Resting place

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A bright, flat concrete surface in a green, hilly landscape, with wooded mountains in the background. The concrete surface widens from the driveway at the bottom right so that several parallel driveways are created. Slanted, rectangular parking lot markings in white can be seen on the concrete surface. The parking area is interrupted by small green islands with trees and grass. The roof of a small building can be seen on the left edge of the area.
Highway rest area on National Road 11 in Naruto , Japan
Group of three wooden roofs and several signs on a narrow, paved path. Simple benches and a table are set up under two of the canopies, the rearmost has a wooden back wall to which a bench is attached. Leaning brackets for bicycles are set up between the canopies. In the background you can see a river and several brightly painted small town houses.
Rest area on the Green Velo cycle path in Przemyśl

A rest area is a place to rest on highways or long-distance paths where travelers can relax. Rest areas can be found everywhere in the road and path network, typical features are benches , parking spaces , tables and garbage cans . More extensive rest stations with their own buildings, catering and overnight accommodation are called rest areas , relaxation or rest houses . Outside of German-speaking countries , however, these terms are often defined differently. In the parlance of the German autobahn administration, rest areas with sanitary facilities are referred to as a PWC or a PWC system. In contrast to a rest area, a parking lot only covers the area on which vehicles can be parked. Due to the signs on some roads, rest areas are also colloquially called (motorway) parking spaces.

history

In the open landscape there is an old milestone and a group of older trees on a modern country road. The trees and a small earth wall form a small bay on the road.
Former picnic area from the 19th century near Bad Lausick
View of a small square surrounded by plants. The terrain rises all around, the square itself is rectangular and partly overgrown with grass. You can see a paving underneath. The enclosure of the square consists of roughly hewn reddish natural stones. A small stone spring basin is integrated in the middle. The wall is a little higher above the basin, there you can read “Keep yourself clean” written on runes.
Oldest preserved car rest area in Germany, laid out in 1934 near Porta Westfalica

Ever since people have been taking longer trips, they have been taking a break along the way. Even in pre-industrial times there were rest areas where z. B. urging horse on or have been exhausted. Also Ruhsteine , Rest stones and Ruhbänke can be considered remnants of historic resting places. On these benches, mostly made of wood or stone, people could put their back carriers or boxes and pick them up again easily.

With the motorization at the beginning of the 20th century, new rest areas were created, which were now intended for car traffic. An early example of this is the rest area at Sassenborn in Porta Westfalica , which was laid out in 1934 . A place should be created there where car travelers can rest, refresh themselves and enjoy the view. The facility stands in the tradition of the homeland security movement and should make the beauty of the landscape and nature tangible for car travelers. Rest areas were also laid out on the Reichsautobahn of the Third Reich , especially in scenic spots; At the Elbe bridge Vockerode even a rest area with a lookout tower should be built. Among other things, this was based on the idea of ​​"car hiking", that is, experiencing the landscape by car. With the increase in traffic after the Second World War, the practical functions came more and more to the fore.

Choice of location and naming

Rest area and viewpoint on La Palma , Spain

The locations for rest areas can be selected from different points of view. In tourist areas or on special roads such as mountain passes , rest areas are often laid out in such a way that travelers can also enjoy the landscape there. The border to the viewpoint with the attached parking lot is fluid. At some rest areas such as the US roadside parks , hiking trails similar to the German hiking parking lots begin . Rest areas are mainly created in the area so that travelers can meet their needs and relax. This should also contribute to increased road safety . For this purpose, rest areas must be available on the streets at regular intervals. In Switzerland, on highways a distance of about 20-25 km aimed at German motorways approximately every 15-20 km rest areas or service areas are to be created. On federal highways in Germany , rest areas should be available at least on routes that have no through-town for more than 50 km . If a section is intended for a possible new rest area, the interests of traffic, environmental protection and economic efficiency must be weighed in order to determine an ideal location. The ADFC recommends setting up rest areas at intervals of 15 km outside of built-up areas on cycle paths . Rest areas should also be available at crossroads, sights or viewpoints.

Rest areas are usually named after nearby places, rivers, mountains or other geographical objects. In Germany, however, place names should no longer be used for new systems in order to avoid confusion. The names are proposed in the road construction administration , but ultimately the Federal Ministry decides on the naming (cf. § 1 Paragraph 5 FStrG ). Some rest areas in West Germany were named after cities in the former eastern regions of the German Empire at the suggestion of the then Federal Transport Minister Hans-Christoph Seebohm .

Furnishing

A small angular caravan converted into a food truck stands with a harnessed car on a concrete surface surrounded by trees. A man in shorts looks into the open window of the car, on the left several people are sitting at a small snack table with a parasol and talking.
Mobile snack stand at a motorway rest area on the A 2 , summer 1991

In comparison to motorway service stations, rest areas are more simply equipped; only limited commercial services are permitted there. There are almost always benches and picnic tables as well as garbage cans at rest areas . If the rest area is intended for travelers with their own vehicles, parking spaces are also available there. Often there are also sanitary facilities such as toilets or water points at rest areas . For travelers with children, there are baby changing rooms and / or children's playgrounds at some rest areas . Other typical features are information boards, signposts , shelters , emergency telephones or (formerly) public payphones .

As a rule, there are no places to buy food and drinks at rest areas. Food trucks can be parked at rest areas on national roads in Switzerland if they apply for a license and meet certain requirements. This was also possible in West Germany earlier. In some freeway parking lots in the new federal states, the operation of snack stands was tolerated as long as the expansion of the freeway service stations in these federal states was not yet completed. In Japan , vending machines are often set up on motorway service areas that do not have their own shop or restaurant.

When comparing 101 rest areas in Europe, the ADAC came to the conclusion in 2009 that the rest areas in Germany were not adequately lit. Many of the rest areas in Austria, however, were rated very well.

  • Rest area "Mossauer Höhe" on a high road in the Odenwald

  • Bank groups at the Eldetal rest area on the A 19

  • Rest area in Schrems , Lower Austria

  • Playground at the Aire de repos de La Loupière on the A6

  • Resting place " bei den Sühnesteinen" on federal road 1 near Elze

  • Service building at the Herzogenburg rest area, S33

  • Bicycle rest area in Otter , Lower Saxony

  • Bronson Roadside Park on US Highway 12

  • Rest area with toilet on the Simplon Pass ( Hauptstrasse 9 )

  • Rest area on the Mitchell Highway in New South Wales

  • Toilet building at the Kammlachtal Süd rest area, A 96

  • Shelter, toilet block and vending machine at a rest area on the E97 in Japan

Signage

Many countries have their own pictograms for rest areas, which usually represent a picnic bench and a tree. Sometimes the additional facilities of a rest area, such as toilets or lookout points, are expressed with their own symbols. In countries that do not use the picnic pictogram, a parking space is used in the signs . The signs are on the road where the rest area is located. Often times, advance notice indicates rest areas and the distance to them, and the sign is then repeated on the actual departure.

Significance for truck traffic

Several trucks are standing side by side on a concrete surface, with trees in between and behind them. The area with the trucks is separated from the motorway by a guardrail and a row of bushes.
A 2 truck parking lot at the Lehrter See motorway service station

According to the Ministry of Transport, there are around 51,000 truck parking spaces at the rest areas along the BAB. The Federal Association of Freight Transport, Logistics and Waste Management considers this to be insufficient and estimates that there is a lack of between 35,000 and 40,000 truck parking spaces at 12,600 kilometers of motorway in Germany (as of 08/2019). In particular, reunification and European integration as well as the eastward expansion of the European Union have led to a considerable growth in road freight traffic on the motorways.

Unsecured rest areas are the most common crime scene for cargo theft. That is why there have been two official security parking spaces at the Uhrsleben and Wörnitz truck stops since 2010 , and similar concepts exist in other European countries.

A sufficient number of parking spaces is essential both for the driver and for road safety. The drivers are dependent on sufficient parking spaces in order to be able to comply with the prescribed driving and rest times. One problem for long-distance drivers is that they sometimes have to stand with their cab directly facing the motorway. You not only need a parking space for your truck, but also a sufficient supply of sanitary facilities and inexpensive food and drinks. Accidents and dangerous situations occur again and again because trucks are parking spaces on the motorway at entrances and exits, or in the breakdown lane or hard shoulder, they take their prescribed break in driving time with a short break.

The Federal Republic of Germany therefore wanted to invest an additional 250 million euros in the new construction and expansion of rest areas by 2015. The introduction of telematic control systems should also be examined to expand capacity . The private operators of the truck stops also want to have significantly increased the number of their truck parking spaces in recent years.

Operation and maintenance

Rest areas usually belong to the street on which they are located. In Germany , for example, the road construction authorities are also responsible for maintaining the rest areas. The street guards empty the garbage cans, clean the toilets every day, maintain the open spaces and deal with damage caused by vandalism . In North Rhine-Westphalia , more than € 10 million per year are used to operate the motorway rest areas. In a test of 50 rest areas in Germany carried out in 2018, the ADAC found that the cleaning of the sanitary facilities was insufficient in about half of the cases. The outdoor facilities were also often felt to be neglected and dirty.

In everyday culture

Due to their location, rest areas are difficult to access and easy to reach by car. Therefore, motorway parking spaces are a popular place for secret or public sexual intercourse . Sometimes cruising also takes place, the meeting points are often advertised on the Internet.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden | Rest area | Spelling, meaning, definition, origin. Retrieved February 15, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Thomas Kuss: The rest area conception in the state of Brandenburg | State Road Administration. In: Landesbetrieb Straßenwesen Brandenburg. October 6, 2014, accessed February 15, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Hiking car park in Vorspanneiche. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  4. ^ Regional Association Westphalia-Lippe : "Keep yourself pure". June 6, 2016, accessed January 2, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Glossary Autobahn + Road - Rest Area. Highway and Road History Archive, accessed January 2, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Erhard Schütz, Eckard Gruber: Myth of the Reichsautobahn: Construction and staging of the "Streets of the Führer" 1933–1941 . Ch.links, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-86153-117-8 , p. 123 f .
  7. ↑ Federal Roads Office FEDRO : Technical information sheet for components: systems for travel interruptions (21 001-11511) . In: Technical Guide Trassee / Environment (FBH T / U) . January 2019, p. 4th f . ( admin.ch [PDF]).
  8. ^ Research Society for Roads and Transport - Road Design Working Group .: Recommendations for rest areas on roads (ERS) . FGSV-Verlag, Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-941790-37-7 , p. 11 .
  9. ↑ ADFC specialist committee for cycle tourism: ADFC recommendation: Requirements and design of rest areas on cycle routes . January 2017 ( adfc.de [PDF]).
  10. ^ Research Society for Roads and Transport - Road Design Working Group .: Recommendations for rest areas on roads (ERS) . FGSV-Verlag, Cologne 2011, ISBN 978-3-941790-37-7 , p. 35 .
  11. ^ A b Claudia Pinl: Warthe in the Westerwald. Culture of remembrance at West German motorway parking lots
  12. ↑ Federal Roads Office FEDRO: Food and drink options at rest areas: FEDRO 71001 . 2014 ( admin.ch [PDF]).
  13. ^ Daniel Gehrmann: ADAC rest area test: Austria is the best place to park. In: RP ONLINE. August 19, 2009, accessed February 16, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Transport policy: Rest area risk: Lack of truck parking spaces provokes accidents. August 11, 2019, accessed February 16, 2020 .
  15. ↑ DerWesten.de: Thousands of truck parking spaces are missing on Germany's autobahn. August 15, 2012, accessed February 16, 2020 .
  16. ^ Ralf Bartsch: Crime scene unsecured rest area. Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung, October 22, 2013, accessed on February 16, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Verkehrsrundschau magazine from February 15, 2008, p. 8
  18. ↑ Waste disposal and toilet cleaning | Streets.NRW. Retrieved February 15, 2020 .
  19. ^ ADAC : 50 rest areas in Germany in the ADAC test. Accessed February 16, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Trouble about sex tourism. In: Kiel News . May 25, 2009, accessed January 4, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Rebekka Madlener: Used condoms and Co: Parking lots on the A14 are popular sex meeting places. In: VOL.at . July 31, 2016, accessed January 4, 2020 .