Commercialization Threats Emerge From Coast to Coast

Several states will consider rest area commercialization proposals as many state lawmakers get back to work this week, signaling growing interest in this area. This week, Washington, Mississippi and Virginia have seen proposals introduced seeking the commercialization of rest areas despite the negative impact such a move would have on local communities, businesses and truck parking.

In Virginia, which attracted widespread criticism in 2009 for shutting down 23 rest areas, state representative David Nutter introduced legislation (HJ 126) that, if approved, would study the feasibility of rest area commercialization.

In Mississippi, similar legislation has been introduced by state Representative John Mayo (HB 374), calling on Mississippi to investigate the prospects of commercialization. And in Washington, five state senators introduced a bill (SB 6465) allowing full-scale commercialization of rest areas if approved by the federal government.

With state governments continuing to struggle with balancing their budgets, the prospects of bills similar to these three remain high. NATSO and its coalition partners will remain vigilant in the fight against rest area commercialization.