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[Revive 755]

The item no one seems to be aware of is that DOT's have to provide security for these rest stops.

No they don't. I've never seen a law enforcement officer permanently stationed at one of Kentucky's rest areas. I'm not even sure there are cameras inside the buildings or in the parking lots.

Illinois has cameras at at least some of their rest areas.  Some of the rest areas have signs for this, 'Surveillance Cameras In Use For Your Safety'.  I've also seem cameras inside the building at at least one of Iowa's rest areas on I-80.

As to the main topic, I disagree with closing rest areas and converting them to truck parking only.  IMHO there should still be a couple spots for an automobile drive to use, in case they want to look at a map, check/use their phone, or get a snack and/or caffeinated drink out of their trunk.

If the trend of closing rest areas continues, I would like to see more of the 'rest area affiliate' signing that I recall Utah having.

[edwaleni]

The item no one seems to be aware of is that DOT's have to provide security for these rest stops.

No they don't. I've never seen a law enforcement officer permanently stationed at one of Kentucky's rest areas. I'm not even sure there are cameras inside the buildings or in the parking lots.

Illinois has cameras at at least some of their rest areas.  Some of the rest areas have signs for this, 'Surveillance Cameras In Use For Your Safety'.  I've also seem cameras inside the building at at least one of Iowa's rest areas on I-80.

As to the main topic, I disagree with closing rest areas and converting them to truck parking only.  IMHO there should still be a couple spots for an automobile drive to use, in case they want to look at a map, check/use their phone, or get a snack and/or caffeinated drink out of their trunk.

If the trend of closing rest areas continues, I would like to see more of the 'rest area affiliate' signing that I recall Utah having.

I concur.

DOT's are responsible for the security of the rest stop, that doesn't necessarily mean a trooper or rent-a-cop at every rest stop 24x7.

Simply put if there are unsafe activities happening at particular rest stops, then they are responsible to remediate it, that can be camera, cops or in some cases downright closure.

[Beltway]

I think most truckers prefer to stop at commercial truck stops. They can fuel up, shower, and eat. Many of us have a mutual roadgeek friend who is now an OTR trucker. (Not CrazyVolvoGuy). He checks in on Facebook at all of his stops, including breaks and overnight stops. He always stops at either a commercial truck stop (he just checked in at a Love's in Oklahoma) or a turnpike service plaza for his overnighters. I don't remember him ever stopping at a regular rest area or truck parking area.

I'm with you:  Government should fill the need, not private interests.

Government built truck stops?  Those have always been provided by the private sector in the U.S.

Somebody didn't follow the complete thread.

What did I miss?

[hbelkins]

As to the main topic, I disagree with closing rest areas and converting them to truck parking only.  IMHO there should still be a couple spots for an automobile drive to use, in case they want to look at a map, check/use their phone, or get a snack and/or caffeinated drink out of their trunk.

I doubt anyone is going to complain if a passenger vehicle stops for 5 or 10 minutes for those things.

For such stops, or restroom-only stops, I prefer rest areas to commercial businesses if they are available and my bladder is cooperating. It's easier to get off and back on the freeway from a rest area, as opposed to exiting the freeway onto an intersecting route, turning into the business and dealing with whatever traffic may be there, and then getting back out onto the surface route and re-entering the freeway.

It's easier to stop at the I-79 rest areas in Lewis County, for example, than it is to get off at US 33/48/119 at Weston and deal with the traffic and the signals at the Sheetz there.

[Kniwt]

If the trend of closing rest areas continues, I would like to see more of the 'rest area affiliate' signing that I recall Utah having.

On my last trip up and down Utah's I-15 in 2019, I seem to remember that all of those signs (they were only between Beaver and greater SLC) had been removed during a re-signing project, although the locations still seem to appear on the state's official map of rest stop locations.

Sure enough, Street View confirms that this sign near Scipio, seen here in 2015, was gone by 2018:


From 2011, here's a report on some of the difficulties faced by the private rest-stop operators:
https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=52190511&itype=cmsid