WASHINGTON - Last week Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced legislation that would allow states to commercialize rest areas. At first blush, this bill may sound non-confrontational, but the stark reality is that it would severely impact the ability for convenience stores and other small businesses to continue operating along interstates.
The legislation, "Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure Development Act," would allow states to request permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to commercialize rest areas, funneling 5 percent of the revenues from the commercialized rest areas back to the DOT to fund activities related to public-private partnerships (PPPs).
NACS opposes this and similar efforts and will be calling on members to take action by phoning and writing letters to their senators and representatives. NACS does not believe that rest area commercialization is a viable solution to state budget deficits and is a member of a coalition dedicated to fighting this effort, Partnership to Save Highway Communities.
According to a recent Virginia Tech Office of Economy Development study, allowing for the commercialization of rest areas nationwide would place convenience stores, truck stops, restaurants and other commercial services at a competitive disadvantage. In fact, the Virginia Tech study predicts a 46% decrease in interstate-serving gas stations sales in each county, a 44% decrease in sales at Interstate-serving restaurants, and a 35% decrease in truck service sales at interstate-serving truck service businesses from the commercialization of rest stops.
In addition to Sen. Kirk??s legislation, both the House and the Senate are likely to introduce their transportation reauthorization legislation in the coming days, with markups planned in July. While coalition members have been working to ensure that rest area commercialization is not included in this legislation, the threat of amendments is growing.
Voice your opposition to rest stop commercialization at: Stop Commercialization of Rest Stops.
To learn more about this issue click here or contact Corey Fitze at NACS at cfitze@nacsonline.com.