Spokane — For the first time in more than a decade, the Washington State Department of Transportation has released a plan to update and maintain its 47 state-owned highway rest areas.
Each year, 24 million people use rest areas in the state. The transportation department is asking the Legislature to dole out $375 million to $525 million over the next 15 years to keep the facilities operable. Most rest areas in the state were built before 1975.
The state asked the public to share input on rest stop conditions in 2022 and again earlier this year. More than 5,300 Washingtonians provided feedback. On Nov. 30, the transportation agency released its 177-page maintenance plan.
“The needs of travelers today versus what they were 15 years ago have changed,” transportation department spokesperson Tina Werner said in a phone interview. “We heard loud and clear that folks want to see modernized facilities and increased truck parking.”
Rest areas across the state need more than a quick fix, Werner said, and slapping on new paint or installing new faucets won’t be enough.
“Some of our facilities would require complete demolition and rebuilding,” Werner said. “Some have frequent water leaks or sewage issues.”
Respondents to the calls for public comment reportedly asked the transportation department for increased semitruck and commercial vehicle parking — especially at high-traffic rest stops, such as the Indian John Hill rest area near Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90. The state transportation department is considering expanding existing truck lots, as well as building truck-only rest stops.
Having enough spots for people to park at rest stops reduces highway crashes, according to the state plan, so drowsy drivers have a safe place to pull over and rest.
“One of the more common safety concerns is individuals staying beyond the posted legal time limits,” the plan reads. “Safety rest areas are intended for short-term visits.”
Werner acknowledged homeless people have camped and parked at rest areas in increasing numbers across Washington in recent years.
“It’s indicative of the homelessness crisis we are facing as a country and a state due to a lack of affordable housing,” she said, adding that the state transportation department and law enforcement have continued to do outreach at rest areas through the state’s encampment resolution program.
Under state law, the driver of a passenger vehicle is allowed to park at a rest stop for a maximum of eight hours within a 24-hour period. Commercial trucks are allowed to stay a maximum of 11 hours.
People who submitted feedback for the rest area plan also requested that the state update bathroom designs to make them more inclusive, including adding adult changing tables and door hand controls, and increasing the numbers of ADA-accessible stalls. Drivers also recommended providing more family-friendly and gender-neutral restrooms.
Single parents reported feeling uncomfortable sending their children of the opposite sex into restrooms without supervision, according to the safety plan.
“Transgender people would feel safer with access to gender-neutral bathrooms and visible external cameras,” the plan reads. “Many facilities were not designed for women who might be traveling alone. Feedback from users was that they would like to have parking as close to restroom buildings as possible, with no landscaping blocking the view from parking lots.”
Although the public comment period for the rest area plan is over, people with questions or comments are invited to call the Department of Transportation at 360-705-7784.
Ellen Dennis’ work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper’s managing editor.
