entering turnpike illegally

[Roadgeekteen]

Got google maps to route from MA 27 to the Mass pike through the Natick service plaza. They don't suggest it at first, but I was able to reroute through the plaza. Google does suggest going on the plaza's surface road entrance if you put in directions to the plaza itself. Do people actually enter toll roads through service plazas?

[kphoger]

Ha!  And here's how to get from Matfield Green to Cassoday by using two illegal access points.  Of course, you'd have to have some bolt cutters...

[Truvelo]

In the Mass Pike example there's a barrier at the service plaza with a gap big enough to squeeze through if you're riding a motorbike.

There are no toll roads I know of where back accesses are ungated for obvious reasons.

[Roadgeekteen]

In the Mass Pike example there's a barrier at the service plaza with a gap big enough to squeeze through if you're riding a motorbike.

There are no toll roads I know of where back accesses are ungated for obvious reasons.

At the ludlow plaza, Dangelos advertises their restaurant from the side streets.

[Truvelo]

All the Mass Pike service plazas have a parking lot on the access road from the side streets. I assume this is where customers park and then have to walk into the service plaza on foot.

[hotdogPi]

All the Mass Pike service plazas have a parking lot on the access road from the side streets. I assume this is where customers park and then have to walk into the service plaza on foot.

It's also for employees.

[1995hoo]

I seem to recall news reports about some guy getting busted for exiting and entering the Maine Turnpike illegally via a sidewalk or something similar, I think at that Ramada just south of the I-195 interchange where the hotel has its own exit off the Turnpike but there's no (legal) vehicular access to area streets for the general public.

The Cheesequake Service Plaza on the Garden State Parkway appears to permit access to and from the Parkway from CR-615 via the permit parking area at the north end of the service plaza. There doesn't appear to be a gate, based on Street View imagery.

[webny99]

Ha!  And here's how to get from Matfield Green to Cassoday by using two illegal access points.  Of course, you'd have to have some bolt cutters...

There's always KS 177, which shouldn't require bolt cutters.

[CtrlAltDel]

Back when the O’Hare Oasis on the Tri-State Tollway existed, the gates to the access roads were almost never closed. So one day, I came up Mannheim Road, turned on to Belle Plaine, came up the access road, parked in the employee parking lot, and had a nice lunch at Panda. Then, once I was back in my car, I cut across into the main section of the parking lot, and got on the ramp to the highway.

Overall, it was kind of fun. Not the worst Saturday of my life.

[ilpt4u]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

[jmacswimmer]

Of course, should you illegally enter a ticket-system toll road, you'd also need to find an illegal exit or face the "maximum fare charged for lost ticket" penalty 

This would have been an issue previously in the OP's Natick Plaza example, but with the new all-electronic system it would just shake out as an "entry" at the Weston toll gantry located a couple miles east before 95/128.

[1995hoo]

It appears the Google Street View car accessed New Jersey's John Fenwick Service Area when someone left the gate open:

https://goo.gl/maps/BaB5cFL1g3mYWUVQ9

[kphoger]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

[SectorZ]

So I submitted a data correction request to Google, noting a blockade at this service area. Let's see if the reaction makes it a candidate for another long-running thread on the board.

[Roadrunner75]

The Cheesequake Service Plaza on the Garden State Parkway appears to permit access to and from the Parkway from CR-615 via the permit parking area at the north end of the service plaza. There doesn't appear to be a gate, based on Street View imagery.

There are a couple of service plazas along the GSP with access to local streets.  The Cheesequake access is intended for drivers parking to use the Academy Bus park and ride and is signed for this use at entrance:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.469336,-74.2933753,3a,49.2y,127.84h,89.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGxYyC_sx6FZaRvl0iZj3AA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I've seen state troopers monitoring this entrance from the upper plaza end of the parking lot for drivers using it as exit/entrance rather than parking.

The Monmouth rest area has a similar entrance to the park and ride lot area.  The PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel which is accessed from the Parkway also has a "secret" entrance/exit to a local road but you have to go right past a trooper barracks.  People do use it for concert parking.

The Atlantic City rest area on the GSP used to actually allow traffic to access Jimmie Leeds Road through the service plaza, and there was a small sign for the road under the plaza exit signage and a traffic light for the plaza driveway on JLR.  This was probably allowed at least in part to provide access to the nearby hospital from the Parkway.  More recently they constructed a legitimate full interchange for this road, and no longer allow the use of the old driveway (which passes a new trooper station).  The down side is that with the new configuration, there is no longer any direct access between JLR and the service plaza, so the locals and hospital workers will have to hunt down another Burger King.

[hobsini2]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

KP, It is a bit different having access only to/from the turnpike like in you example and being able to access the tollway from a side service road at the O'Hare Oasis. In the old days, if I didn't have the 40 cents to pay the Touhy Toll or the Irving Park Toll, I would use the Oasis service exit and entrance to get on/off 294. Just sayin.

[kphoger]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

KP, It is a bit different having access only to/from the turnpike like in you example and being able to access the tollway from a side service road at the O'Hare Oasis. In the old days, if I didn't have the 40 cents to pay the Touhy Toll or the Irving Park Toll, I would use the Oasis service exit and entrance to get on/off 294. Just sayin.

I wasn't replying to a post about the O'Hare oasis, but to one about the DeKalb oasis.  I don't see much difference between that and the Kansas one I posted.

[hobsini2]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

KP, It is a bit different having access only to/from the turnpike like in you example and being able to access the tollway from a side service road at the O'Hare Oasis. In the old days, if I didn't have the 40 cents to pay the Touhy Toll or the Irving Park Toll, I would use the Oasis service exit and entrance to get on/off 294. Just sayin.

I wasn't replying to a post about the O'Hare oasis, but to one about the DeKalb oasis.  I don't see much difference between that and the Kansas one I posted.

Ah. Got it. At DeKalb, the gate from the service road to the plaza is always closed. The employee lot is actually on the service road now. and the EB and WB lanes at the Oasis are separeted by "islands". It is not possible to do that at DeKalb anymore. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9003417,-88.7397877,430m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[kphoger]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

KP, It is a bit different having access only to/from the turnpike like in you example and being able to access the tollway from a side service road at the O'Hare Oasis. In the old days, if I didn't have the 40 cents to pay the Touhy Toll or the Irving Park Toll, I would use the Oasis service exit and entrance to get on/off 294. Just sayin.

I wasn't replying to a post about the O'Hare oasis, but to one about the DeKalb oasis.  I don't see much difference between that and the Kansas one I posted.

Ah. Got it. At DeKalb, the gate from the service road to the plaza is always closed. The employee lot is actually on the service road now. and the EB and WB lanes at the Oasis are separeted by "islands". It is not possible to do that at DeKalb anymore. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9003417,-88.7397877,430m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

I believe ilpt4u meant that this gate is occasionally left open.  It's disallowed for you or me to drive through there even so, unlike in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it's "not possible".

At the KTA service area near Towanda (KS), in contrast, the corresponding access is just a matter of crossing a parking lot.

[hobsini2]

Not entering per say, but I have used the (usually closed) gate that separates EB & WB traffic at the DeKalb Oasis Mobil gas station on the Reagan Tollway/I-88 to head back in the direction I came from, typically WB back to EB

Sometimes that gate is left open. Does that count as an illegal U-Turn? Maybe? Even if the gate is closed, it really isn't that hard to "hop the curb"  separating the EB and WB sides of the gas station, especially driving a pickup or SUV. If ISTHA really didn't want you to do it, it would have a Jersey Barrier separating the two sides

It's completely normal for that sort of movement to be possible here in Kansas.  The service plaza is in the middle of the two directions, with the parking lots and gas station having access to both directions.

Here, in fact, are signs at the Topeka service area for both directions.

KP, It is a bit different having access only to/from the turnpike like in you example and being able to access the tollway from a side service road at the O'Hare Oasis. In the old days, if I didn't have the 40 cents to pay the Touhy Toll or the Irving Park Toll, I would use the Oasis service exit and entrance to get on/off 294. Just sayin.

I wasn't replying to a post about the O'Hare oasis, but to one about the DeKalb oasis.  I don't see much difference between that and the Kansas one I posted.

Ah. Got it. At DeKalb, the gate from the service road to the plaza is always closed. The employee lot is actually on the service road now. and the EB and WB lanes at the Oasis are separeted by "islands". It is not possible to do that at DeKalb anymore. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9003417,-88.7397877,430m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

I believe ilpt4u meant that this gate is occasionally left open.  It's disallowed for you or me to drive through there even so, unlike in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it's "not possible".

At the KTA service area near Towanda (KS), in contrast, the corresponding access is just a matter of crossing a parking lot.

That gate is only ever open for State Police or Tollway trucks. Incredibly rare. Unless you got the General Lee or a monster truck, it ain't happening.

[ilpt4u]

I've seen the DeKalb Oasis gate open multiple times. I have used it when it is open.

Certainly closed is its default position, but incredibly rare is probably too far the other way. I would say that gate is left open sparingly

[Truvelo]

I believe ilpt4u meant that this gate is occasionally left open.  It's disallowed for you or me to drive through there even so, unlike in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it's "not possible".

At the KTA service area near Towanda (KS), in contrast, the corresponding access is just a matter of crossing a parking lot.

That gate is only ever open for State Police or Tollway trucks. Incredibly rare. Unless you got the General Lee or a monster truck, it ain't happening.

Looking at where the toll plazas are located the only possible journey to be made using that gate to avoid paying a toll is between exits 94 and 109.

[ilpt4u]

I-88 has a couple Free Zones west of DeKalb anyway

Between I-39/US 51 and IL 251/old US 51 is a Free zone near Rochelle. Also to/from the west the Dixon exit is a Free exit now, even tho ISTHA owns the roadway until Exit 44/US 30

[cpzilliacus]

Bottom line - on ticket system toll roads (and those with virtual ticket systems too, such as MD-200), the toll road agencies usually do not want people entering their roads by way of maintenance gates or back gates to service plazas.  Nor do their want patrons driving through service plazas to accomplish a "U" turn (examples include Sideling Hill on the I-76 part of the Penn Pike and the two plazas on the I-476 Northeast Extension of the Penn Pike, which serve both directions but have barriers to prevent someone from making a "U" Turn).

The one exception I have seen to this on the I-70 part of the Kansas Turnpike (between Topeka and Kansas City, a ticket toll road), where the two plazas serve both directions, and a "U" Turn is possible and not forbidden by signage. 

Compare and contrast with median plazas like the ones on I-95 in Maryland and Delaware, and at some of the plazas on the Garden State Parkway. Nobody cares if a driver makes a "U" Turn at these.  In the days of the ramp tolls (at least on the I-95 part in Maryland) there were barriers that could be raised (looked like railroad grade crossing gates, minus the flashing lights) to allow official vehicles to make a "U" turn, but not for others, since a "U" turn was a simple way to evade payment of those ramp tolls.  I do not remember if Delaware had similar barriers at its plaza in the days of ramp tolls. 

As for walking in to a service plaza from the employee lot, I do not think anyone really cares (Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike describes people walking to the plaza from the neighborhood outside the gate (might have been the Thomas Edison plaza on the southbound side in Woodbridge or the Grover Cleveland plaza nearby on the northbound side) to purchase breakfast, and there was no objection raised by the NJTA or NJSP). 

Some friends and I had a need to use facilities and get something to eat in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, but near the Sideling Hill plaza.  We parked in the employee lot (and there's a gate to prevent vehicles from entering the Turnpike there) and followed a nice sidewalk to the plaza building.  Even though the road to the employee parking has a pair of PRIVATE ROAD signs (which PTC seems to install on all roads that could possibly lead to an access gate to the Turnpike), nobody cared. 

[1995hoo]

Florida's Turnpike doesn't care about U-turns in the service areas either. I started a thread about that at some point in the context of placing the service areas in the median versus on the outside: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7359.msg164776#msg164776