WSDOT to replace ‘free coffee’ signs at rest stops
Jan 23, 2015, 4:33 PM | Updated: 4:33 pm
The Washington State Department of Transportation said it will spend $5,200 to replace 13 'free coffee' signs by March and it would consider adding more. (KIRO Radio/Chris Sullivan)
(KIRO Radio/Chris Sullivan)
What is a small sign reading “Free Coffee” worth? In real dollars, about $400, but to hundreds of nonprofit groups around the state, that sign is worth thousands.
Washington state used to have free coffee signs outside about three dozen rest areas, but it removed them a few years ago for safety reasons. As a result, the nonprofits saw their donations go down.
Barbara Haldi’s group provides academic scholarships for young women. She says they took a huge hit at the Smokey Point rest area last summer.
“We’ve made between $1,700 and $2,000 on the weekend and I know we’re nowhere near that,” Haldi said. “That will mean fewer scholarships for us to give. (It) directly affects our recipients.”
The removal of free coffee signs also impacted truckers, who routinely take advantage of the snacks and drinks to stay alert on the roads.
“If the sign’s not on, I don’t usually stop,” one trucker told me at the Smokey Point rest area. “The sign, for me, was always very helpful.”
Now the state Senate is considering a bill that would restore all 37 free coffee signs, including the two that were lighted.
The bill would allocate $27,000 to replace all the signs, including the two lighted signs, by August.
However, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Chris Christopher told the Legislature Thursday that they are ready to replace the signs at the 13 most popular rest areas, which are manned by volunteer groups at least 75 percent of the time.
The WSDOT said it will spend $5,200 to replace the 13 signs by March and it would consider adding more.
Christopher said the WSDOT is still working on the wording so that drivers know when the free coffee is being offered.
“One of the biggest complaints we got, prior to removing the signs, was when folks would see the ‘free coffee open’ sign, they’d pull in and there was no free coffee,” Christopher said. “We kind of want to convey to the public that it’s a volunteer program. So there may be coffee there, there may not be.”
