July 27,2000 DESIGN NOTEBOOK Turnpike Stops Worth the Trip By PHIL PATTON The scenery along the Ohio Turnpike -- an east-west melding of Interstates 80, 90 and 76 -- will never be confused with that along, say, the Pacific Coast Highway or the Blue Ridge Parkway. But weary travelers this summer are encountering something that may compensate: a new generation of service plazas, providing the amenities of home or at least those of a decent airport terminal. 
In Ohio, the buckle on
the Rust Belt, the turnpike commission has decreed a new family of
pleasure domes. Little colonies of comfort just off the exit ramps, the
buildings are set in pairs, one on either side of the roadway. They
catch the eye immediately, suggesting the town hall of a midsize Swedish
municipality or perhaps an American high school designed by Eliel
Saarinen.
Long, with low domes, eaves of white limestone and supports of Roman brick, they replace drab and dingy facilities dating from 1954 and 1955, the first years the highway was open. Their arcades curve to embrace the parking lots; covered walks reach out, topped by an iconic minitower that is part sail, part steeple -- a faintly Art Deco element that could have been borrowed from the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. At about $10 million each, the plazas may seem steeply priced. But the two pairs already open (the Erie Islands and Commodore Perry stops, at one exit, and the Towpath and Great Lakes centers, at another) have become a hit with their offerings of Sbarro, Starbucks, Jody Maroni's & Cinnabon, Burger King and Max & Erma's restaurants. All 16 stops are due to be finished by 2005 or 2006. The designs were part of a larger plan to improve and widen the turnpike, a plan initiated in 1994, when the commission promised a fresh new vision: "Rather than rehash the old concept of service plaza, the commission has instead redefined the concept for the 21st century," a legend on the turnpike map boasts. Under Umberto Fedeli, a former chairman of the commission, the project began in 1995 as part of the wider refurbishment. To pay for a whole package of improvements, including redoing toll plazas, rebuilding bridges and adding interchanges and an extra lane, tolls have been raised about 10 percent a year since 1995, leading to widespread grumbling. "They said we were building Turnpike Taj Mahals," Enrico Zamporelli, the commission's executive director, said. "But now people love them." 
The new service plazas have surely helped improve drivers'
perceptions of Ohio. The impressions left by a major highway can shape
the image of an entire state -- consider how often New Jersey is
associated with the oil refineries along just a couple of miles of the
New Jersey Turnpike.
"We wanted to enhance the image of the state of Ohio," Mr. Zamporelli said. The architect of the new centers is Celso Gilberti, whose firm, Gilberti Spittler International of Cleveland, was chosen from three finalists in an architectural competition. Mr. Gilberti, who was born in Brazil, examined other "transportation nodes" -- bus and train stations and airports -- and chose as his model what he calls "the better shopping airports," like Pittsburgh's, with a variety of stores and types of food. The look of the buildings is inspired by Prairie style, he said. "My buildings have a strong sense of eaves," he said. "You get a very nice horizontal line, anchored with the dome at one end." Those eves and the long Roman bricks in the supporting structures pick up the horizontal line of the road -- the line of the journey. Too often, Mr. Gilberti said, travel becomes monotonous: "You lose the excitement you had when you set out, of going from one place to another. I wanted to recapture some of that excitement of the journey." I N each lobby, an attendant stands watch at a horseshoe-shaped information desk. Inside are shops, a business center with a fax and e-mail kiosk, a truckers' lounge and various dining options. A display shows a side of Ohio that is changing. To such attractions as the Benjamin Harrison historical site have been added the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the roller coasters at the Cedar Point amusement park, top-rated by connoisseurs. A chart lists hotels and motels along the turnpike, with a green light for vacancy, or a red light if fully occupied. Truckers, who enter separately, have their own television lounge with smoking and no-smoking halves, several showers and a coin laundry room. Beneath the dome four or five restaurants line one wall, and tables are scattered among upright lamps that feel like streetlights. The patio, with more tables, is popular as well. At the Towpath center, the restaurants include Panera Bread, known for sourdough bagels; the Coffee Beanery; Wendy's; and Pizza Hut. As is the policy at many airports these days, the facilities promise to restrain prices for "captive travelers" to roughly the level of those in surrounding areas. Turnpike travelers across the country have come a long way from the dark 1970's, when they faced decaying facilities on toll roads. Long-term contracts during those inflationary years left the vendors with little incentive to improve. The pattern for toll road services was set by the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the nation's first, which opened in 1940. In the 1950's, variety in food on the turnpike meant 28 flavors of ice cream to follow the wrinkled frankfurters in paperboard trays. Howard Johnson raised turnpike food service to an art, before grudging service, indifferent maintenance and minimal choice became the rule of the toll road in the 1970's. Moreover, tastes have changed. Travelers want bagels and yogurt, Arizona iced tea and French roast coffee. (The Starbucks at the Commodore Perry service area, Mr. Zamporelli said, is one of the busiest in the country.) And they want their electronic services: modems, faxes and places to recharge their cell phones. Even truckers file their road logs by fax or e-mail. Representatives of other turnpikes have visited Ohio, Mr. Zamporelli said. The New York State Thruway has added larger plazas with more services and varied food in recent years. Several states offer outdoor farmers' markets in the summer. Mr. Gilberti stops by the plazas frequently to read comments in the guest books. On his way in, he always glances up at the towers at the entrance. "These I call the Portals of Ohio," he said.
Books ·
Recent Stories ·
Euroland ·
Webcams ·
Design |
