1.  What is a rest area?

8. What additional assumptions and evaluation criteria guide the development of the improvement plan?

1. What is a rest area?

In Connecticut, there are currently 23 service plazas, 8 rest areas, and 6 welcome centers. A rest area is a simple roadside facility where you can pull off the highway to rest or stretch your legs. It provides restrooms, parking, pay phones and, in many cases, vending machines. Many rest areas also have picnic and pet walking areas, and some other features.

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2. What is a service plaza?

A service plaza offers all of the things you can find in a rest area, but also has fuel and, often, a convenience store and/or retail carts. Some service plazas, such as those along I-95, also offer food services, like sit-down restaurants.  Service plazas are generally located on toll roads or former toll roads. Connecticut is fortunate to be able to offer commercial services on its non-tool roads.  However, under current federal funding regulations, no new service plazas (with commercial food and fuel services) can be built, though existing, “grandfathered” facilities can be improved and expanded. This provision is intended to prohibit competition with off-road private commercial facilities. New rest areas or welcome centers can be constructed as needed.

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3. What is a welcome center?

A welcome center is generally part of either a rest area or service plaza. A welcome center dispenses useful travel and tourism information to motorists visiting the state. Welcome Centers are usually staffed to better serve travelers.

4. Who is conducting the study of Connecticut’s rest areas and service plazas?

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) is conducting a study of the state’s rest areas and service plazas. A study team, led by Earth Tech and including Fitzgerald & Halliday, ICON, UIC, and The Williams Group has been employed by ConnDOT to carry out this study.  The study is also informed by a Sterring Committee and receives input from an Advisory Committee.

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5. Will all of Connecticut’s rest areas and service plazas be included in the study?

Yes, all of Connecticut’s 8 rest areas and 23 service plazas will be studied. In addition, ConnDOT and the project team will consider locations for new facilities.

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6. Why is ConnDOT conducting this study? Why is it needed?

This study has been triggered by many converging factors, such as truck parking deficiencies, service contract deadlines by existing service plaza vendors, safety issues, aging infrastructure, and the desire of the Connecticut Department of Transportation to improve services for the traveling public.

The study vision was developed by the study’s Steering Committee. It was also reviewed and amended by the study’s Advisory Committee. The result of this collaborative effort is the following vision statement, which guides the study process. It is the vision of the Connecticut DOT: “To become a leader in the provision of services to travelers at our highway service plazas and rest areas by improving quality and image, enhancing tourist offerings, increasing safety, ensuring adequate coverage and capacity on all corridors, and providing improved and additional services and amenities which will benefit the state’s economy and minimize community and environmental impacts.”

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8. What additional assumptions and evaluation criteria guide the development of the improvement plan?

A set of “guiding principles” were developed to help guide the study process and assist ConnDOT with making decisions regarding the final study outcome. These guiding principles, developed by the study Steering Committee, are as follows:

1. Safety: The safety of Connecticut’s roadways and traveler facilities is of paramount importance.

2. Truck parking: All aspects of the vision are important and desired; but the driving force of this study and the aspect that needs to take precedence is an improvement in the accommodation of truck parking for safety reasons.

3. Public-private cooperation: The State does not desire to compete with the private sector in the provision of traveler services. The State wishes to provide encouragement to the private sector to help solve the truck parking problem if win-win solutions can be identified.

4. Customer service: The State wishes to improve facilities to better serve the traveling public and the commercial interests that operate within Connecticut. This is anticipated to include improved facilities, services and amenities.

5. State-wide coverage: The State wishes to work toward more consistent coverage of the state’s major limited access highways with the provision of some new facilities in areas where gaps in service currently exist.

6. Innovation: The State desires to seek out innovative solutions to the various issues identified with Connecticut traveler facilities so that the state may be a leader in this area to the benefit of the state and its image and economy.

7. Best practices: Connecticut wishes to learn from and incorporate solutions from other states and to avoid “re-inventing the wheel” with regard to innovation and workable solutions.

8. Tourism: While not the DOT’s main mission, the Department recognizes that tourism is the leading growth sector of Connecticut’s economy and desires to enhance opportunities to distribute tourist information to the benefit of the state’s economy. This is anticipated to include more and better dissemination of information and a greatly enhanced image of Connecticut to travelers.

9. Governance: The State desires to evaluate whether or not there is a way to change the operation and/or governance of the service plaza facilities such that revenue can be generated to help underwrite some of the needed improvements.

10. Long-term value: The State desires to incorporate long-term efficiency and effectiveness into the desired features and criteria for the facility renovations.

11. Efficient and effective re-use: The State wants to maximize the effective re-use of existing sites (as long as they meet the identified demand) and to identify ways to meet the unmet demand in areas that are underserved.

12. Federal regulation restrictions: The State wishes to continue to receive federal funding assistance for all major corridors. Therefore, the state plans to abide by the current federal legislation which does not permit commercialization (fuel and food service) at locations other than the grandfathered service plazas on I-95, I-395, and the Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway.

13. Stakeholder involvement: The State wishes to carry out an open process for identifying issues and solutions, with plentiful opportunities for input from stakeholders, including the municipalities and regions, as well as commercial truckers, private sector truck stop operators, tourism representatives, and others.

14. Good neighbors: The State desires for publicly owned traveler facilities to be good neighbors in terms of environmental compliance and other features. Recognizing that facilities will by their nature have some impact, the state wishes to minimize that impact to the degree practicable.

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Connecticut’s service plazas and rest areas have many issues, arising from their age, the volume of usage and demand, and the governance of the facilities. Some of these issues include:

• Truck parking shortfall: Currently, there is a truck parking deficit of about 1,330 spaces every night in Connecticut. This deficit is expected to grow to 1,750 truck parking spaces by 2025.

• Physical condition/image of facilities: Most of Connecticut’s rest areas and service plazas are outdated and undersized, and the public has registered many concerns about maintenance and cleanliness throughout the course of this study.

• Safety and security: Connecticut’s rest areas and service plazas should be welcoming and safe places to people to stop. The study looks at ways to make them safer and more secure for travelers.

• Gaps in service: Long stretches of Connecticut’s major highways either have no places where drivers can stop to rest or an inadequate number of stopping places. For example, there are no facilities along I-91 north of Middletown or along Routes 2 or 9.

• Tourism and economic benefit: Tourism is a leading sector of the Connecticut economy. Our rest areas and service plazas are ideal places to disseminate information on what to do and where to stay in the state.

• Welcome Centers: There is a recognized need to provide welcome centers at key gateways to Connecticut.

• Local concerns: Communities want Connecticut’s rest areas and service plazas to be good neighbors and minimize things like noise and litter.

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10. What is the truck parking issue all about?

Every night, there is a truck parking shortage of about 1,330 spaces in Connecticut, which results in trucks parked along highway shoulders and ramps, in no parking areas at service plazas, or off the highway along local roads. This is a safety issue which the Connecticut Department of Transportation wants to address.

Truck drivers are restricted by the number of hours they can be on the road each day. When they reach their hourly limit, they must pull off the road to rest. Truck drivers often must choose whether to park illegally or continue driving illegally until they find a legal place to park. This is a serious safety issue. In addition, trucks must often stop and “holdover” for a period of time prior to making deliveries. This problem is more prevalent in densely populated areas with lots of commercial activity, such as much of southwestern Connecticut.

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11. What is this study intended to achieve?

This study will:

• Confirm and evaluate alternative strategies to address the deficiency of truck parking at rest areas and service plazas, 

• Evaluate operational and governance options,  

• Determine best practices for operation and maintenance of rest areas and service plazas based on the experiences of other states,  

• Identify the optimum statewide location, services, and facilities needed for the greatest benefit to the traveling public, and 
• Assist in developing improvement plans for individual rest areas and service plazas.

12. What did the study look at? What were some of the key areas of investigation?

Some of the key study components are noted below:

• Best practices in other states with regard to rest areas, service plazas and welcome centers were investigated so that Connecticut could benefit from this “benchmarking” analysis of lessons learned elsewhere.

• Existing facilities in Connecticut were evaluated, including an assessment of the condition of existing facilities, services and infrastructure for safety and location, environmental concerns, existing and projected traffic volumes, truck parking, and the potential for increasing revenue.

• Policies were investigated that would affect the development of future facilities.

• Demand for services by the traveling public was estimated, including location of facilities and services where they are needed by both commercial vehicles and the traveling public.

• A list of issues that need to be addressed was compiled.

• A variety of alternative strategies were developed to address the identified issues.

• Initial exploration of the options available for privatization of services and concessions was carried out, along with the possible revenue and economic ramifications.

• Preliminary improvement recommendations were proposed.

• Costs and funding needed to achieve project recommendations was estimated.

• Preliminary recommendations were made to enhance revenue opportunities including privatization of facilities.

• A preliminary improvement plan was developed, including a series of strategies and recommendations for Connecticut’s system of rest areas and service plazas.

• A preliminary improvement concept for each existing individual rest area and service plaza was also developed, as well as preliminary concepts for four new rest area locations.

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Yes! Although, due to federal restrictions, Connecticut cannot construct new commercial service plazas along its highways, new rest areas are being considered to fill in the gaps in coverage in strategic locations throughout the state. There are gaps in coverage along I-91 north of Hartford, and Routes 2 and 9 have no facilities at all.

In addition, many of the existing sites are being considered for expansion and/or reconfiguration to make better use of the sites. The preliminary recommendations call for the replacement of buildings at all existing facilities.

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Over-the-highway facilities are viewed as a great way to conserve land, especially in places where there isn’t enough room to expand existing facilities, such as in Fairfield County, but where the demand for traveler facilities is growing. Over-the-highway facilities are successful in other states, like Illinois, and present a win-win solution for the state and local communities. No additional land is needed from the local community and the state can provide for the increasing demand and growing needs of the traveling public. While the initial cost may be higher because of the over-the-highway construction, it means that only one facility needs to be constructed — to be utilized by travelers in both directions — and that more travelers can be accommodated. It is also felt that these facilities will be attractive and noteworthy representatives of the improvement of Connecticut’s facilities.

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Yes. The existing welcome centers would be enlarged and upgraded and several new welcome centers would be added at key gateway locations to Connecticut. In addition, it is recommended that some means be found to staff Welcome Centers to better serve visitors and tourists.

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It is too early in the planning and project development process for a determination of exactly what new amenities will be provided. At present, the preliminary recommendations call for attractive new and larger buildings at each site with more space for visitors. In addition, amenities that are under considerations include more and better food choices, larger, staffed welcome centers, more visitor information, more "real time" travel information, better landscaping, picnic areas and pet-walking areas, and the possibility of wireless internet access.

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Yes. It is much too early in the planning process for this design to actually occur, but the recommendation is that the new and replacement buildings be environmentally friendly.

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It is too early in the planning process and there are too many unknowns for a construction schedule to be developed yet. However, it is likely that any construction will take place over the course of many years and that the earliest upgrades would likely not be completed in less than a 5–10 year timeframe.

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19. How can I provide comment on the study or the preliminary recommendations?

Public comment is an important part of the study process. Please visit our Public Involvement webpage. In addition there is a Contact Us webpage, where website visitors can submit comments and/or request to be added to the project mailing list. Folks on the mailing list receive a newsletter, periodically, with updates on the study. Focus groups, interviews, and a user survey have already been conducted to reach out to key stakeholders. In addition, there will be four Public Information Meetings, upcoming this August and September! Find out more about the dates, times, and locations.

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