San Francisco’s Rainbow Tunnel Renamed After Robin Williams

Almost a year after Robin Williams‘ death on August 11, 2014, the California Senate approved a resolution to rename the Waldo Tunnel between the Bay Area and Marin County after the late comedian.

It all began with a Change.org petition started by Julie Wainwright 11 months ago. Not long after news of Williams’ passing broke, Wainwright wrote that she wanted “to remember and honor this very important citizen here in our community for the joy he brought to the world.” To accomplish this, her petition sought support “to encourage the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to change the name of Waldo Tunnel to the Robin Williams Tunnel.”

Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) quickly responded to Wainwright’s petition, which has since gained over 61,000 signatures of its 75,000 goal, and sponsored legislation to put Williams’ name on the tunnel. He told the Marin Independent Journal that he’d been in touch with the Williams family, who approved of the petition and the resulting legislation.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the new signage will cost $3,000, but won’t cost California taxpayers a dime as private donations will cover the cost. The results will probably appear on and near the “Rainbow Tunnel” sometime in the fall.

[h/t BuzzFeed]
[Image via Shutterstock.com]

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