State reverses course, will replace free coffee signs at rest stops

OLYMPIA — Signs alerting drivers to the availability of free coffee are returning to rest areas on I-5 in Smokey Point.

A state transportation official said Thursday that by March new signage should be installed at exits to the rest stops in both directions of the highway, replacing lighted signs that broke down last year.

Eleven other sites around the state will get new signs as well, Chris Christopher of the Department of Transportation told the Senate Transportation Committee.

He outlined the agency’s plan in a public hearing on a bill to require the transportation department restore signs that it removed from 37 rest areas since 2011.

Sen. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, sponsored the bill after learning nonprofit and service groups that serve up the free coffee for weary travelers have reaped fewer donations since the signs went away. Without them, drivers don’t know coffee is available and thus don’t pull off, Pearson told the committee.

On Thursday, he said when he drafted the bill he contacted the department but no one shared their plans to put signs back up. Maybe the bill won’t be needed, but he wants to see details of the program in writing before deciding, he said.

“I am going to wait and see. If I feel they are 100 percent genuine then I will take my foot off the bill,” he said Friday. “You shouldn’t have to write a bill for this to happen.”

Under the state-managed “Free Coffee” program, qualified nonprofit groups sign up to staff a kiosk for a few days at a time. They must be on-site every hour they sign up for — including through the night.

Groups are allowed to offer drinks and some snacks like cookies without charging. Donation cans are always nearby. Some rest stops, like Smokey Point, are so popular because of the volume of the travelers that there is a waiting list for those wanting to staff the kiosk.

Donations have reportedly declined since worn and damaged metal signs emblazoned with “Free Coffee” were taken down at 35 rest stops in Washington in 2011 and 2012 for safety concerns.

Christopher explained that volunteers would go out at the beginning of a shift to flip down the “Free Coffee” sign to be visible to drivers then return to flip it back at the end of a shift.

Because the signs are near the freeway exit, it meant volunteers wound up dangerously close to the exits. Some would even drive the wrong way on the off-ramp to reach the signs, he said.

Smokey Point was the only place with lighted signs that volunteers could switch on and off from the kiosk. Those were installed about a decade ago for about $6,000 and it was decided to not replace them when they broke down.

What’s planned in Smokey Point and elsewhere is that a new blue sign reading “Free Coffee Volunteer Program” will be installed. Each will cost about $400, Christopher said.

“I think it would be a reasonable solution,” he told the committee.

In addition to rest areas in Smokey Point, the state is looking to install them at sites on I-5 north of Fife, south of Olympia and near Vancouver, on I-90 near Ellensburg and Spokane and on U.S. 2 west of Leavenworth.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.