State: Shirt finds its fancy beyond the toll booth

Shirt finds its fancy beyond the toll booth

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

If you ever wanted to dress like a Florida toll collector -- and the state thinks many of you do -- now's your chance.

Beginning today, the festive, tropical-themed shirts they wear will go on sale to the public.

State officials say they're doing this in response to public demand. Ever since the Hawaiian-style shirts made their debut at toll booths two summers ago, they've been catching the eye of tourists who want them for souvenirs and Floridians who want to buy them as gifts.

"It's amazing how many people want these," said Millie Mitchell, a toll supervisor at the Sunshine Skyway bridge. "We get a lot of comments like, "How can we get one of those?' I've had people bid on mine. One guy offered me $50."

The cream-colored shirts are decorated with retro-looking Florida scenes from 1930s postcards: beachgoers, palm trees, sailboats and flamingos.

Woven through the images are the names of the state's toll plazas, familiar locales such as the Skyway and the Pinellas Bayway as well as exotic-sounding places such as Yeehaw Junction and Alligator Alley.

The casual look is unique to Florida; other states tend to dress their toll collectors in bland, official-looking uniforms.

When Florida Turnpike officials first picked out the shirts for the state's 2,200 toll employees, their reasoning went like this: One of the first Floridians out-of-state visitors encounter is often a toll collector, so friendly looking apparel would make a good first impression.

No one expected what happened next.

"The very first day we introduced the shirts at the toll plazas in the summer of 1999, we began receiving requests for them," said Tom Barry, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation.

The shirts cost $39.99 plus tax. Mail orders, which also charge shipping and handling, can be placed by calling (407) 532-3999, ext. 3598.

The shirts will go on sale today near Orlando at the Turkey Lake Service Plaza gift shop on Florida's Turnpike. They'll be available at other Turnpike service plazas beginning July 13.

One dollar from each purchase will go to the Florida State Employees Charitable Campaign, which donates money to non-profit organizations such as the United Way.

The state's turnpike authority operates Florida's Turnpike from Central to South Florida as well as numerous toll bridges and roads, such as the Skyway and the Suncoast Parkway.