New Roadside Rest Stops Could Feature Internet, Showers And Even Art Galleries

You’re driving down the highway when it happens – you need to use the washroom, fill up with gas, get something to eat or simply stretch your legs. So you pull into one of those roadside rest areas for a break. But you don’t much like what you see. They may be dirty, deteriorating or just not very welcoming. But now there’s a plan afoot to change all that.

The Ontario government is looking for a contractor to rebuild those temporary oases along the 400 series of highways as a means to boost tourism, generate some revenue and generally spruce up the look of the province. And you may not want to leave them once they’re finished.

There are 23 highway service centres in Southern Ontario that are currently leased and operated by big oil companies like Shell or Esso. But their deals are about to expire and the province wants to find a single operator willing to make substantial improvements and run them all. The big difference – whoever wins the bid will pay for the redevelopment and share the profits with the government. In return, they get access to 900 acres of prime real estate and a potential customer base of millions of cars from both Ontario and the U.S. The average site takes in about $4.2 million every year.

So what could these new turns in the road look like? Some reports suggest anything goes, including improved bathrooms with showers, places to buy souvenirs or alternative fuels, Internet cafes for those wanting to check their email and even an art gallery.

But it’s not just entertainment. The OPP is hoping the new facilities will also be a boon to safety. “Some of the facilities are pretty tight. They don’t have adequate space,” observes Sgt. Cam Woolley as he peruses a jam-packed parking lot. “Actually where we’re standing right now is even a no parking zone. So they need some more spots.”

What do drivers think of the plan? “It would be a great idea, because a lot of people drive through here,” observes one, who happened to be driving through there.

But the idea of Internet, showers and tourist-type attractions leaves another motorist wondering what the government is up to. “Isn’t that what towns are for?” he asks. “I mean, having a rest stop on the side of the road means go to the bathroom, grab a cup of coffee, grab a sandwich. It doesn’t mean stop in with the family.”

A third questions the kinds of attractions being mulled. “Art gallery’s kind of unrealistic because I don’t think people will use it. But I think people are looking for something that they can, you know, take a quick stop, rest up, get a coffee and get back on the road.”

Still, not everyone’s against the idea. “Some place to relax and unwind for an hour before you go to sleep would be great,” muses one trucker. “But yeah, I guess maybe the art gallery would be nice.”

Most of the leases expire by 2011, and once the province picks a winner, you could see the new sites on the 400 and the 401 spring up as early as 2008.

Ontario Rest Stops

What’s there now?

Gas stations
Restaurants
Public telephones
Washrooms
Drinking fountains
Parking
Rest areas
Picnic tables

What might replace them?

Internet cafes
Showers
Art galleries
Souvenir stores
Displays
Tourist info and more

Open

Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week.

Where are they?

10: Across westbound 401 from the Quebec border to near Windsor
9: Across eastbound 401 from Windsor to Morrisburg
2: Along 400 southbound at Maple and Cookstown
2: Along 400 northbound at King City and Barrie

All service centres are within an hour’s drive of each other and service more than 500,000 cars and 45,000 trucks a day.