Correspondent of the day: Closing Rest Areas Endangers Driving Public
Closing Rest Areas Endangers Driving Public
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Virginia is missing the point when it closes rest areas around the state.
The rest area is as much for interstate safety as it is for saving money. (Remember when the state closed DMV offices a few years ago? It didn't work.)
The rest areas are needed for drivers who are tired and need a place to rest and a restroom. How many drivers every year fall asleep at the wheel? Does the state need to raise that percentage?
Most important are the drivers of tractor-trailers and trucks. Under current law they can drive only 13 hours, then they must park and sleep eight hours.
Where are they going to park? Truckers cannot afford to sleep at motels every night. The safety of the public on the roads is the state's concern.
The money Virginia saves doesn't amount to a hill of beans considering the size of the state's budget.
I'm sure there are other ways to save money, but closing rest areas is not one of them.
Steve Frost.
Petersburg.
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Reader Reactions
The sad truth is that rest areas don’t generate any revenue for the state - and in fact cost money to build & maintain. Safety is not the issue (unfortunately); revenue is!
Perhaps it is time to do in VA what Ohio has done and ‘privatize’ the rest areas into service plazas. The land & buildings on the Ohio Turnpike are owned by the state….but they lease out restaurant spaces to private franchisees. These business owners have incentive to keep the places clean, stay open 24 hours and be competitive in order to lure customers and their cash.
Stopping at the six or seven plazas in Ohio will let you choose between Taco Bell, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc., etc. You can also find gasoline for your car or diesel for your big truck - at prices that are competitive with facilities off the highway. (Could this loosely resemble capitalism? Sure!)
Congress may have to re-visit this issue and change the laws (since I-95 is not a toll road in this state) for VA, but it would enhance highway safety AND save our taxpayers money. Additionally, more non-residents may spend money here instead of waiting until they reach MD or NC.
As for the truckers among us needing a place to “shut it down” for a few hours, nothing is more inviting than a well-lighted, clean service plaza with some great food.
~ So sayeth The Dutchman ~
Eliminate VITA and build more rest areas.
Good letter Mr. Frost and I agree with you wholeheartedly. The state could probably eliminate about a third of it’s highly overpaid administrative jobs that accomplish nothing and keep these rest areas open.
The letter writer is correct.How much can it cost to operate a Rest Area?Meanwhile Tim Kaine flys around the world representing not Virginia but the DNC at our expense.This is what you get when a Democrat is in the governors mansion.Increased taxes and fewer state services.Remember Mark Warner closed DMV’s to save money.
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