Rest Areas closed to save money

[Shuffler]

Fewer Rest Stops Add to Travel Woes
By Liz Behler
© 2009 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Rest areas have been targeted in recent efforts to curb state spending and alleviate budget concerns. What started as a quiet trend this summer has emerged into a much larger movement. To date, a significant percentage of the approximately 2,500 rest stops along interstate highways have been shuttered. Even more stops are slated to be closed as the winter season progresses. ...

( Complete article: http://travel.aol.com/travel-ideas/arti ... nlprim0679 )


Alabama: 19 Rest Areas and 8 Welcome Centers; None closed due to budget constraints
Alaska: No rest stops
Arizona: 18 Rest Areas; 13 closed in mid-October due to budget constraints
Arkansas: 19 Rest Areas and 12 Welcome Centers; 2 Rest Areas have been closed and are now only being used for truck parking
California: 70 Rest Areas; 17 closed due to budget constraints and remodeling efforts
Colorado: 34 Rest Areas; 2 closed over the summer and another closure is being considered near Pueblo
Connecticut: 7 Rest Areas; None closed
Delaware: 2 Rest Areas; 1 currently closed for renovations
Florida: 53 Rest Areas; None closed
Georgia: 17 Rest Areas and 8 Welcome Centers; 3 closed due to budget constraints
Hawaii: No rest stops
Idaho: 29 Rest Areas; None closed
Illinois: 30 Rest Areas; None closed
Indiana: 30 Rest Areas, None closed
Iowa: 40 Rest Areas; None closed. The state is actually updating rest area facilities at the rate of one every year.
Kansas: 20 Rest Areas; None closed
Kentucky: 24 Rest Areas; None closed
Louisiana: 34 Rest Areas; 24 closed since 2000 (with 4 closed within the last year alone)
Maine: 50 Rest Areas; 2 closed along I-95 in Pittsfield due to budget constraints
Maryland: 12 Rest Areas; 3 closed due to budget constraints, modified hours and other operating changes imposed on other areas
Massachusetts: 20 Rest Areas; None closed, but 5 tourist information centers had cuts to close the state’s $600 million mid-year budget gap
Michigan: 81 Rest Areas and 14 Welcome Centers; 4 closed
Minnesota: 77 Rest Areas and 3 Welcome Centers; None closed due to budget constraints
Mississippi: 11 Rest Areas and 10 Welcome Centers; None closed
Missouri: 30 Rest Areas; None closed
Montana: 52 Rest Areas; None closed
Nebraska: 26 Rest Areas; None closed
Nevada: 10 Rest Areas; None closed
New Hampshire: 17 Rest Areas; None closed
New Jersey: 5 Rest Areas; 3 closed not due to budget constraints
New Mexico: 32 Rest Areas; 2 bathrooms were closed as a result of insufficient funds to restore them after vandalism and age
New York: 35 Rest Areas; None closed
North Carolina: 60 Rest Areas; None closed. The state recently opened an additional rest area
North Dakota: 29 Rest Areas; None closed
Ohio: 55 Rest Areas; 2 closed for reconstruction
Oklahoma: 11 Rest Areas; None closed
Oregon: 63 Rest Areas; None closed
Pennsylvania: 33 Rest Areas and 15 Welcome Centers; None closed
Rhode Island: 3 Rest Areas; None closed
South Carolina: 24 Rest Areas and 9 Welcome Centers; None closed currently, but the state may face closures in 2010
South Dakota: 22 Rest Areas; None closed
Tennessee: 32 Rest Areas; None closed. The state recently opened another rest area.
Texas: 91 Rest Areas; None closed. The state is adding more rest stops and upgrading locations
Utah: 20 Rest Areas; None closed
Vermont: 17 Rest Areas; 3 have been closed and others have had their hours cut
Virginia: 42 Rest Areas; 19 locations have been closed this year due to budget constraints
Washington: 40 Rest Areas; None closed
West Virginia: 18 Rest Areas; None closed. All locations have plans for being demolished and rebuilt in the future.
Wisconsin: 30 Rest Areas; None closed, however budget cuts have led to reduced hours at some locations
Wyoming: 18 Rest Areas; None closed

[double_R]

West Virginia: 18 Rest Areas; None closed. All locations have plans for being demolished and rebuilt in the future.

I70 westbound CLOSED.
I79 south:First on in WV coming out of PA CLOSED
Rest area between Fairmont and Bridgeport, southbound side;CLOSED

Only one that I have seen them doing work at is the one on 79 near PA.

[dak1]

That is old mews to me:
they are going to cut back on salt for the roads in many States, the price of salt is way up.
They are asking some subdivisions to contract their own snow plowing and State, county, city plows may not plow until there is 6 inches on the road.

States are in serious trouble money wise.
A lot of workers nearing retirement were given early bail money and will not be replaced.
That means a shortage of manpower.

Shuffler, I'm burning my bank statements on the dirt, no wind, I have a gal of water with me.
Someone calls 911, 3 fire trucks show up 4 police cars...
You talk about over kill. Holy (edited),

My bank account #'s etc are on those so I just burn them ...

[Lovlyperson]

You don't think the Shareholder of your Truckstops needs the Profit guaranteed? They are not from the Salvazian Army,and it has to be made sure Truck Drivers don't ignore during the Recession the Truck Stops

[Shuffler]

You don't think the Shareholder of your Truckstops needs the Profit guaranteed? They are not from the Salvazian Army,and it has to be made sure Truck Drivers don't ignore during the Recession the Truck Stops

These are "Rest Areas", not for-profit truck stops.
"Rest Areas" are paid for by state governments, and provide free parking and bathrooms on long
highways throughout the United States. Many are being closed due to budget shortfalls.
There are still plenty of regular "Truck Stops", that are privately owned and operate for profit.
Two different things that sometimes get called the same name, but for the record - "Rest Stop" usually
means a free, state facility offering just parking and bathrooms.

[Flying Dutchman]

Our governor (but not for long) closed 19 of our rest areas last summer.....supposedly to "save money" - but many people believe that it would be used as a ruse to call for yet another tax increase. Gov. Kaine claimed it would save eight to nine million dollars per year to close those rest area, but that is practically nothing in the grand scheme of things. It's tantamount to looking under your sofa cushions to help pay the mortgage.


Ideally, the rest areas should be privatized and operated similar to "service plazas" - as on the Ohio Turnpike, for instance. The state would own the land & buildings, but would lease spaces inside to restaurant and fuel franchisees. The private companies would have a vested interest in keeping things clean, neat and pleasant - so as to keep people/customers coming in for food or fuel. The way it is now, we're lucky to get porta-johns and park benches.


Our current rest areas don't generate any revenue for the state, so they were on the chopping block ahead of most everything else - even plenty of nonessential, wasteful departments elsewhere. A huge obstacle to privatization, though, is Congress. Uncle Sam would have to give approval to change the way rest areas are operated........which will face huge opposition because it just might work. I suspect there might also be some opposition from restaurants & gas stations that are off the Interstate that may be afraid of losing business.

I noticed, however, that VDOT did not close the truck rest areas at the Dumfries scale house - as that facility generates tons of money from overweight citations. LOL! Since they closed the car rest area two miles north of it, it is common to see twenty or thirty four-wheelers going down the exit ramp at the truck scale. When grandma's gotta go, she's gotta go!



Flying Dutchman; has seen ever more illegally parked trucks on the ramps since some of the facilties were closed


P.S. It would be nice if VA would pave a few "wide spots" like PA did, where trucks can pull over and catch a few winks without being awakened with a ticket.

[Shuffler]

A huge obstacle to privatization, though, is Congress. Uncle Sam would have to give approval to change the way rest areas are operated........which will face huge opposition because it just might work.

Well....the real opposition I think, is to the commercial blight that comes with privitization.
Part of the traditional charm of state rest areas is the lack of gaudy commercial signage and everything else
that comes with fast food and commercial services. Washington and Oregon have successfully thwarted
attempts to lease their rest areas for yet another Burger King or Starbucks, and I support that effort since I
like the more park-like setting of rest areas. Loosing state rest areas to commercial development would be
"penny wise and pound foolish" in my opinion - removing the last thing that keeps our Interstates, US and
many State Highways from becoming just a continous commercial development.
I'm not sure this appreciation for the difference will survive these tough times and the "less-government" folks
that want to commercialize everything in sight...but I hope the non-commercial "Rest Area" - a traditional
characterictic of modern America motoring - survives these difficult budget problems.
Many states on the list that have not closed Rest Areas, are also sufffering exreme budget problems.
I applaud their appreciation and support for public-owned space and ammenities along our highways.

[camo]

I used to park primarily at rest areas when I run late into the night. But, I noticing that alot of them are full before the sun goes down. So now I have to either shutdown early or hope I can find an idleaire space open. Maybe they should charge a few bucks to park,this will cover expenses so they won't have to shutdown restareas.

[dak1]

I stay the hell out of rest areas , I haven' t parked in a rest area, even for a short stop in years.
A lot of them don't have doors on the stalls, no heat, (edited) roaming around, (edited) truck drivers hanging out all night long.

And no I do not park on ramps ever.

The advantage I have running all night most nights is I pull into a truck stop when others are leaving out in the morning hours, or I can park at my customers.

The areas I run I can find a spot to back in because there are a lot of drivers that will pass up truck parking spots where they have to back up.
Plus I have the tanker and I can back into tight parking spots.

I'm backed into a spot right now, There is plenty of truck parking here where I'm at, I finished my running for the night and pick up a load later tonight "I hope" and run all night again. And it's snowing again, Ho Ho Ho.
Lake effect snow.

[Lovlyperson]

You don't think the Shareholder of your Truckstops needs the Profit guaranteed? They are not from the Salvazian Army,and it has to be made sure Truck Drivers don't ignore during the Recession the Truck Stops

These are "Rest Areas", not for-profit truck stops.
"Rest Areas" are paid for by state governments, and provide free parking and bathrooms on long
highways throughout the United States. Many are being closed due to budget shortfalls.
There are still plenty of regular "Truck Stops", that are privately owned and operate for profit.
Two different things that sometimes get called the same name, but for the record - "Rest Stop" usually
means a free, state facility offering just parking and bathrooms.

yes,but the Shareholder are the Sponsor of Politic,and,if Rest Area are used too much goes the Profit at Truckstops down

[Shuffler]

I like some rest areas for their intended purpose - to take a brief "rest" during the day...use the
bathroom...grab a cup of coffee from a machine or the folks who give away free coffee for a
donation (WA and OR mostly). They've always filled-up fast in the evening - depending on the
location and day of the week - and they're not where I try to take a 10 hour break.
But during the day, they're a convenient and safe place to pull off for a few minutes with easy
parking and relatively good restrooms (out west at least).

Hey dak - if you're heading back toward the southwest, looks lke you're going to run through
a major snow event working its way east from the Rockies. I'm heading out from Seattle to
SLC today, and hopefully will stay behind it. But the low temps look very cold - down in the
single digits---> http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/graphi ... k.php#tabs

[Lovlyperson]

Keep some Snow for me.Arrivin the 9th next Month in Chicago

[dak1]

Mt. is going to be real cold....I see one predicted low @ -22..

I'm running the milk loads out of Mi now. Most of my milk loads head south to States like KY, TN, etc. Then D/H back to Mi.

I like the turnpike plazas on the OH, PA,DE, NJ,NY, FL, turnpikes, those are nice clean plazas. They are privately owned.
A lot of drivers hate the turnpikes, for one, they cannot afford the food prices they charge at the turnpike plazas, they buy one hamburger and that is their meal money for the whole day , but I prefer to run the turnpikes, especially in the winter months.


VA is the State that is closing a "lot" of rest areas.

[Lovlyperson]

Other Question:"Would they hand the Rest Areas over to a Private?"
I'd like to make Caffee and Egg with ham or Bacon

[Shuffler]

Other Question:"Would they hand the Rest Areas over to a Private?"
I'd like to make Caffee and Egg with ham or Bacon

You'd have to get in-line behind McDonalds and every other fast food corporation wanting to LEASE
the property to set up another restaurant.
Right now, state "Rest Areas" don't have restaurants or any retail - one of the things I like about them.
They're actually tiny little "State Parks" with bathrooms and maybe some picnic tables - that's it.

Yes - some of the newer toll road service plazas are pretty nice. I remember when Ohio opened those
new round-shaped ones on 90, no one knew about them yet, plenty of parking...and I walked right into
one of the driver showers without waiting - or even having to check in with anyone. Some of them are
are up-scale truck stops with decent food, usually a Starbucks (for me)...clean...and relatively secure.

Minus-2 here in Twin Falls, Idaho last night. Light dusting of snow...looks like SLC will clear up a little
by the time I get there later this afternoon. Hope I get something straight back toward the Northwest,
where they're going to have clear skies for a few days. Going east across Wyoming and into Colorado
still looks bad the next couple days... Donner had SEVERAL feet of snow, but that's clearing out too...
It even snowed on the valley floor...Modesto...Merced...Sacramento...
Very unusual, especially this early into the winter.