The actress Susan Sarandon, while accepting an award in
New Jersey, once quipped that she would actually like
her name on one of the state’s rest areas. Anyone
who has traveled the infamous New Jersey Turnpike knows
this is not an idle request. The Garden State’s
finest are memorialized in the names of its rest areas
– Vince Lombardi, Thomas Edison, Walt Whitman, Clara
Barton, etc.
Here in Virginia, state officials have adopted a more
familiar convention for our 41
rest areas and 10 welcome centers. The oases, named
for local towns and landmarks, are spread along the Commonwealth’s
six interstate highways. While traveling through Virginia
you’ll find the Carson Rest Area on Interstate 95
in Prince George County, the Troutville
Rest Area on Interstate 81 in Botetourt County, or
Jerry's
Run Rest Area/Welcome Center on Interstate 64 in Alleghany
County.
According to recent statistics gathered by the Travel
Industry Association, road travelers make more than 28
million trips to or through Virginia annually. Those who
sampled the Commonwealth’s public rest areas found
standard amenities – restrooms, pet exercise areas,
vending machines, tourist information, telephones and
picnic areas. They could visit any day of the week, any
hour of the day, and park for up to two hours. At each
location there’s a 24-hour private security guard
on duty, a spot for state trooper parking, hourly patrols,
and surveillance cameras help ensure safety.
Rest areas in the U.S. originated in 1938 as part of the
Federal-Aid Highway Act. The legislation stated, “the
States, with the aid of Federal funds, may include …
such sanitary and other facilities as may be deemed necessary
to provide for the suitable accommodations of the public.”
But it wasn’t until the Interstate Highway Act of
1956, and later the Highway Beautification Act of 1965
– a pet project of Lady Bird Johnson – that
rest areas became commonplace.
Such oases are now such a part of the American landscape
that they have spawned studies and conferences such as
“Investigating the Needs and Expectations of Rest
Area Users: A Critical Step in Long-Range Rest Area Planning,”
(ITE Journal, July 2002) and a 1999 Rest Area
Forum in Atlanta, GA, sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Transportation. One author penned a popular 2001 guidebook,
"Rest Areas and Welcome Centers Along U.S. Interstates,"
(which also lists Cracker Barrel locations, as well as
discount stores such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, K-Mart
and Target).
About 15 years ago, Virginia even studied the possibility
of privatizing its rest areas and welcome centers in the
hopes the feds would lift a ban on commercial establishments
on interstates (“Final Report: Opportunities
for Privatization of Virginia’s Rest Areas and Welcome
Centers,” Virginia Transportation Research
Council, 1991). Originally designed to protect small town
businesses along interstates, the law still stands. Groups
such as the National Association of Truck Stop Owners
argue that lifting the ban would shift tax revenue from
localities to the state, and competition from public rest
areas might result in the closing of private truck stops,
which provide 90 percent of the parking for truckers.
This in turn might raise safety issues such as forcing
truckers to drive while drowsy, the organization argues.
Still, the demand for rest areas continues. Since 1991,
Virginia has added 13. While some argue that rest area
maintenance costs do not offer enough return on investment,
the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association sees them
as a marketing opportunity. Last year, in cooperation
with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the
Virginia Tourism Corporation, VHTA distributed 850,000
local business brochures as part of its new Rest Area
Distribution Program along I-81, I-95 and I-64. This year
the association is recommending businesses provide 50,000
brochures for the I-81 and I-95 corridor rest areas and
30,000 for I-64.
If the federal ban on interstate commercialization is
ever lifted, Virginia could borrow some ideas from other
states. In Texas, the state department of transportation
is accepting bids to offer free wireless Internet access
at its 84 rest areas and 12 information centers (“Texas
Rest Stops Set to Offer Wireless Access,” Trailer
Life 65, February 2005.)
In Schiller Park, Illinois, a new toll road oasis offers
the only Starbucks in town, attracting visitors on foot
and bicycle (“Upgraded Illinois Toll Road Rest Stops
Draw Attention From Nearby Towns,” Chicago Tribune,
August 6, 2004).
The Florida Turnpike District enthusiastically branded
its restrooms back in 2000, posting signs that Lysol was
the cleaner of choice. The disinfectant’s parent
company picked up the marketing tab (“Rest Stops:
Hotbeds of Antibacterial Activity? Brandweek,
September 25, 2000).
After all, a 2002 study found that 51 percent of those
who stopped at rest areas did so to “use the toilet/change
a diaper.” “Stretching and walking,”
“disposing of trash,” and “using the
drinking fountain,” came in next. The marketing
opportunities are endless.
February 27, 2006
Nice & Curious
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