ODOT to sell naming rights for bridges, interchanges, etc?

[vtk]

Saw this in the Dispatch and Channel 4 today. ODOT is going to consider corporate sponsorships / naming rights of rest areas, bridges, interchanges, possibly even distinct or unique curves or stretches of highway. It is thought that this could take care of $10M in maintenance and add another $15M in revenue anually, but the concept is still in very early stages of evaluation and development.

...yeah.

[J N Winkler]

First Virginia, now Ohio.  Why are they asking us to take this funding gimmick seriously?

[Stephane Dumas]

The city of Louisville in Kentucky got once a sponsorship with KFC to fix some potholes a couple of years ago
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/kfc-and-peta-vie-to-fix-potholes/

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

If I could get $150 a year in naming rights for roadfan.com... 

[hbelkins]

First Virginia, now Ohio.  Why are they asking us to take this funding gimmick seriously?

Because it brings in revenue without increasing the taxation burden on the citizenry. Which means I  it.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Well then, I petition the admins of this site to end restrictions on user names on here so we can use our handles and avatars as income generators for ourselves.

[Scott5114]

Well then, I petition the admins of this site to end restrictions on user names on here so we can use our handles and avatars as income generators for ourselves.

lol no

[Takumi]

Takumi, brought to you by the 2015 Acura® NSX™.

See? Ridiculous.

[Alps]

Well then, I petition the admins of this site to end restrictions on user names on here so we can use our handles and avatars as income generators for ourselves.

lol no

Fuck you, I vote for this measure. Applebee's Roads wants money.

[vtk]

At first glance, the revenue numbers seem too small to make a noticeable difference – certainly not enough to un-postpone any of the big projects.  On the other hand, if it's enough to prevent the closure of some rest areas, I'm all for it.

[J N Winkler]

Because it brings in revenue without increasing the taxation burden on the citizenry. Which means I  it.

Let us ignore for a moment the fact that the revenues naming rights might bring (especially given all the restrictions that are likely to be applied to their use and promotion on highway facilities) are trivial in comparison to state DOT budgets.  Where exactly do you think the money to buy the naming rights comes from?  Given a choice between being civic-minded and responding to market expectations of their profit margin, businesses will protect their ability to do the latter.  Naming rights don't generally bring in enough added volume to generate significant returns to scale.

So:  the money still comes from the taxpayer, only it doesn't pass through an entity which is required to operate in the public interest.

[NE2]

Fine with me if the money goes to educating kids about product placement and such.

[SSOWorld]

as long as I can blame the sponsors for the piss-poor roads I'm fine with it.  Besides, the U.S.'s way is about privatization anyway so it makes perfect sense.

[J N Winkler]

Actually, the naming-rights idea does some harm.  It is what the British call a "bed-blocker"--it is an item state legislatures have to deal with that prevents them from getting to proposals which would make genuine headway on the infrastructure funding problem.

[kphoger]

The Kotex Bridge
The Mirena Connector
The Viagra Expressway

[J N Winkler]

Sildenafil Highway, Monistat Freeway, Prozac Parkway, Benzodiazepine Motorway,  . . .

(Can you tell that I think it should be illegal to advertise prescription drugs on TV?)

[DaBigE]

The Victoria's Secret Interchange (now with more lift and separation!)
The Trojan Tunnel
Hooters Parkway

[hbelkins]

Because it brings in revenue without increasing the taxation burden on the citizenry. Which means I  it.

Let us ignore for a moment the fact that the revenues naming rights might bring (especially given all the restrictions that are likely to be applied to their use and promotion on highway facilities) are trivial in comparison to state DOT budgets.  Where exactly do you think the money to buy the naming rights comes from?  Given a choice between being civic-minded and responding to market expectations of their profit margin, businesses will protect their ability to do the latter.  Naming rights don't generally bring in enough added volume to generate significant returns to scale.

So:  the money still comes from the taxpayer, only it doesn't pass through an entity which is required to operate in the public interest.

It would come from their advertising budgets, which means they might quit or cut back on TV ads, direct mail, website advertising, etc.

There's a reason that business entities look to buy naming rights for stadiums, etc.  When it ceases to be beneficial to them, they quit. Look at Lowe's and Charlotte Motor Speedway. When Lowe's decided it was not beneficial for them to continue to pay to have their name on the racetrack, they let the contract expire.

This would be "found money" for state DOTs, even if it is not a large amount. Sell the naming rights to a 10-mile stretch of I-75 in Kentucky for $250,000 a year. That's 250 grand KYTC didn't have in its budget beforehand, and might pay for the rural secondary paving in one county for one year. And it leaves 250 grand to use for snow removal or mowing.

[SSOWorld]

Where else are the DOTs/Municipalities going to get the money?  Taxes?  Those just get voted down because of the fear of taxes.

[JREwing78]

Taxes? Bad.

Extra profit for already wildly profitable Big Oil? Good, apparently.

Only difference this makes to my wallet is the extra costs to repair my car. It doesn't make gas cheaper, certainly not by enough to matter.

[sandwalk]

Maybe a hospital or healthcare agency can get the naming rights to Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve.  Or what about a right-to-life organization?

LOL

[J N Winkler]

It would come from their advertising budgets, which means they might quit or cut back on TV ads, direct mail, website advertising, etc.

There's a reason that business entities look to buy naming rights for stadiums, etc.  When it ceases to be beneficial to them, they quit. Look at Lowe's and Charlotte Motor Speedway. When Lowe's decided it was not beneficial for them to continue to pay to have their name on the racetrack, they let the contract expire.

This would be "found money" for state DOTs, even if it is not a large amount. Sell the naming rights to a 10-mile stretch of I-75 in Kentucky for $250,000 a year. That's 250 grand KYTC didn't have in its budget beforehand, and might pay for the rural secondary paving in one county for one year. And it leaves 250 grand to use for snow removal or mowing.

This is actually a well-constructed argument in favor of selling naming rights to lengths of highway.  I continue to doubt that it will pull in enough revenue to make a difference on heavily trafficked through routes, but I can see the value of applying the revenue to paving jobs on relatively low-volume rural roads, especially if a naming-rights program is cheap to administer (with both the state DOT and the businesses having consistent and clear expectations as to how the purchased names can be displayed) and the revenue is reasonably predictable.

I guess the question I would now ask is this:  is the option of buying naming rights for highways something that the businesses actually want, as opposed to something that state DOTs want the businesses to want?  I don't see evidence of a big lobbying push for sale of naming rights on highways from chamber-of-commerce organizations, unlike what happened with the Interstate Oasis program.

[vtk]

Just heard the ODOT division in charge of this kind of thing will be called Division of Innovative Delivery.

A government division named after a business buzzword? The republicans have way too much power in this state.

[hbelkins]

Just heard the ODOT division in charge of this kind of thing will be called Division of Innovative Delivery.

A government division named after a business buzzword? The republicans have way too much power in this state.

It's not a partisan failing. I worked for the state in Frankfort during two Democrat administrations. I felt like I was in a Dilbert cartoon every day.

[HighwayMaster]

Maybe a hospital or healthcare agency can get the naming rights to Cleveland's Dead Man's Curve.  Or what about a right-to-life organization?

LOL

Well, where I-71 and the Jennings split is already called MetroHealth Curve, so MH could buy the naming rights and nobody would ever know about it.