ARTICLE 7. Safety Roadside Rests [218. - 226.5.]

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC 7.
in effect

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 218. Section 218.

The commission and the department shall plan, design, and construct a system of safety roadside rests on the state highway system outside of units of the state park system, and the cost thereof shall be payable from the State Highway Account. The department shall maintain such safety roadside rests and the costs thereof shall be payable from the State Highway Account.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 219. Section 219.

In planning such system of safety roadside rests, the department is directed to generally follow these criteria: (a) Safety roadside rests should be provided so that, in combination with other stopping facilities, there shall be facilities available at intervals of approximately one-half hours normal driving time. (b) On highway entrances to large metropolitan areas, safety roadside rests may be provided. (c) On high-volume highways consisting of four or more lanes, safety roadside rests should be provided on both sides of the highways; on all other highways only single safety roadside rests should be provided. (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a), on high-volume highways more safety roadside rests may be planned at strategic locations where they appear to be necessary or desirable.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 220. Section 220.

In designing safety roadside rests, the department shall design only those safety roadside rests which are reasonably economical and which will provide the motorist a place where he may stop for a short time during daytime and nighttime hours. The Legislature recognizes that the size of such safety roadside rests, together with the facilities therein, will differ according to location and potential use. Such safety roadside rests may contain, among other things, depending upon the size and use thereof, parking places for vehicles, picnic tables, sanitary facilities, telephones, water, landscaping, tourist information panels, traveler service information facilities, and facilities for the distribution of current news. Such safety roadside rests shall not contain camping or recreational facilities. The safety roadside rests located on that portion of Route 5 in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area may also contain displays and examples of California agriculture.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 220.5. Section 220.5.

(a) The department shall authorize the placement of vending machines in safety roadside rests, unless prohibited by federal laws, rules, or regulations. (b) The department, pursuant to provisions contained in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Section 2 of the Act of June 20, 1936, commonly known as the Randolph-Sheppard Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. Sec. 107a(a)(5)), shall give preference for the placement of vending machines in safety roadside rest areas along state highways to vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program for the Blind in accordance with Article 5 (commencing with Section 19625) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 10 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (c) The department may determine which safety roadside rest areas are suitable for inclusion in the vending machine program and the appropriate location within each roadside rest area for the placement of the machines, and the department shall approve the design and construction of any shelter or structure that may be required for the machines. (d) (1) The department shall determine the costs for any maintenance, operations, design review, or other activities related to the vending machines and, except as provided in paragraph (2), shall be reimbursed for those costs from the revenues derived from the operation of the machines. (2) (A) The department shall not be reimbursed for utility costs incurred by vendors operating under the Business Enterprises Program for the Blind and shall pay for those utility costs using state funds. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, “utility costs” includes fees incurred for providing electricity service, water service, sewage service, or any other similar service. (e) Any money received by the department for authorizing the placement of, or from the income from, the vending machines shall be transferred to the State Highway Account.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 221. Section 221.

The department shall, to the extent feasible, post at appropriate safety roadside rests information regarding missing children provided by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 11114.1 of the Penal Code.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 223. Section 223.

(a) The department may contract with other governmental agencies or private organizations or individuals for the construction and operation of traveler service information facilities and for the maintenance of all or any of these safety roadside rests where it deems it necessary or desirable. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), Section 19130 of the Government Code, or any other provision of law, the department may contract with public and private nonprofit organizations pursuant to Section 19404 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, for the operation of traveler service information facilities and for the maintenance of all or any of these safety roadside rests where it deems it necessary or desirable. Contracts entered into pursuant to this subdivision shall not cause displacement of civil service employees. For purposes of this section, “displacement” includes layoff, demotion, involuntary transfer to a new class, involuntary transfer to a new location requiring a change of residence, and time base reductions. “Displacement” does not include changes in shifts or days off, or reassignment to other positions within the same class and general location.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 223.5. Section 223.5.

(a) The department shall develop a policy for the use of restroom facilities at safety roadside rests by disabled travelers at those locations on state highways which have separate restroom facilities for disabled persons. The policy shall permit a disabled person to be accompanied in the restroom by his or her attendant, who may be a person of the opposite sex, to assist the disabled person. (b) The policy shall provide for the design and placement of special signs at the safety roadside rests clearly indicating that it is permissible for a person of the opposite sex to accompany a disabled person into the restroom to assist the disabled person.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 224. Section 224.

It shall be unlawful for any person to throw or deposit any substance in a safety roadside rest other than in a receptacle provided for that purpose. It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit in the receptacles provided for refuse in a safety roadside rest any refuse or waste from homes, farms, or commercial establishments, or other material which does not arise out of the use of the safety roadside rest by a member of the traveling public. The violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 42002 of the Vehicle Code, and all of the provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing at Section 40300) of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code shall apply to an offense committed under this section the same as if such offense were made an offense by the Vehicle Code.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 225. Section 225.

(a) The department may enact rules and regulations governing the time and manner of use of safety roadside rests, and all state laws and rules and regulations of the department shall be administered and enforced within the safety roadside rests by all employees of the state authorized by the department to do so and by all peace officers. (b) No person shall engage in any activity within a safety roadside rest area or vista point prohibited by rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section. (c) A violation of subdivision (b) is an infraction. A second or subsequent conviction of a violation of subdivision (b) is a misdemeanor.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 225.5. Section 225.5.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 22520.5 or 22520.6 of the Vehicle Code, and except as specifically authorized by this article, no person shall display, sell, offer for sale, or otherwise vend or attempt to vend any merchandise, foodstuff, or service within any vista point or safety roadside rest area. (b) No person shall solicit money within any vista point or safety roadside rest for any purpose. (c) When requested by a uniformed member of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, or other peace officer, any person or persons and any property may be relocated to a specified area of a vista point or rest area, or may be required to quit the premises, as directed by that officer, if, in the opinion of the officer, the person’s presence or activity or the presence of the property, creates, or may reasonably be expected to create, a safety problem , hazard, or nuisance, either on or near the vista point or safety roadside rest area. (d) To the extent the provisions of any regulations adopted by the department conflict with this section, those provisions are void, and permission given pursuant to those provisions for a person to engage in activities prohibited by subdivision (a) or (b) of this section is revoked.

Cal. Streets and Highways Code - SHC § 226.5. Section 226.5.

(a) Unless prohibited by federal law or regulation, the department, to promote public safety and convenience, may construct, operate, and maintain a maximum of six new safety roadside rest area units as a joint economic development demonstration project where there is a public need for a rest area, and the joint economic development proposal will result in an economic savings to the state. (b) All of the following apply to the demonstration project safety roadside rest area units: (1) Contracts for construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities in the demonstration project roadside rest areas shall be awarded on the basis of competitive bidding. (2) The department may permit commercial operations within the units if the operations are traveler-related activities and no alcoholic beverages are sold within the rest area facility. (3) Law enforcement responsibilities within the units are the same as are currently provided on the state highway system. (4) The department shall submit a status report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation one year following construction of the initial unit and annually thereafter. (5) The department holds, or affords the opportunity for, a public hearing for each proposed unit so that local community members who may be affected by rest area economic development and other interested parties may comment on the proposed project. (c) Any money received by the state for the demonstration project shall be deposited by the department in the State Highway Account.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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