Re: Budget Woes Spell Doom for Highway Rest Areas

On Jul 3, 12:13 pm, "Scott M. Kozel" <koze...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Rick Powell <rkpow...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The obvious solution (for VA or other states) is to auction or lease
space at these facilities to private operators, who could operate
concessions there and either cut the losses or actually return a
profit for the states.  The barrier is FHWA rules against
commercializing of interstate highway rest areas; but these could
potentially be addressed in the next federal transportation bill which
becomes due this October.

That "obvious solution" shouldn't be allowed to happen until a private
operator is in place to make a seamless transition from public to
private, i.e. without any time of closure of a rest area.

A change in federal law won't address a more fundamental problem, in
that most of the safety rest areas don't have enough right-of-way to
be expanded into a turnpike-style full service plaza.  We can also
expect local opposition in urban areas to obtaining the needed right-
of-way, and due to the impacts of increases in noise, exhaust,
sewerage, and light pollution at night.

--
Scott M. Kozel    Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C.http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Capital Beltway Projects          http://www.capital-beltway.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley  http://www.pennways.com

This is not something where all the details can be worked out
overnight, but as you indicate, in the short term the rest areas are
such a small burden on state highway budgets that closing them will
not really impact the state highway programs. With relaxation of
federal rules, and with a 2 or 3 year transition period, many rest
areas could be privatized either outright or with added concessions by
agreement. There may be some RA's that are not conducive to the
process, and states could either elect to continue running them as is,
eliminate facilities and continue their operation as a "bare bones"
parking area, or close them and sell the excess right of way...all of
which have their tradeoffs.

RP
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Budget Woes Spell Doom for Highway Rest Areas
    ... space at these facilities to private operators, ... That "obvious solution" shouldn't be allowed to happen until a private ... that most of the safety rest areas don't have enough right-of-way to ...
    (misc.transport.road)
  • Re: Is it true that the Feds mandate "free" rest areas?
    ... Fringe and corridor parking facilities, such as suburban park and ride ... state-funded tollroad Interstates do allow commercialism. ... Safety rest areas are intended to serve motorists by allowing them to ... For example, the METRO NORTH RR, which runs commuter trains from upstate NY, NJ, and CT into NYC, has built parking facilities at it's outlying stations. ...
    (misc.transport.road)
  • Re: Longest highway distance between restrooms?
    ... > John David Galt wrote: ... >> This seems to be the assumption of the people who keep closing rest areas ... >> facilities without buying something from them. ... Buy some disgusting fries. ...
    (misc.transport.road)
  • Re: Notes from short trip to Decatur, NE
    ... This is a guess from driving through Iowa several times in the last 9 ... Iowa seems to treat rest areas with facilities and those without ... construction zones in state - since the only two seasons in SD are winter ...
    (misc.transport.road)