Travelling by car in Ontario: Ontario Highway Service Centres

Service to Motorists Available at the Ontario Service Centres

Ontario’s highway service centres are being modernized to improve your travelling experience. Ontario’s new service centres offer quick service dining, convenience retail and fuel services, tourism information, truck facilities, and state-of-the-art washrooms that are fully and easily accessible.

The new buildings are designed to last at least 50 years with environmentally responsible and sustainable features, and will be constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification standards – a respected green building rating system. Some of the environmentally responsible and sustainable design features include:

• Water efficient landscaping utilizing drought resistant planting – no irrigation required
• Reduced water use by more than 40 per cent by utilizing waterless urinals
• Elimination of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the heating and cooling equipment — chlorofluorocarbons are refrigerants that cause ozone layer depletion
• Optimized energy performance utilizing energy efficient equipment
• Use of regional materials that contain a minimum of 15 per cent recycled content
• Use of adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings and carpets that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to meet standards such as Green Seal or the Green Label Indoor
• Quality Test Program
• Washrooms featuring increased capacity and touchless fixtures for water saving.

Convenience store/fuel provider: A full-service fuel station and convenience store operated by Canadian Tire will be on-site. Full-service fuelling is available from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. 7 days a week. Staff will assist disabled drivers with fuelling between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.  Canadian Tire Corporation is one of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies and operates an interrelated network of businesses engaged in retailing, including Canada’s largest independent gasoline station network.

Ontario Tourism Information Centres and Provincial Stations: Two of the redeveloped service centres feature staffed Ontario Tourism Information Centres. These are located at the Tilbury South – eastbound (Highway 401 West) service centre and the Bainsville – westbound (Highway 401 East) service centre. Visitors to the Tourism Information Centres can now find travel information about attractions throughout Ontario. Provincial self-serve tourism stations will be located at all of the redeveloped service centres.

Newly redeveloped ONroute service centre sites in Ontario

The following newly redeveloped ONroute service centre sites are open 24/7, 365 days/year with full services including fuel, washrooms, parking, food services and a convenience store. Full-service fuelling is available from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 7 days a week. Staff will assist disabled drivers with fuelling between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

• Tilbury South – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Windsor and Chatham Kent)
• Tilbury North – westbound (Highway 401 – between Chatham Kent and Windsor)
• West Lorne – westbound (Highway 401 – between London and Chatham Kent)
• Woodstock – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Ingersoll and Woodstock)
• Dutton – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Chatham Kent and London)
• Morrisburg – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Prescott [Highway 416] and Cornwall)
• Bainsville – westbound (Highway 401 – near the Quebec/Ontario border)
• Trenton North – westbound (Highway 401 – between Trenton and Cobourg)
• Trenton South – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Cobourg and Trenton)
• Ingleside – westbound (Highway 401 – between Cornwall and Morrisburg)
• Mallorytown North – westbound (Highway 401 – between Ingleside and Kingston)
• Napanee – westbound (Highway 401 – between Belleville and Kingston)
• Odessa – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Kingston and Belleville)
• Port Hope – eastbound (Highway 401 – near Port Hope)
• Mallorytown South – eastbound (Highway 401 – between Kingston and Cornwall)
• Cambridge North (Highway 401 – westbound) – between Cambridge and Guelph
• Cambridge South (Highway 401 – eastbound) -between Guelph and Cambridge
• Barrie (Highway 400 – northbound) – near Barrie
• King City – northbound (Highway 400 – between Maple and King City)

The following service centres are also open with full services

• Ingersoll – westbound (Highway 401 – between Woodstock and Ingersoll)
• Maple – southbound (Highway 401 – between Newmarket and Vaughan)
• Newcastle – westbound (Highway 401 – between Port Hope and Bowmanville)

Why Ontario modernizing the service centres?

Most of Ontario’s highway service centres were built in the 1960s and are outdated and need to be replaced.

The lease agreements for the 20 of the 23 service centres began to expire in 2007. In the past, three oil companies owned, operated and provided services at these locations.

Once the leases expire and prior to redevelopment of the service centre sites, cleanup activities must take place. This requires full closure of the sites for six to eighteen months (dependent on site layout, weather and field conditions). When the cleanup is completed, construction of the redeveloped sites commences.

The new highway service centres feature eco- and family-friendly facilities, offering quick service dining, coffee, convenience retail, enhanced truck facilities, tourism information, and fully accessible washrooms.

The redeveloped service centres also help keep drivers safe by providing rest stops for travellers and commercial motorists. Service centres are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays.

Signs at redeveloped service centres and on highways show the ONroute logo indicating that services are provided by HKSC Developments L.P., a consortium formed by Toronto-based Kilmer Van Hostrand, which has significant experience in civil infrastructure and sport/entertainment interests, and HMS Host, a part of Autogrill S.p.A., the world’s largest provider of food, beverage and retail services in travel centres. You can also see the logo at travel centres operated by HMS Host along roadways in the U.S.

How are motorists notified of the service centre closures?

Highway signs indicate when upcoming service centres are closed, when limited services are available, and where 24-hour, off-road services are available. Ontario’s service centres will re-open as soon as possible to provide opportunities to stop and rest.

While the service centres are closed, fuel and food services can be obtained on a 24-hour-a-day basis at privately operated and easily accessible alternative service areas located at interchanges along the highways.

When these service centres close, where will travellers access amenities such as fuel, washrooms, food and rest stations?

We are continuing to re-open service centres as soon as possible to provide opportunities for travellers to stop and rest.

While the service centres are closed, fuel and food services can be obtained 24 hours a day at easily accessible, privately-operated service areas located along the highways.

Highway signs are posted in advance of service centres that do not have fuel or service and will also indicate the exits where 24/7 services and fuel are available. These signs are also posted closer to those specific exits to remind drivers that those sites are coming up.

Will there be special rest areas for truck drivers needing to take a break from driving? If so, where?

Where service centres are being rebuilt, commercial drivers are being directed to privately operated off-highway 24/7 locations to park and obtain fuel and food services.

Highly visible signs are posted on the highway in advance of those service centres that do not have fuel or services. These signs indicate the exits at which 24/7 fuel/food are available. These signs are also posted closer to those specific exits to remind drivers that those sites are coming up. Advance information about the temporary closures will be posted on signs along the highway at the affected service centres.

Truck parking and expanded truck parking lots can be found at the currently open sites (see question 1.) with additional truck parking capacity available at Newcastle, Ingersoll, and Maple service centres.

When will each service centre be brought back into operation?

The first nineteen redeveloped service centre sites are now fully open providing quick-service dining options, fully accessible washrooms, outdoor patios and pet exercise areas, free WiFi connection, tourism information and ample parking for cars and trucks. The Tilbury South – eastbound (Highway 401 West) and Bainsville – westbound (Highway 401 East) service centres also feature a staffed tourism centre to provide motorists with Ontario travel information.

The final service centre being redeveloped – Cookstown, closed February 1, 2013 to commence cleanup activities. Options for redevelopment of the Cookstown site are under review however; it is anticipated that the Cookstown service centre will fully open by summer 2015.

ONroute – Highway Service Centers for Auto Travellers in Ontario

ONroute is the operating brand name of Host Kilmer Service Centers (HKSC), a Canadian service company which operates highway rest areas along Highway 400 and Highway 401 in the province of Ontario. The company is a joint venture between international hospitality company HMSHost (a subsidiary of Autogrill) and Canadian businessman Larry Tanenbaum’s investment company Kilmer van Nostrand.

History

Construction of Ontario Highways 400 and 401 began in the early 1950s, with the last section of 401 completed in 1968. Both roads were intended as bypasses, going around populated areas instead of through them (the highways 11 and 2 which they replaced were Main Street in nearly every served community) and therefore initially had few services. A series of rest stops was constructed as part of the highway in the 1960s in rural areas to provide a full-service restaurant (later replaced with franchised fast food) and a service station (eventually curtailed to fuel only, no repair services). All but a few of these dated from the same era with strong similarity in design; the original 1960s rest stops were demolished in 2010-11 and the sites used to construct new buildings as ONroute, leaving most rest stops out of operation for a year or more.

Prior to 2010, rest areas on the two highways were individually franchised to different companies; however, as many of the companies began during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 to announce that they would not renew their leases, the government of Ontario selected HKSC as the new franchisee for all of its rest areas in 2010. Excepting a few service centres which had already been redeveloped by their previous owners in the 1990s or 2000s, most of the old service centres have since undergone extensive redevelopment to update their architecture and services, with the remaining redevelopment projects slated for completion in 2013. Partners in the redevelopment projects included EllisDon Construction, Quadrangle Architects and Bruce Mau Design. All of the redeveloped locations were designed to meet the LEED certification standards of the Canadian Green Building Council, as well as current standards of accessibility for travellers with disabilities.

The rare exceptions to a pattern of closure, demolition and rebuilding of entire highway rest stops occurred in places such as Newcastle where the original facility was not from the initial 1960s group but was constructed later and therefore permitted to remain in service.

Services

Each ONroute location features a Canadian Tire gas station. While each location offers a different selection of fast food providers, all locations feature some combination of A&W, Big Smoke Burger, Brioche Dorée, Burger King, Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, East Side Mario’s Pronto, Extreme Pita, KFC, Taco Bell, Mr. Sub, New York Fries, Pizza Pizza, PurBlendz, Starbucks, Swiss Chalet, Tim Hortons, Wendy’s or Yogen Fruz outlets, as well as a Nicholby’s Express or The Market convenience store. In addition, the westernmost (Tilbury) and easternmost (Bainsville) locations along Highway 401, serving as “gateway” locations for tourists entering the province from Michigan or Quebec, also feature Ontario Tourist Information Centres.

All ONroute locations also provide wi-fi service.

Locations

As of 2013, ONroute locations are open along Highway 401 in Tilbury (2), West Lorne, Dutton, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Cambridge (2), Newcastle, Port Hope, Trenton (2), Nappanee, Odessa, Mallorytown (2), Morrisburg, Ingleside and Bainsville, and along Highway 400 in Vaughan, King City and Barrie. In most locations, individual ONroute service centres are accessible only from one carriageway of the highway, with a separate nearby ONroute location serving the other carriageway; Bainsville is the only current exception, with one location accessible via interchange to serve both carriageways.

One Highway 400 location in Cookstown remains closed since February 1, 2013 for renovation; a re-opening date has not yet been announced.

Quick Service Dining

Visitors have a variety of dining options at each service centre location. The service centre quick service dining and fuel/convenience store brands include:

Note:

1) The new service provider operating the highway service centres, HKSC Developments L.P., is also confirming other potential food providers.

2) A listing of food service providers available at each site can be found by using the Ontario TRIP website. In the navigation list at the left of the map, under Traveller Info, select the service centres box. The Service Centres will appear as black and white S signs. Click the signs to view information on each centre.

Commercial Industries: Commercial truck drivers have more convenient access to these new service centres. The redeveloped service centres feature larger spaces for parking.

Do service centres provide travel information/services?

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario has partnered with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to provide travel information in each of the 23 service centres along Highways 400 and 401.

Two of the 23 services centres, in Tilbury South – eastbound (Highway 401 West) and Bainsville – westbound (Highway 401 East) now provide full-service travel information centres staffed by trained Ontario travel counsellors. These centres offer information and services such as currency exchange, attraction passes, and travel ideas and packages to help visitors get the most out of their experience in Ontario.

All service centers will offer self-serve tourism information such as Ontario maps, videos of Ontario travel experiences and promotions for regionally based travel products and services.

Why don’t all the redeveloped service centres have staffed Ontario Travel Information Centres?

Two service centres have been selected as gateway locations to provide full-service travel information to provincial and international visitors travelling from the east (Quebec) and the southwest (U.S.). In order to provide these full-service travel centres, two existing Ontario travel centres in Windsor and Lancaster were relocated to Tilbury South and Bainsville.

All of the redeveloped service centres will offer self-serve information such as Ontario maps, videos of Ontario travel experiences and promotions for regionally based travel products and services.