I think my parents still order a "Trip Tick"? from Triple A. It's like a mini customized map that comes in the mail. Maybe they can't get that anymore, it's been several years since I actually traveled with my parents.
DOT Seeks Input on Rest Areas
- Thread starter wxman1
- Start date
I think my parents still order a "Trip Tick"? from Triple A. It's like a mini customized map that comes in the mail. Maybe they can't get that anymore, it's been several years since I actually traveled with my parents.
There is one on I-88 on the way to Chicago near Dekalb that is on one side, but has access via dedicated bridges from the other side.
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
We have a GPS too. Sometimes it gives us totally whack routes no matter what preferences we put in. It decided to send us on some blacktop one way excursion in Hannibal, MO to avoid one short traffic light on highway.So we use everything, paper maps, Google maps on phone, GPS.
Another epic GPS fail was with kids on baseball team and it sent us to some abomination called Pizza Wheel instead of Pizza Ranch.
I go down to St. Louis about once a year or so. The first time I saw this GPS route at Hannibal I rolled my eyes, too ... but it actually saves you some time. It's way more than one short traffic light - it's a fairly congested route through Hannibal on US 61 with maybe as many as a half-dozen lights and lots of traffic turning in and out of businesses. Taking the GPS route puts you on a two-lane rural blacktop for a few miles, but it is less time, for sure.
Now if you're planning to stop in Hannibal for gas or food anyway (which I typically do), forget the bypass route, but it's not the GPS being stupid.
KidSilverhair
Well-Known Member
For a rest stop, you wouldn't have toll booths. There's no where else to go to escape the toll road.
It's still economically better because you're building just one facility to handle traffic going in both directions, rather than a rest area on both sides of the interstate, but toll booths aren't the issue.
My son introduced me to the short-cut on the way to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl. Worked fine for us. It would be tough with a trailer!
If the stops were in the middle, you could meet up with the mistress, do what you need to do and then just head back the other way. Don’t need to find an exit.
The gas tank on my jeep only gets me a 300-350 mile range so the stops tend to line up perfectly for me. I do think rest areas should stick around. We used them a lot when we drove as a family cross country to the east coast 15-20 years ago. Couple of sandwiches in a cooler and on your way as needed. I think my parents still stop at them now.
That said, I will say I hate with an absolute passion the 'service islands' you find on toll roads. Those things get so incredibly crowded it's ridiculous. Especially in upstate New York. We were coming back from a camping trip on a Sunday (it was still before noon) and the line to get fuel at the pumps was long enough that my friend had enough time to walk back into the service center, wait in line (which he had skipped originally because of the length of the line), get a sandwich made, and get back to us before we had even started to get fuel. Some of the ones in Indianna and Ohio aren't horrible, but a lot of them just are not sized appropriately. Instead of spreading travelers out along the length of the interstate, everyone gets stuffed down into a few locations.
That said, I will say I hate with an absolute passion the 'service islands' you find on toll roads. Those things get so incredibly crowded it's ridiculous. Especially in upstate New York. We were coming back from a camping trip on a Sunday (it was still before noon) and the line to get fuel at the pumps was long enough that my friend had enough time to walk back into the service center, wait in line (which he had skipped originally because of the length of the line), get a sandwich made, and get back to us before we had even started to get fuel. Some of the ones in Indianna and Ohio aren't horrible, but a lot of them just are not sized appropriately. Instead of spreading travelers out along the length of the interstate, everyone gets stuffed down into a few locations.
As someone who has to pee quite often and that has a todler, I prefer the rest areas. So much quicker than heading to a larger truck stop. I've driven through some states that don't have **** for rest areas or gas stations.
Also with having a camper now, rest areas are much better than trying to maneuver through a gas station that wasn't build to have trailers parked in the regular vehicle area. I do wish there were more rest areas with dump stations, but that's for another day.
Also with having a camper now, rest areas are much better than trying to maneuver through a gas station that wasn't build to have trailers parked in the regular vehicle area. I do wish there were more rest areas with dump stations, but that's for another day.
Iowa should look into Japanese rest stops. They are insanity.
https://en.japantravel.com/shizuoka/japan-s-superb-highway-rest-stops/14607
https://en.japantravel.com/shizuoka/japan-s-superb-highway-rest-stops/14607
This is so true. My wife first knew she was pregnant on a road trip to Colorado. She had to stop to pee more than the kids in the back.
I also feel like you take rest stops for granted until you're in a state that doesn't have many. On that same Colorado road trip we had to search FOREVER for even an exit with somewhere to go to the bathroom. We even found one that had a sign that said no public restroom. Seriously?!?
I do agree that we might not need as many of them, and not as many near exits with gas stations readily available, but they are a godsend when you gotta go and the nearest exit is just to another highway with a town 15 minutes away.
And why was that rest moved? Because some developer wanted to put an interchange in it's old location.
I have no idea with frugal government spending. This however was a waste of taxpayer $$ in order to allow some developer to rake in the cash with the housing development going in now.
Here is an India rest area. Yes, they have a national highway system that has pretty decent roads on which you can go full speed. However, the rest areas are pretty much like in this video. And the bathrooms are outside behind some walls. Very gross. Sorry no video of those.
The exit is necessary. That part of Ankeny is getting larger and larger and it's much easier to exit there than to have to go to 1st street.
I do agree there was no reason to rebuild the rest stop so close to Ankeny though. That was a waste of money.
It is their responsibility to provide you with a restroom?
The rest areas north of Ankeny make sense to me.
There is a ton of traffic going through there, don’t really want to deal with people crossing lanes just to pee. Enough of a mess in heavy traffic when they lose a lane.
There is a ton of traffic going through there, don’t really want to deal with people crossing lanes just to pee. Enough of a mess in heavy traffic when they lose a lane.
