKIP TO Q.14) 3 13. For each of the following truck stops along the Windsor-to-Toronto section of the 401 that you may have used in the past 12 months and you are familiar with, please indicate your satisfaction with the parking and amenities offered at each (e.g. you were able to park and the services/facilities allowed you to fully rest and prepare for your next driving shift). (If you did not use a truck stop, please leave that choice blank.) Services/amenities Able to easily offered were fully find parking satisfactory Yes No Yes No (a) Flying J Travel Plaza - Exit 56, Tilbury (b) ONroute Tilbury North (c) ONroute Tilbury South (d) ONroute Dutton (e) ONroute West Lorne (f) Flying M Truck Stop/Davis Fuel, London (g) Petro Pass Truck Stop - Exit 186, London (h) Flying J - Exit 189, London (i) Husky Travel Centre - Exit 195, London (j) Husky Travel Centre, Belmont (k) ONroute Ingersoll (l) ONroute Woodstock (m) TA Travel Centre -- Exit 230, Woodstock (n) Truckers Haven - Exit 250, Drumbo (o) Flying J Travel Plaza - Exit 268, Ayr (p) Petro Canada - Exit 268, Kitchener (q) ONroute Cambridge North (r) ONroute Cambridge South (s) Truck Town Terminal, Milton (t) Husky Travel Centre, Shawson Dr., Mississauga (u) Husky Travel, 6625 Kennedy Rd., Mississauga (v) Petro Canada - Trafalgar Road, Hornby (w) Esso - Daniels Service Centre, Ridgetown (x) Petro Pass, Dorchester (y) Petro Pass -- County Road 46, Windsor (z) Husky Travel Centre - Exit 14, Windsor 4 Use of the Toronto-to-Quebec Section of Highway 401 in the Past 12 Months 14. Have you used highway 401 between Toronto and the Quebec border for your work in the past 12 months? Yes, used frequently Yes, but used only occasionally (SKIP TO Q.20) No (SKIP TO Q.20) 15. For each of the following eastern sections of the 401, please indicate your parking experience over the past 12 months, when you were at the end of your hours of service (HOS) or when you needed to rest: Did you use this Were you always able section of highway 401 to park at a truck stop in the past 12 months? when you needed to? Yes No Yes No (a) Quebec border to Kingston (b) Kingston to Belleville (c) Belleville to Toronto 16. How many times (if any) did you have difficulty finding parking along the above sections of the eastern 401 or in nearby cities in the past 12 months? Never had any difficulty finding parking (SKIP TO Q.18) 1 - 5 times 6 - 10 times 11 - 25 times 26 - 50 times More than 50 times 17. On average, how many hours of productive driving did you lose each time you had difficulty parking and had to search for parking or had to move at the request of the OPP/other authorities? Less than 1 hour 1 - 2 hours 3 - 4 hours 5 - 6 hours 7 - 8 hours More than 8 hours Truck parking along the Toronto-to-Quebec section of highway 401 18. Are you familiar enough with truck stops along the Toronto-to-Quebec section of the 401 to rate the quality of truck stops along this section of the 401? Yes No (SKIP TO Q.20) 5 19.