Roadside Rest Areas Research Articles

Investigating how consumption values and place identity shape long-haul truck drivers’ intention to visit roadside rest areas

Transportation business organisations, policymakers, and government entities attempt to enhance the welfare of long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs) by promoting safe driving practices. LHTDs spend long hours on goods delivery journeys, and that causes various health and in-route safety issues for drivers. For improved LHTD health and safety, many developed nations introduced the concept of roadside rest areas (RRAs) for regulated, safe, and enhanced driving experience for LHTDs, whereas developing nations’ research on RRAs development is nascent. The RRAs offer a chance to reduce negative truck driving impacts and promote wellbeing among LHTDs, but why drivers will visit RRAs during their tracking journey is a question for policymakers. Hence, the present study tries to comprehend the significance of drivers’ visit consumption values in terms of functional, social, emotional, epistemic, conditional value, and place identity concerning visit intentions towards RRAs. In addition, the present work examines the influence of consumption values on word of mouth (WoM) for RRAs by LHTDs. The research problem is examined via the lens of the theory of consumption values. The study utilised 247 valid responses for model analysis, using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings establish that consumption value is a formative construct that further positively influences place identity, intentions to visit RRAs, and WoM for RRAs by LHTDs. This implies that the intentions of LHTDs to visit relaxation sites are mostly influenced by the values they perceive from such places. This perception of consumption values also helps LHTDs develop place identity with RRAs and influences them to spread positive WoM about it. However, the results of the present study did not find the mediation role of place identity. This implies that Indian LHTDs will develop the intention to visit RRAs because of the consumption values rather than any attachment to the place. The findings of this paper will help transport policymakers develop adequate measures for developing rest areas on major transport routes to improve road safety and drivers’ wellbeing.

“Deep Weathered Jam”: Creative Conversations with Geologic Mobilities and Farming Landscapes

“Deep weathering” is a geologic process that takes millions of years of seasonal wetting and drying of certain rocks to produce high levels of iron-oxide. The result is a rich, red soil, perfect for crops like sugar cane and sweet potatoes. Evidence of deep weathering is in the fertile soils of Bundaberg, a regional town in Australia with a violent colonial past, yet a key part of the nation’s food production and hub for seasonal migrant workers. The region is a hive of mobility, millennia in the making, that epitomises contemporary debates on housing, migrant labour, global supply chains, and ecological destruction. This visual essay presents a series of creative experiments of making jam at roadside rest areas. Using a hiking stove, third-grade fruit the farm workers bring home, locally produced sugar, a hint of soil, the process is a creative conversation across geologic and human mobilities in the region.

Evaluation of Effectiveness of On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems Located at Roadside Rest Areas: Recognition and Diagnosis of Existing Problems in the Operation of Selected Facilities

Abstract The effects of a dynamic increase in the total length of expressways in Poland include the issue of wastewater generation and disposal at roadside rest areas, which has been gaining importance, especially regarding the safety of local water ecosystems. Currently, the total number of roadside rest areas in Poland is nearly 400, yet in the future it could double, because of road infrastructure expansion and the need to improve road travel comfort. The most common approaches to wastewater disposal are septic tanks or wastewater treatment plants. In view of Poland’s environmental goals, only the second solution can be regarded as a form of final wastewater disposal. The aim of this study was to analyse available solutions for wastewater treatment at roadside rest areas, analysis of the effectiveness of their performance and identification, and diagnosis of existing problems. The tested facilities contained solutions based on biological wastewater treatment, preceded by a mechanical stage with the use of a two-chamber primary settling tank. Two solutions involved a sequencing batch reactor, and the remaining ones used submerged fixed-bed bioreactors. Finally, the obtained results showed unsatisfactory wastewater treatment effectiveness. Parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) were exceeded at five of the six study sites, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) was exceeded at three sites, and total suspended solids was exceeded at two sites, which indicates a disturbance in the operation of the treatment plant. The reason for the poor effluent was primarily inadequate technological supervision of the operation of these facilities.

Power generation potential of a solar power system by using the parking lots of “Michi-no-Eki” (Roadside Rest Areas)

Power generation potential of a solar power system by using the parking lots of “Michi-no-Eki” (Roadside Rest Areas)

Multi-criteria analysis for evaluating the function and location of roadside rest areas to improve disaster preparedness

The roadside rest area (RRA), called “Michi no eki” in Japanese, is a facility that provides comfortable rest and diverse services to road users through community initiatives. There are many RRAs developed since its first establishment in 1993. It is important to identify the RRAs and regions where a certain function is weak, so as to build more substantial RRAs in the future. In this research, we divided the RRA functions into four categories, rest, information, regional collaboration, and disaster prevention, and listed their evaluation items. By checking the performance of RRAs in terms of the four functions, we can evaluate whether their performance can be improved by sharing functions with or complementing neighboring RRAs. We then calculated the evaluation results. During the evaluation, we compared two types of cases: one where the RRA was evaluated alone and the other where overlay evaluation was performed. The latter considered the distance among RRAs so that a complementary relationship with others could be expressed. Furthermore, we devised a method to calculate the impact of RRAs on an area and evaluate the region for this. By applying these methods, we were able to answer the question: “Where and for what functions are roadside rest areas needed?"

Development of parking estimation on rest service area in Malaysia

Roadside rest area also known as rest service area (RSA) is one of the important facilities for expressway users. However, designing an efficient RSA is a challenge to most transport planners since it needs the information on potential and existing traffic volumes to estimate the parking demand and design of rest area facilities are also critical. Planning for these facilities is crucial in order to avoid over-design or under design which will affect the cost in the future for capacity issues. Therefore, this study is to determine the parking occupancy and develop parking estimation on RSA. The study was conducted on 10 sites of RSA along E1 and E2 expressway (Southern-Northern Expressway). The data collection for this study was conducted during the mid-week. Simple count observation and indirect method were used to determine the parking occupancy and traffic characteristics on RSA. The results show the peaking characteristics of space occupied, whereas the highest demand exhibited was during the midday period. The estimation model was found that traffic and site characteristics can be explained to estimate parking occupancy on RSA. The estimation result seems to be applicable.

Broad‐scale occurrence of a subsidized avian predator: Reducing impacts of ravens on sage‐grouse and other sensitive prey

Abstract Expanding human enterprise across remote environments impacts numerous wildlife species. Anthropogenic resources provide subsidies for generalist predators that can lead to cascading effects on prey species at lower trophic levels. A fundamental challenge for applied ecologists is to disentangle natural and anthropogenic influences on species occurrence, and subsequently develop spatially explicit models to help inform management and conservation decisions. Using Bayesian hierarchical occupancy models, we mapped the broad‐scale occurrence of common ravens Corvus corax as a function of natural and anthropogenic landscape covariates using >15,000 point count surveys performed during 2007–2016 within the Great Basin region, USA. Raven abundance and distribution is substantially increasing across the American west due to unintended anthropogenic resource subsidies. Importantly, ravens prey on eggs and chicks of numerous species including greater sage‐grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, an indicator species whose decline is at the centre of national conservation strategies and land‐use policies. Anthropogenic factors that contributed to greater raven occurrence were: increased road density, presence of transmission lines, agricultural activity, and presence of roadside rest areas. Natural landscape characteristics included lower elevations with greener vegetation (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), greater stream and habitat edge densities, and lower percentages of big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata spp. Interactions between anthropogenic sources of nesting substrate and food subsidies suggested that raven occurrence increased multiplicatively when these resource subsidies co‐occurred. Overall, the average probability of raven occurrence estimated within sagebrush ecosystems of the study area was c. 0.83. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate how anthropogenic factors can be disentangled from natural effects when making spatially explicit predictions of subsidized predators occurring across expansive landscapes. This approach can guide management decisions where subsidized predators overlap sensitive prey habitats. For example, we identify areas where elevated raven occurrence coincides with breeding sage‐grouse concentration areas and appears to be largely driven by anthropogenic factors. Management applications could focus on reducing raven access to anthropogenic subsidies in these areas, while prioritizing habitat improvements for sage‐grouse elsewhere. Our approach is applicable to other species where widespread survey data are available.

DEMAND ANALYSIS OF PARKING AT MACHAP NORTHBOUND REST AND SERVICE AREA

Transportation planners need background information of parking generation in order to propose new developments and to predict changes in the parking generation. Most common factors on which the parking generation depends are gross floor area, number of staff employed at a facility, number of beds, etc. Unfortunately, in western as well as Asian countries including Malaysia, there is very little information on the parking generation for roadside rest areas. The parking generation of expressway rest area in Malaysia is believed to vary with time of the day, day of the week and depends on at least one or a few significant parameters. One of the factors influencing the parking demand is the prevailing vehicular volume on the major road, (North-South expressway). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of vehicular volume on major road on parking demand at Rest Area. The trend of parking demand was conducted at Machap Northbound Rest Area located at North-South Expressway for 4 different days to allow significant variations of traffic volumes. The guidelines of the parking generation by ITE were followed while collecting the parking demand data. The main parameter used in this study was the vehicular volume on the major road, North-South (expressway). The study was conducted on different days to allow significant variation of traffic volumes. It was found that the traffic volume on the major road can be used as a predictor to the parking demand at rest areas. The linear regression between vehicle volume on major road and parking demand showed significant relationship with R2=0.9522. The finding obtained in this study was based on a constrained duration of study at one site, Machap Northbound Rest Area. Further investigation will be conducted at a few locations of rest areas for a better insight on the effect of the parameter to the parking demand.

USING SPACE SYNTAX METHOD AND GIS-BASED ANALYSIS FOR THE SPATIAL ALLOCATION OF ROADSIDE REST AREAS

A well-grounded system of Roadside Rest Areas (RRA) for transit travellers and local inhabitants in Latvia and Lithuania is absent. To select places for the location of RRA on Latvian–Lithuanian cross-border roads space syntax method and GIS-based analysis was used. The aim of this article is to present the developed methodology, results of the performed research and to lead discussion for the further development and applicability of the methodology. The application of space syntax method to nine transit roads in Latvian–Lithuanian border zone reveals that considering both local and regional contexts three roads or their parts could be recommended for the location of RRA. For the more precise location of RRA GIS-based method was developed. This method includes the GIS capabilities of information collection, spatial analysis and multi-criteria (eight criteria were selected) evaluation. The main proposed methodical stages are: creation of the thematic GIS database; formulation of RRA sites selection criteria, division of the analysed road into intervals, and assignment of attribute data according to the criteria to the road intervals; generation of buffer zones for the analysed road and evaluation of them according the selected criteria; assignment of values provided to the buffer zones to the road intervals attribute data and total rating of roadside area potential to equip rest areas; elaboration of road buffer zone area suitable for the location of RRA.

Empirical Models of Demand Levels and Turn-In Rates at Roadside Rest Areas

Roadside rest areas provide valuable and convenient services to road users as well as tangible safety benefits. However, these benefits are not always enough to warrant the costs, and therefore these facilities are not always economically justified. As such, understanding the factors that affect rest area demand is important for transportation agencies to design and maintain these facilities efficiently within their jurisdictions. The effects of nearby comparable facilities and rest areas on the demand characteristics of roadside rest areas have not been well analyzed in previous literature. This paper presents the results of binary logistic regression and negative binomial regression models on the demand characteristics of 47 roadside rest areas in Michigan. These models were developed separately for passenger cars and commercial trucks because the decision-making processes for these types of road users were likely different. Key results include the finding that greater distances between rest areas and nearest upstream rest areas or comparable facilities lead to increases in both the number and proportion of vehicles entering roadside rest areas. In addition, as volumes increase on the adjacent roadway, the proportion of vehicles entering roadside rest areas decreases despite a greater number of entering vehicles.

Effects of Public Rest Areas on Fatigue-Related Crashes

Fatigue-related crashes account for 2.2% to 2.6% of all fatal crashes in the United States on an annual basis. These types of crashes are prevalent in rural areas, and public roadside rest areas were developed largely to alleviate motorist fatigue and reduce the opportunity for such crashes by providing safe parking areas for tired drivers. However, research about the safety effects of rest areas has been limited. Results are presented of a spatial analysis that investigates how a road segment's proximity to a rest area affects the frequency of fatigue-related crashes. Poisson and negative binomial models are estimated for freeways and two-lane highways to isolate the effects of proximity while controlling for other relevant factors, such as traffic volume. The results of these models indicate that the proximity of a road segment to the nearest rest area significantly influences crash frequencies on both freeways and two-lane highways, where traffic volumes tended to have similar effects, although the effects of proximity were slightly more pronounced on two-lane highways. The study results suggest that roadside rest areas provide a safety benefit, and the crash prediction models developed as a part of this research provide a starting point for quantifying these impacts.

Roadside rest area wastewater treatment system: Performance evaluation and improvement

The performance of a decentralised sewage treatment plant located at a rest area servicing a major freeway was investigated. Long term monitoring and rigorous analyses undertaken in this study revealed several unique and challenging issues associated with such scarcely studied systems. Data collected over a six month period showed that the raw wastewater strength was well above typical household wastewater characteristics, with the average BOD5, COD, TOC, TN and TP values of 880, 4900, 350, 238 and 8 mg/L, respectively. The system performance was considerably lower than that expected of a typical wastewater treatment unit. Several shortcomings in design (e.g., inefficient aeration device and return activated sludge system) and inconsistencies in maintenance practice were identified and some remedial measures were proposed and tested. Of particular interest were the increase of the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration (from 0.5 to 4 mg/L) and the simultaneous significant improvement of COD and TOC removals in the aerobic reactor in response to the redesigning of the aeration system. The removal of nitrogen, however, remained quite low as expected.

Telephone-Administered Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Risky Sexual Behavior in HIV-Infected Rural Persons: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

Although several studies have characterized patterns and predictors of continued risky sexual behavior in HIV-infected rural persons, far less research has evaluated interventions to reduce risky sex in this group. This pilot randomized clinical trial compared 2 brief telephone-administered interventions designed to reduce continued risky sexual behaviors in HIV-infected rural persons. Participants were 79 HIV-infected rural persons who reported 1 or more occasions of unprotected anal, vaginal, or oral sex in the past 2 months. Participants were recruited through AIDS service organizations in rural areas of 27 states and assigned randomly to either a 2-session, motivational interviewing plus skills-building intervention (i.e., integrated intervention; n = 48) or a 2-session, skills-building only comparison intervention (n = 31). Participants completed self-report measures of sexual behaviors and factors related to risky sex at preintervention and 2-month follow-up. Before enrolling into the intervention, 37% of participants had 2 or more sexual partners in the past 2 months, 29% had sex with 1 or more partners without knowing their partners' HIV serostatus, and almost one-third of participants located sex partners in high-risk environments (e.g., public parks, roadside rest areas). A 2 x 2 repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance found that integrated intervention participants reported greater increases in risk-reduction motivation and greater increases in condom-protected vaginal and oral intercourse occasions at follow-up compared to skills-building only participants. Brief telephone-administered interventions that integrate motivational interviewing with skills-building show potential to reduce risky sexual behaviors in HIV-infected rural persons. Additional and large-scale evaluations of this intervention approach appear warranted.

Training Issues

This paper reviews issues relating to the vision-impaired (V-I) foodservice management program and subsequent training supported by the Randolph-Sheppard Act and the Randolph-Sheppard foodservice program (henceforth referred to as RS) of 1936. The act gives vision-impaired foodservice managers preference for the award and operation of vending operations in all types of federal and government buildings as well as road-side rest areas. As a pilot study, this paper investigates the perception of V-I respondents pertaining to training and other issues covered under the RS program. The results spur suggestions for potential improvement to the RS program in the State of Florida, as well as a need for improved training and inspection of V-I sites nationwide. Tips for those who might train the vision-impaired foodservice manager are also included.

Men like that: a southern queer history

One doesn't usually associate thriving queer culture with rural America, but John Howard's history of queer life in the South seeks to debunk the myth that same-sex desires can't find expression outside the big city. In fact, this book shows that the nominally conservative institutions of small-town life - home, church, school and workplace - were the very sites where queer sexuality flourished. As Howard recounts the life stories of the ordinary and the famous, often in their own words, he also locates the material traces of queer sexuality in the landscape: from the farmhouse to the church social, from sports facilities to roadside rest areas. Spanning four decades, this book complicates traditional notions of a post-World War II conformist wave in America. Howard argues that the 1950s, for example, were a period of vibrant queer networking in Mississippi, while during the so-called free love 1960s homosexuals faced aggressive oppression. When queer sex was linked to racial agitation and when key civil rights leaders were implicated in homosexual acts, authorities cracked down and literally ran the accused out of town. In addition to firsthand accounts, the text finds representations of homosexuality in regional pulp fiction and artwork, as well as in the number one pop song about a suicidal youth who jumps off the Tallahatchie Bridge. And Howard offers assessments of outrageous public scandals: a conservative US congressman caught in the act in Washington and a white candidate for governor accused of patronizing black transgender sex workers. This history of the queer South aims to reorient the presuppositions about gay identity and about the dynamics of country life.

The Rediscovery of Rectolejeunea pililoba (Spruce) Schust. (Hepaticae) in Florida

Rectolejeunea pililoba (Spruce) Schust. (= Lejeunea pililoba (Spruce) Schust.) was rediscovered recently in several south-central counties of Florida. These are the first collections of this tropical hepatic since the early decades of this century. Rectolejeunea pililoba (Spruce) Schust. (= Lejeunea pililoba (Spruce) Schust.) is a distinctive member of the Lejeuneaceae. It is characterized by an elongated, uniseriate lobule tooth that develops from the postical leaf margin and parallels the stem. The known range of this species is from northern South America through the Caribbean Islands to south-central Florida. Thus, collections from Florida are at the northern limits of its range. During the early part of this century, it was collected in several south-central counties of Florida, the last collection being made in 1916 by O. E. Jennings. In the recent excellent treatment of Rectolejeunea by Schuster (1981), he stated (p. 1155) that . . the species may be extinct in our area, all suitable sites in the above stations having been destroyed. While making collections throughout peninsular Florida in preparation of a hepatic flora of this area, I collected Rectolejeunea pililoba near one of the original sites in Polk County along the Peace River. It grew abundantly there in yellow-green patches on the lower trunks of Taxodium distichum and Nyssa aquatica. All plants were autoecious and freely fertile. Further enhancing recognition was the slight roseate tinge on the edges of the leaves. Within the month, I made additional collections at three stations in other counties of south-central Florida. In all cases the plants were found in the relatively frostfree environments of humid cypress or cypress-gum swamps near water on the bases of Taxodium and Nyssa trees. Furthermore, the plants occurred abundantly and nearly always in pure stands. In Florida, at the moment, the species appears to be in no danger of extinction. Collections are housed in my personal herbarium and duplicates have been deposited in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden (NY), the Bryophyte Herbarium of the Florida State Museum (FLAS) and the reference collections of the Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida. The collection numbers are my own. Collections reported:-POLK Co.: Taxodium swamp along Peace River on Florida secondary 640, ca. 5 km S of Bartow, 81-5374; MARTIN CO.: Port Myaca, E side of Lake Okechobee in drained Taxodium swamp across from roadside rest area at Jct. Florida 76 and US 441-98, 81-5489. HIGHLANDS Co.: hardwood swamp at Price Tract of Archbold Biological Station on Mirror Lake Drive, ca. 1.5 km S of Lake Placid on US 27, 81-5659. HARDEE Co.: Taxodium-hardwood swamp along Peace River at the Community Park of Fort Meade on US 98, 81-5400. Support of this research through grants from the Longwood College Faculty Research Committee and the Longwood College Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Schuster, R. M. 1981. The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America, Vol. 4. Colombia University Press, New York. 007-2745/82/84$0.25/0 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.249 on Wed, 03 Aug 2016 05:02:36 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Potential Replacement of Septic Tank Drain Fields by Artificial Marsh Wastewater Treatment Systemsa

ABSTRACTIndividual subsurface liquid waste disposal has been cited as a source of ground‐water contamination. Wastewater treatment systems using emergent marsh vegetation planted in a gravel substrate in a plastic‐lined trench could be used to treat septic tank effluent. A pilot plant treating unchlorinated primary municipal effluent achieved the following reductions in mass: BOD5‐77%; COD‐71%; orthophosphate–35%; total phosphorus–37%; nitrate–22%; coliform bacteria–99.9%. While such treatment is possible only during the growing season, it could be useful at summer cottages, camping areas, resorts and roadside rest areas. Marsh treatment systems are inexpensive to operate and virtually automatic.

Yellow-Green Vireo in Arizona, with Notes on Vireo Songs

in an area is one or more specimens, something that can be studied in detail by anyone interested at any subsequent date. Trautman and Trautman (1968) have stated this principle very clearly and have based their list of Ohio birds almost entirely on specimens, excluding species based on sight records only. Tape recordings of two birds formed the basis for including Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii), the only species for which they had no specimens. (Since the Trautmans' paper was published, a specimen of Bell's Vireo has been taken in Ohio. ) Perhaps the Trautmans have set a precedent. In any event, it seems to me that tape recordings-which, like specimens, can be studied in detail by anyone interested at any subsequent date-can provide evidence of a bird's occurrence in an area that is just as valid and authentic as specimens. The purpose of this paper is to document, on the basis of a tape recording, the occurrence in Arizona of a Yellow-green Vireo (Vireo flavoviridis), a species which has not previously been reported from that state (Phillips et al. 1964). On 18 June 1969, while making recordings at a roadside rest area on State Route 82 about 4 mi. SW of Patagonia, Arizona (about 16 mi. NE of Nogales), I obtained a recording of a bird of which I got only a few glimpses, but not a look good enough to identify it by sight. By the time I could play some of its songs back to it in order to bring it into the open, the bird had apparently left the area. The recording was made with a Nagra III B recorder using a tape speed of 15 ips, and with a D-33 American microphone mounted in a 24-inch parabola. This recording is No. 10271 in the tape collection of the Bioacoustics Laboratory, Ohio State University; it is about 4% min in length and contains 162 songs. The singing of this bird was much like that of a Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), but the quality was a little like that of a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). All I could tell of the bird's appearance was that it was about the size of a large vireo (such as the Red-eyed), and appeared to have some yellow on its underparts. Several people in Arizona who were familiar with the songs of the birds in the Patagonia area were unable to recognize this bird from my recording, and the bird was not found on subsequent visits to this roadside rest area. A copy of this recording was sent to L. Irby Davis, who has recorded several species of vireos in Mexico and Central America; he said (pers. comm.) that it might be a Yellow-green Vireo. The roadside rest area where this recording was made is a narrow area some 150-200 yards long on the southeast side of the road. Southeast of this strip, the land rises abruptly from rocky cliffs at the northeast end to a steep brushy slope at the southwest end. There are numerous trees and shrubs in this rest area, principally sycamore (Platanus Wrightii), walnut (Juglans major), hackberry (Celtis reticulata), mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), catclaw (Acacia Greggii), and elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). Just across the road from the rest area is Sonoita Creek, which has a flow of water and is bordered by similar vegetation, plus willow (Salix Gooddingii), ash (Fraxinus velutina), and cottonwood (Populus Fremontii). The dominant shrub forming the undergrowth in the woods along the stream is Baccharis sp. The elevation here is about 3900 feet. The bird kept to the tops of the larger trees (where it was concealed by the foliage), and ranged over some 50 yards or more of the southwest end of this area.