Editing Rest area (section)

=== United States ===
[[File:Rest Areas in the United States.webp|thumb|right|Rest areas in the United States]]
[[File:Southern Nevada highway rest area.jpg|thumb|right|Southern Nevada highway rest area on [[U.S. Route 95]]]]
[[File:Florida I95nb Rest Area 20331 1 mile.jpg|thumb|right|A rest area sign on [[Interstate 95]] in [[Florida]]. The sign also makes note of the existence of secure overnight parking and vending machines in the rest area.]]

In the United States, rest areas are typically non-commercial facilities that provide, at a minimum, parking and restrooms. In the United States, there are 1,840 rest areas<ref>{{cite news|url=https://iamforeverlost.com/ |title=Rest Areas Near Me |publisher=iamforeverlost.com |date=September 21, 2022 |access-date=September 21, 2022}}</ref> along interstate routes. Some may have information kiosks, vending machines, and picnic areas, but little else, while some have "dump" facilities, where [[recreational vehicle]]s may empty their sewage holding tanks. They are typically maintained and funded by the [[Department of transportation|departments of transportation]] of the [[state government]]s. For example, rest areas in [[California]] are maintained by [[Caltrans]]. In 2008, state governments began to close some rest areas as a result of the [[Great Recession]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2010/06/travel_road_trips_rest_stops_closure_safety_drivers.html |title=Coping with roadside rest area shutdowns |publisher=Consumer Reports |date=June 29, 2010 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704005835/http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2010/06/travel_road_trips_rest_stops_closure_safety_drivers.html |archive-date=July 4, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/investigates/closing-rest-stops-07212010 |title=Closing rest stops |publisher=Myfoxtampabay.com |date=July 21, 2010 |access-date=July 25, 2010}}</ref>

Some places, such as [[California]], have laws that explicitly prohibit private retailers from occupying rest stops.<ref name="findlaw1"/> A federal statute passed by Congress also prohibits states from allowing private businesses to occupy rest areas along [[interstate highway]]s. The relevant clause of 23 [[United States Code|U.S.C.]] § 111 states:
<blockquote>
The State will not permit automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users to be constructed or located on the [[rights-of-way]] of the Interstate System.
</blockquote>
[[File:No soliciting rest area sign.jpg|thumb|"No [[soliciting]]" sign in a rest area in [[California]]. Some states, like California, prohibit private retailers from occupying rest areas.]]
The original reason for this clause was to protect innumerable small towns whose survival depended upon providing roadside services such as gasoline, food, and lodging. Because of it, private truck stops and travel plazas have blossomed into a $171&nbsp;billion industry in the United States.<ref>Gordon Dickson, "Government Work Zone," ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', August 4, 2003, sec. Metro, p. 3.</ref>  The clause was immediately followed by an exception for facilities constructed prior to January 1, 1960, many of which continue to exist, as explained further below.

Therefore, the standard practice is that private businesses must buy up [[real property|land]] near existing [[interchange (road)|exit]]s and build their own facilities to serve travelers.  Such facilities often have tall signs that can be seen from several miles away (so that travelers have adequate time to make a decision).  In turn, it is somewhat harder to visit such private facilities, because one has to first exit the freeway and navigate through several intersections to reach a desired business's parking lot, rather than exit directly into a rest area's parking lot.  Public rest areas are usually (but not always) positioned so as not to compete with private businesses.

[[Logo sign|Special blue signs]] indicating gas, food, lodging, camping and roadside attractions near an exit can be found on most freeways in the United States. Beginning in the mid-1970s, private businesses have been permitted to display their logos or trademarks on these signs by paying a transportation department (or a subcontractor to a transportation department) a small fee.  Until the release of the 2000 edition of the [[Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices]], these signs were allowed only on the rural sections of highways.  The 2000 MUTCD added provisions for allowing these signs on highways in urban areas as long as adequate sign spacing can be maintained, however, some states (such as California and New York) continue to restrict these signs to rural areas only.  These signs are allowed on urban freeways in 15 states,{{specify|reason=Which states?|date=May 2021}} with [[Arizona]] being the most recent state (as of 2013) to repeal the restriction of these signs to only rural highways.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Angola Travel Plaza-06.jpg|thumb|A rest area featuring several private fast food chains in [[Angola, New York]]]] 
Attempts to remove the federal ban on privatized rest areas have been generally unsuccessful, due to resistance from existing businesses that have already made enormous capital investments in their existing locations.<ref>Thomas Corsi, Robert Windle, A. Michael Knemeyer, "Evaluating the Potential Impact of Interstate Highway Rights-of-Way Commercialization on Economic Activity at Interchanges," ''Transportation Journal'', vol. 39, no. 2 (Winter 1999): 16-25.</ref>

For example, in 2003, [[United States Congress|Congress's]] federal highway funding reauthorization bill contained a clause allowing states to start experimenting with privatized rest areas on Interstate highways.  The clause was fiercely resisted by the [[National Association of Truck Stop Owners]] (NATSO), which argued that allowing such rest areas would shift revenue to state governments (in the form of lease payments) that would have gone to local governments (in the form of property and sales taxes).<ref>Anonymous, "NATSO denounces pro-commercialization in highway bill,"  ''National Petroleum News'' 95, no. 5, (May 2003): 9. [http://www.travelplaza.org/article_b.php3?show=351&dept=2]{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>  NATSO also argued that by destroying private commercial truck stops, the bill would result in an epidemic of drowsy truck drivers, since such stops provide about 90% of the parking spaces used by American truck drivers while in transit.

==== Service areas ====
[[File:Chittenango Rest Area I-90 New York.jpg|thumb|A travel plaza along [[Interstate 90]] in [[Chittenango, New York]]]]

Prior to the creation of the [[Interstate Highway System]], many states east of the [[Rocky Mountains]] had already started building and operating their own long-distance intercity [[toll road]]s (turnpikes). To help recover construction costs, most turnpike operators leased concession space at rest areas to private businesses. In addition, the use of this sort of service area allows drivers to stop for food and fuel without passing through additional tollbooths and thereby incurring a higher toll.

[[Pennsylvania]], which opened the first such highway in 1940 with the mainline [[Pennsylvania Turnpike]], was the model for many subsequent areas. Instead of operating the service areas themselves, the [[Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission]] opted to lease them out to Standard Oil of Pennsylvania (which was acquired shortly afterward by the modern-day [[Exxon]]), which in turn operated a [[Filling station]] with a [[Automobile repair shop|garage]] and [[Howard Johnson's]] franchises as a [[restaurant]] offering. The turnpike leases the filling station space to [[Sunoco]] (which operates [[7-Eleven]] [[convenience store]]s instead of garages at the sites) and, as of 2021, the rest of the service area space to [[Applegreen]].<ref name=ptcservice>{{cite web|title=Service Plazas|publisher=Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission|url=https://www.paturnpike.com/traveling/service-plazas|access-date=November 26, 2021}}</ref>

In the summer of 2021, Iris Buyer LLC (an Applegreen company) announced that they were acquiring all travel plazas by HMSHost. The deal reached an agreement at the end of July 2021 officially transferring ownership. The New York State Thruway Service Areas (which will be owned by another company by Applegreen) was not affected by this transition due to the fact that Host's contract was expired.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 31, 2021 |title=HMSHost to divest US motorways business to Blackstone-led group |url=https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/hmshost-to-divest-us-motorways-business-to-blackstone-led-group/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=The Moodie Davitt Report |language=en-GB}}</ref> As of July 2022, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have service areas that are operated or have stake by Applegreen.

Some turnpikes, such as [[Florida's Turnpike]], were never integrated into the Interstate system and never became subject to the federal ban on private businesses.  On turnpikes that did become Interstates, all privatized rest areas in operation prior to January 1, 1960, were [[Grandfather clause|allowed to continue operating]].  Such facilities are often called ''service areas'' by the public and in [[road atlas]]es, but each state varies:

{{col div}}
* Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – service plaza<ref name=masspikeserviceplazas /><ref>
{{cite web|website=ct.gov|url=http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/cwp/view.asp?A=3675&Q=451088 |title=Governor Rell Announces Concession Agreement To Transform Highway Service Plazas}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.floridasturnpike.com/tools_serviceplazas.cfm
 |title       = Florida's Turnpike – The Less Stressway &#124; Traveler Information &#124; Service Plazas
 |website= Floridasturnpike.com
 |access-date  = July 16, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091126000643/http://www.floridasturnpike.com/tools_serviceplazas.cfm
 |archive-date = November 26, 2009
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web |url=http://maineturnpike.com/traveler_services/service_plazas.php |website=MaineTurnpike.com|title=Welcome to the Maine Turnpike Authority |access-date=February 8, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513035719/http://www.maineturnpike.com/traveler_services/service_plazas.php |archive-date=May 13, 2012 }}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.ohioturnpike.org/travelers/service_plaza/
 |title       = Ohio Turnpike Commission – Service Plaza
 |website= Ohioturnpike.org
 |access-date  = July 16, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006064433/http://ohioturnpike.org/travelers/service_plaza/
 |archive-date = October 6, 2012
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.paturnpike.com/geninfo/srvcplaza/svcplazas.aspx
 |title       = The Pennsylvania Turnpike – About the PTC
 |website= Paturnpike.com
 |access-date  = July 16, 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090307100353/http://www.paturnpike.com/geninfo/srvcplaza/svcplazas.aspx
 |archive-date = March 7, 2009
}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.transportation.wv.gov/turnpike/Pages/WVParkwaysTravelPlazas.aspx |title=West Virginia Turnpike Travel Plazas |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412082302/http://www.transportation.wv.gov/turnpike/Pages/WVParkwaysTravelPlazas.aspx |website=transportation.wv.gov|archive-date=April 12, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, and Oklahoma – service area<ref>[http://ksturnpike.com/services.html Kansas Turnpike Authority<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210023816/http://ksturnpike.com/services.html |date=February 10, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.i95mdtravelplazas.com/the-maryland-house/12-the-maryland-house|title=i95md Travel Plazas -|website=i95md Travel Plazas|access-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307000952/http://i95mdtravelplazas.com/the-maryland-house/12-the-maryland-house|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Illinois – [[Illinois Tollway oasis|oasis]]
* Indiana and New York – travel plaza<ref>[http://www.in.gov/dot/div/tollroad/TollRoadInfo.pdf ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827030728/http://www.in.gov/dot/div/tollroad/TollRoadInfo.pdf |date=August 27, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysthruway.gov/travelplazas/index.html |title=New York State Thruway Authority: Traveler Information: Travel Plazas |website=Nysthruway.gov |access-date=July 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305204509/http://www.nysthruway.gov/travelplazas/index.html |archive-date=March 5, 2010 }}</ref>
* New Jersey – service area or service plaza<ref name=autogenerated2 />
{{col div end}}
Some states, such as [[Ohio]], allow nonprofit organizations to run a concession trailer in a rest area.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Started in 2015(ish), The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway Service Areas started advertising and selling products from Popcorn for The People. It is a non-profit organization which creates employment for people with disabilities, specifically Autism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Popcorn for the People® |url=https://www.popcornforthepeople.com/pages/about |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=Popcorn for the People |language=en}}</ref>

==== Text stops ====
In 2013, the state of New York launched "It Can Wait", a program for encouraging drivers to pause at rest stops and parking areas along state roads to [[Texting|text]] (thereby avoiding [[texting while driving]]), by designating all such areas "text stops". The practice involves placing road signs which indicate the nearest "texting zone" at which to legally stop and use mobile devices such as [[smartphone]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/09232013-governor-unveils-texting-zones|title = Governor Cuomo Unveils 'Texting Zones' Along NYS Thruway and Highways for Drivers to Pull Over and Use Their Cell Phones|website= Office of the Governor of New York|author = Press release|date = September 23, 2013}}</ref>

==== Welcome centers ====
{{Main|Welcome centers in the United States}}

[[File:West Virginia Welcome Center Princeton I-77 US-460.jpg|thumb|A [[Welcome centers in the United States|state welcome center]] in [[West Virginia]]. State welcome centers are often located near state or municipal borders in the United States.]]

A rest area often located near state or municipal borders in the United States is sometimes called a [[Visitor center|welcome center]].  Welcome centers tend to be larger than regular rest areas, and are staffed at peak travel times with one or more employees who advise travelers as to their options.  Some welcome centers contain a small [[museum]] or at least a basic information kiosk about the state.  Because air travel has made it possible to enter and leave many states without crossing the state line at ground level, some states, like California, have official welcome centers inside major cities far from their state borders.  In some states (such as Massachusetts), these rest areas are called tourist information centers<ref name=masspikeserviceplazas>{{cite web
| url=http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx
| title=Travel Service Plazas & Tourist Information Centers – Traffic & Travel Resources – Highway Division
| website=Massachusetts Department of Transportation
| access-date=September 16, 2011
| archive-date=June 28, 2017
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628051447/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> and in others (such as New Jersey), [[visitor center]]s.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/our-roadways.html|title=NJTA – Service Area Listing |website=State.nj.us |access-date=July 16, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213221232/http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/nj-vcenter-serv.htm| archive-date = December 13, 2007}}</ref>

====Other types====
Rest areas without modern restrooms are called ''''waysides''''.  These locations have parking spaces for trucks and cars, or for [[semi-trailer truck]]s only. Some have [[portable toilet]]s and [[waste container]]s. In Missouri these locations are called ''''Roadside Parks'''' or ''''Roadside Tables''''.

The most basic '''parking areas''' have no facilities of any kind; they consist solely of a paved shoulder on the side of the highway where travelers can rest for a short time.  A '''scenic area''' is similar to a parking area, but it is provided to the traveler in a place of natural beauty.  These are also called ''[[scenic overlook]]s''.