Management of Rest areas

Our new adventure began on January 1st, 2010 when TIC assumed management of five rest area locations throughout the State of Oregon. - TIC managed rest areas are:

• The Baldock’s, Northbound and Southbound (just south of Wilsonville on I-5)
• The Santiam’s, Northbound and Southbound (just south of Salem on I-5)
• Manzanita, Northbound and Southbound (just north of Grants Pass on I-5)
• Boardman, Eastbound and Westbound(I-84)
• Ontario, Westbound (I-84)

We have been thrilled to watch our rest area managers take ownership and provide many creative ideas about what “can be” in our rest areas.

To date, several local coalition meetings have occurred and others have been scheduled. We believe it is up to the “locals” to set the vision and direction for what they would like to incorporate into these areas- such as showcasing local products, creating recreational trails, and many other innovative ideas.

We are working with Travel Oregon to offer the online Q Customer Service Training Program to the non- profit agencies that sign up to serve free coffee in the rest areas we manage, so that these volunteers will have the tools and resources needed to better serve our visitors. It’s such a terrific program!

The presence of our rest area supervisors has been a tremendous boon for our travelers. They have been on hand to assist motorists with car repairs, provided enough fuel to get them to the closest gas station, and have been first responders to some pretty interesting traffic incidents along the freeways and in the actual rest area themselves.

Darrell Hackworth our rest area manager is aggressively pursuing sustainability in daily practices. He has instituted the use of biodegradable trash bags, cleaning products that meet LEED* standards, plastic accumulation to be shipped to AGRI-PLAS in Brooks (they turn that plastic into fuel), and trash compactors that will reduce the number of biodegradable garbage bags being sent into the landfills. He is researching waste water systems that recycle waste into usable chlorinated water for irrigation and reuse in bathrooms. Darrell is also working with local water conservation and ecology groups to review more ways of using native plants and trees as well as working with Energy Trust to explore upgraded lighting systems that will improve visibility while reducing energy usage.

*LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - a set of standards for the environmentally sustainable design, construction, and operation of buildings and neighborhoods.