It all started about 8 months ago when we got news that the Westbound Tilbury Rest Stop on the 401 would be closing. Portable facilities were promised. I envisioned the portable Timmies I've seen installed when they refurbish their older stores and maybe some washrooms. No such luck.
Boarded Tibury Eastbound 401 Reststop with Portables -Nov 08
Since then Both West Lorne Locations near Dutton have closed and the aforementioned Tilbury location has not been torn down. You can use the washrooms and buy something from the vending machines. No gas and no facilities for the poor truckers who need a safe place to get gas and some shut eye. No sign of renovations or redevelopment in 6 months except the removal of the gas station.
On the other side of the 401 there is an abandonned building with some trailers outside. I didn't go inside on my return trip to London. I imagine there are some chemical toilets and not much else. I don't go past London too often so I went to the MTO web site to get the latest information. Here it is.
Crazy thing about the web site is that it is nearly void of any useful information yet it tells us that those new centres will bring "exciting reopenings." I'm not sure exciting is the word to describe a rest stop.
"Ontario is rebuilding Ontario's Highway Service Centres to serve you better "
"There are 23 service centres in Southern Ontario located along Highways 400 and 401. The majority were built in the 1960s. Travellers can rest, buy fuel and food and use public telephones, washrooms, picnic areas and drinking fountains. Centres are open 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, year round.
"Over the next five years, Ontario’s Highway Service Centres are being modernized to improve your travelling experience. This will require temporary closings."
"We regret any inconvenience this may cause drivers, but drivers can rest assured that the results will be worth waiting for. Check back often for updates on our transformation. And, watch for the exciting reopening of Ontario’s new service centres"
What is most angering at this state of affairs are the large green bilingual signs that say FATIGUE KILLS, TAKE A REST. To which I say, I would love to do so, but why would I do so at the two Tilbury stops which have no OPP, no Security and no safe warm place to go inside in the winter. Am I supposed sit outside for 20 minutes and idle and burn all that fossil fuel. How's that for a green Ontario? I'm just one driver. How safe is that at one in the morning in a parking lot that's poorly lit?
I've discussed this with the truckers who make their living on the highway and they will work around it somehow, they say. But they also say it's not going to be easy. I've always felt safe in the crowded rest stops with lots of truckers when I need a break on a long drive. Somebody in the Liberal Caucus and the Premiers office didn't think this thing through.
I wonder if Dalton and Jim Bradly (Min Transportation) and Khalil, Deb and Chris Bentley would put up with this if they had to drive up and down the lonely stretch of dark highway between London and Windsor. They may have to as the other leases further up the 401 aand 400 expire. That is if they don't take the nice cushy VIA 1 at taxpayers expense.
