Highway rest stops: a microcosm in leadership
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 | PolicyUnder Tim Kaine’s “leadership” as governor, he shuttered 19 rest areas along Virginia interstates because he couldn’t find the money to keep them open. He also refused to audit the Virginia Department of Transportation – thinking that the notion that there might be a waste of taxpayer dollars was, well, a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Enter Bob McDonnell.
Under the McDonnell administration not only have the rest areas been re-opened and $1.4 billion of revenue “found” at VDOT due to an audit, but, today, McDonnell announces that there will be enhanced services at Virginia rest areas due to increased partnership with the private sector:
Welcome center visitors will soon see ATMs and kiosks with interactive touch screens that provide additional information on many of Virginia’s top attractions and travel destinations. Motorists can also expect expanded vending operations with more choices for food, beverages and merchandise. These enhanced services will be implemented at no cost to VDOT under the agreement.
“As part of this innovative program, we see great opportunity to offset rest stop costs now and into the future,” said Governor McDonnell. “This contract represents an innovative initial step forward to enhance the travelling public’s experience and maximizing the revenue-generating assets of our rest areas within the confines of federal law. Partnering with the private sector will enable us to expand and improve the services that we offer visitors while saving taxpayer dollars.”
VDOT issued the request for proposal in March seeking new solutions as part of its Sponsorship, Advertising and Vending Enhancement (SAVE) program.
The new contract requires CRH to pay VDOT an annual guaranteed rights fee of approximately $2 million, an increase from the $1.7 million VDOT currently receives from vending and advertising. During the initial three-year contract, this annual fee will provide nearly $1 million in additional revenue to help offset costs for operating the rest areas. VDOT will also receive annual revenue-sharing payments based on a percentage of sales generated from sponsorship, advertising and vending operations. These revenue-sharing payments are expected to increase during the next several years as the economy improves and organizations realize the marketing opportunities presented by the SAVE program.
Kaine only saw one option: raise taxes or else. McDonnell used appropriate fiscal management and partnered with the private sector to enhance the service to Virginians and visitors.
If that’s not a microcosm for how the two major parties differ in policy and intellectual capacity and creativity, I don’t know what is.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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16 Responses to "Highway rest stops: a microcosm in leadership"
Man, I hope this isn’t the first step towards McDonalds and Exxon in rest areas…
Two great American companies….
I hear you. The danger is that rest areas become a de facto monopoly at the expense of those private businesses off the highway.
As long as this remains limited, it is probably a useful means to help save a few taxpayer dollars for the operation of these very useful stops that enhance public safety.
Because providing rest areas (as opposed to providing highways) is a “core function of government?”
Food and gas at the rest stops of course screws the small business people who located their convenience stores and gas startions off Interstate exits. Because why let those small business people get the business when some sweetheart deal between government and big business is possible, right? That’s a “conservative” positions?
Steve – you’re buying into Jason’s slippery-slope argument.
And, if you bothered to read my comment, I agreed that it’s something we need to remain vigilant on.
However, that being said, most rest areas are miles from the closest exit. They’re positioned that way on purpose so that commuters will use the private sector first, when it’s available.
I see no harm in private enterprise now also bidding to help support the Virginia taxpayer in providing a service to the commuter.
Whopee! All that hype over $300,000 that may actually just be what would have been garned anyway in a new contract. And just to be clear, no money was lost, nor was it found. Those funds were in project accounts that were still active, and for which costs may still be debited. All McDonnell did was aggregate those funds, and apply them to other projects, knowing full well that some of those funds will be needed for the projects from which they were transferred. Another smoke and mirrors ploy, but wow, his PR department is hitting on all cylinders.
Governor Bob has also used the rest stops to follow through on another campaign promise: aggressively promote the Virginia wine industry. At the Virginia welcoming center stop on the North Carolina border there is a very nice display that showcases our industry with free copies of the Wine Council’s map of Virginia Wineries. (Virginia is now number 5 in total wine production in the United States.) Meanwhile, he has followed through on fencing a portion of the taxes the state collects for promotion of the industry. The Wine Council’s budget has grown from $500,000 to $1.6M since he took office. That is how you create jobs and increase tourism income. Thanks, Governor Bob!
“However, that being said, most rest areas are miles from the closest exit. They’re positioned that way on purpose so that commuters will use the private sector first, when it’s available.”
I spend a good part of every day on the Interstate and this just isn’t true. The Taj Mahal rest stop on I-64 is within 100 yards of an exit. The Short Pump rest stop west of Richmond is no more than two miles from an exit. Most rest stops in Virginia are close to exits. There may be exceptions to this for a couple on I-81 and I-85, but not many.
MB- Re:Lost funds. You’re wrong as often as you’re right, but you’re right here. All the non-general fund agencies have program reserves. It’s one reason they can delay raising fees. In his final budget, Kaine swept the program reserves out of every non-general fund agency EXCEPT VDOT in an attempt to limit how much the budget had to be cut. Of course, that means the non-general fund agencies will eventually either have to raise their licensing fees or curtail their licensing programs. And, before the knee-jerk conservatives jump on that to say “Great, less government regulation!” most industries that are licensed in Virginia are licensed at the request of the industry.
Steve,
On I-64, which I traveled in its entirety this weekend, and I-81 from West Virginia to I-64E, I counted a grand total of four rest areas. If you’re calling this a threat to private business, good on you; let’s just get government out of the business of providing this service. Of course, if we follow your logic, we’ll see how close the nearest bathroom break area is and whether or not you think what’s available is sufficient.
I’m not calling it a threat to private business in the abstract. I’m calling it a threat to those specific small businesses that located off the Interstate exits to fulfill a market niche. I don’t think the state should come back, after those entreprenuers have made their investments, and make a deal with big business to fill that niche. And I totally wouldn’t have a problem with closing every rest area in the state if, as conservatives contend, we need to pare down to the “core functions of government.” Unlike highways and public schools, I don’t think this is a core function of government.
Is mowing the median a “core function of government?” How about planting landscaping and wild flowers? What about mileage signs? Traffic warning electronic boards? How are rest stops any less important to the overall infrastructure of a public highway? They contribute to the comfort and convenience of using the highway every bit as much as the other features I mentioned. What I object to is tolls, esp. those by private operators like on the Dulles Greenway. Raise the gasoline tax one whole penny and get rid of tolls. The gasoline tax is much more egalitarian than a toll–everyone who uses public roads pays it in proportion to their use of the roads.
HR-Usually I agree with you. This time I don’t. Except about the wildflowers, don’t care about them. The median and the signs are useful to the utility of the highway. The rest stops just duplicate services offered by businesses located off the exits. Nice to have, if we’ve got the money. But if we’re paring down to “core functions” they don’t make the grade. I agree with you about the gas tax, but I’d boost it 10 cents. Gas fluctuates up and down that much per gallon per day anymore anyway.
Steve,
Actually, I would double the gas tax and spruce up the rest areas, work down the backlog of projects VDOT has, and create a network of automatic traffic reports on a wireless network that your smartphone can access. After all, the last time the gas tax was increased in Virginia was when Gerry Baliles was governor (pause while a majority of readers say “who?”) and gasoline was less than $1 a gallon.
However, my Republican friends, whom I agree with more often than not, are trapped in a Twilight Zone of anti-tax zealotry that cannot differentiate between revenue that promotes the common welfare and confiscation that feeds the beast. Oh, well.
How many of these “local businesses” welcome the traveler to use the comfort facilities and get back on the road? In fact, how many of these businesses have signs stating bathrooms are for employees only?
johnnycab,
Virginia sanitation law requires any food service establishment to provide restrooms for all customers. The cleanliness and availability of hot water, soap, and hand drying is part of the business’ periodic sanitation inspections. As for gas stations that don’t serve food, I have seen very few that I can recall that don’t have customer restrooms. As to the cleanliness, well that goes back to the old saying, “you might be from West Virginia if you have ever wondered how gas stations keep their restrooms so clean and nice.”
I want to echo JR’s point that its important to keep this limited to vending machines, which is ok under the current federal law. That way, you’re are bringing in private sector money to help offset the facility’s costs – and not directly competing with private sector businesses at the highway exits.
If the state were allowed to sell food and fuel at rest areas, it would devastate the businesses and local tax base in communities right off the highway.
One great example is on I-95 by Fredericksburg. If the state were allowed to commercialize the rest area just outside of town, it would make people less likely to exit off the highway. It would pull the rug out from the franchisees and business owners located there who have operated under the current law since the highway system was built.
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