As of next summer, motorists stopping at the relay villages of La Guadeloupe, La Doré and Rivière-au-Tonnerre will be able to use new self-cleaning toilets. With this pilot project, the Ministry of Transport says it wants to fight against the labor shortage.
By “villages-relais”, we mean municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants that offer basic services for truck drivers: hygiene, food and service stations. For the past few years, they have all had at least one level 4 electric charging station (100 kW). Accredited by the Ministère des Transports, this network was created to counter driver fatigue while supporting local economic development.
But the model is under pressure. “The labor shortage has an impact on the services offered in grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants,” explains the general manager of the Fédération des villages-relais du Québec, Sylvie Bellerose.
Since the only toilets available are often in shops, minimum hygiene services have become difficult to guarantee. Especially since the villages-relais have the obligation to offer access to toilets 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
In addition, their maintenance is often a problem, she points out. “When it’s not a labor issue, it’s vandalism. »
“In this context, the use of self-cleaning toilets is becoming essential due to the lack of manpower that is hitting the province,” says the ministry in its Road Park Network Modernization Plan (2022-2027).
The MTQ is injecting $300,000 per installation into this project, which ultimately aims to offer service in all relay villages.
The new toilet blocks are “container-type” facilities equipped with toilets and sinks, says the Ministry of Transport. It is a new construction, not a container of goods, it is specified.
La Doré is one of three villages that will test these toilets of the future next summer. The town of 1,500 inhabitants is located north of Saint-Félicien in Lac-Saint-Jean. It is a stopover of choice for drivers and snowmobilers who take the road to Chibougamau two hours away, even further north.
The main reasons for user dissatisfaction with unmodernized rest areas are the unsanitary and obsolete facilities.
But La Doré has no sanitary facilities, explains Mayor Ghislain Laprise. Drivers must use the convenience store and restaurant restrooms. The arrival of the new MTQ self-cleaning toilet is excellent news. “As soon as they give us a sign, we’re ready to install everything: water, sewer, electricity. It will be installed in the center of the village. »
Brown cabins are getting old
Like many relay villages, the Guadeloupe stopover, in Beauce, is an old brown building inspired by Canadian houses. Built during the 1970s, these buildings were erected in the wake of the development of the first highways.
But some rest stops are in such poor condition that people tend to avoid them, a survey commissioned by the ministry reveals. “The main reasons for user dissatisfaction with unmodernized rest areas are the unsanitary and obsolete facilities. »
That of Guadeloupe needed a good refreshment, according to the mayor, Vanessa Roy. “We have a relay which is quite popular, so it was planned that we redo the installation,” she explains. The opportunity to participate in the pilot project was therefore timely. “We like to try things out and it makes us happy to get into that. »
Guadeloupe is located near Route 108, south of Saint-Georges, towards the American border, a “very busy” sector, mentions Mme Roy.
Located at the exit of the municipality, the rest area is maintained by an employee of the municipality, who will probably be impossible to replace when she leaves, advances the mayor.
From the outset, the staff of the municipality is overwhelmed during the summer. “Minor tasks such as emptying the garbage cans on the bike path and in the parks are neglected in favor of the maintenance of the sanitary facilities of the relay”, underlines the mayor. “By removing this task, which is a priority in the summer season, it will give time to do other tasks. »
The food supply also weakened
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport is planning a huge project to put an end to the old brown cabins along the roads. In addition to the sanitary services, he wishes to renovate the facilities of half of the relay villages and add 18 more. A plan with an envelope of $8 million over five years.
In particular, the MTQ would like to offer new services on highways 132 and 138 as well as along route 389 which connects Baie-Comeau and Fermont.
Its objective is clear: to stop more frequently on the roads to limit accidents.
However, according to the director of the villages-relais, the ministry will have to revise some of its requirements in terms of food supply because of the labor shortage. The villages-relais program required that restaurants be open 7 days a week. “We cannot demand something that is impossible,” she notes.
In the evening too, it is difficult, notes the mayor of Doré, Ghislain Laprise. “We have a restaurant here, Le Routier, which only opens during the day because there are not enough staff. Between 800 and 900 cars and trucks pass through there every day.
“The important thing is that people have access to food,” observes Ms.me Beautiful rose. “That they can get muffins or things like that. And many grocery stores and convenience stores offer meals prepared with microwaves, so the goal is still achieved. »