We do have a pretty severe budget problem that's a result of the much higher than normal expenditures we had to incur this winter. Between the overtime and the equipment rental . . . Waysides typically are located in rural areas. Unlike rest areas along interstates that have flush toilets and running water, waysides have pit toilets and wells with hand-cranked pumps. The waysides open in May and shut down in November after deer hunting season.
Rest areas are open year-round.
The delay in opening the waysides has left at least one agency that works with the disabled scrambling to find a new job for one wayside worker. The N.E.W. Curative Rehabilitation in Green Bay has a contract with the state to maintain a wayside in Brown County on Highway 54-57 on the way to Door County. Like Hansen, Bloor also questioned the DOT's decision on the waysides, saying it harmed both the disabled and tourism. You're talking waysides that people use - tourists, fishermen. It's not going to give a good impression of the state.