Starbucks expressway? Washington lawmaker wants to sell transportation naming rights
May 3, 2012, 6:31 AM | Updated: 7:54 am
One day, you could be driving to work on the Boeing Bridge, or the Starbucks expressway. State Representative Jan Angel says she's looking into how much money the state could raise by selling naming rights for transportation projects. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
One day, you could be driving to work on the Boeing Bridge, or the Starbucks expressway.
State Representative Jan Angel says she’s looking into how much money the state could raise by selling naming rights for transportation projects.
“We could have naming rights on the bridges. We could do signage on the bottom of the bridge for boaters to see,” says Angel. “That would all add additional revenue to this project.”
Angel says tolling isn’t the answer because as rates keep going up, the number of drivers using those bridges goes down, and that creates traffic problems elsewhere.
“Getting the jobs here and keeping our businesses successful I believe are really going to tie strongly to transportation and getting rid of the congestion,” says Angel.
Washington lawmakers are currently examining how to deal with looming transportation needs across the state.
A task force convened by Gov. Chris Gregoire determined that Washington needs up to $21 billion in transportation spending over the next 10 years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
