Renaming Streets Downtown (and elsewhere) (Atlanta, Marietta: neighborhoods, school, live)

[RZaakir]

Hi everyone,

I work with the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and NPU-M (the NPU consisting of Downtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Castleberry Hill, and part of the Marietta St. Artery). Currently we are engaged in an effort to stop the city from renaming two historic streets Downtown - Cone and Harris.

As a community, we agree that Xernona Clayton and John Portman - the honorees for Cone and Harris streets respectively - are citizens worthy of honoring but we are against the City Council's apparent insistence on using street namings as the primary way to honor people in this city.

At the recent special call Council meeting where the name changes were set to be rammed through without public comment and over the objections of the affected neighborhoods, NPU, historic preservation community, and ancestors of Reuben Cone - Cone Street's namesake - to name a few, a council member made the assertion that renaming streets was a non-controversial practice to the people in the City of Atlanta.

So I would like to unscientifically ask you all: what do you think about the City of Atlanta's practice of regularly renaming streets? Is the Councilman right?

Thanks for any input.

[koko339]

This topic was discussed over on this thread as well:
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...eet-names.html

I am totally against the renaming. I don't live downtown but I do go to school down there, and I love city history. Besides the practical arguments against renaming, I find it very disrespectful. Also, these streets with full names just sound clunky .

[ecuresident]

Personally I dont care, anything to make it easier. Roads down here are confusing as hell. There are 4 different peachtree streets and businesses never put peachtree st NW, or Sw, etc. And why the heck do streets just change names here? Moreland Ave Changes to Briarcliff (or vice versa) for no reason. The street is continuous, so why does it just change names all of a sudden?

[cwlawrence]

There is a bit of a domino theory argument here, but renaming a street to honor a more current person begs the question: how long until the next renaming to honor a more current person?

Why not actually make something new and name that after the person they wish to honor? Perhaps segments of the Beltline can be christened after these honorable persons... Maybe intersections should be named after these persons (there is actually a precedent for this)...

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

Hi everyone,

I work with the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and NPU-M (the NPU consisting of Downtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Castleberry Hill, and part of the Marietta St. Artery). Currently we are engaged in an effort to stop the city from renaming two historic streets Downtown - Cone and Harris.

As a community, we agree that Xernona Clayton and John Portman - the honorees for Cone and Harris streets respectively - are citizens worthy of honoring but we are against the City Council's apparent insistence on using street namings as the primary way to honor people in this city.

At the recent special call Council meeting where the name changes were set to be rammed through without public comment and over the objections of the affected neighborhoods, NPU, historic preservation community, and ancestors of Reuben Cone - Cone Street's namesake - to name a few, a council member made the assertion that renaming streets was a non-controversial practice to the people in the City of Atlanta.

So I would like to unscientifically ask you all: what do you think about the City of Atlanta's practice of regularly renaming streets? Is the Councilman right?

Thanks for any input.

I am totally against street re-naming. The only street I think that needs to be re-named is "Boulevard." The other street that I thought needed re-naming was "Boulevard Drive"--it was re-named "Hosea L. Williams Drive."


I think that council member said it wrong: renaming streets is a lazy practice in the City of Atlanta.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

Hi everyone,

I work with the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and NPU-M (the NPU consisting of Downtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Castleberry Hill, and part of the Marietta St. Artery). Currently we are engaged in an effort to stop the city from renaming two historic streets Downtown - Cone and Harris.

As a community, we agree that Xernona Clayton and John Portman - the honorees for Cone and Harris streets respectively - are citizens worthy of honoring but we are against the City Council's apparent insistence on using street namings as the primary way to honor people in this city.

At the recent special call Council meeting where the name changes were set to be rammed through without public comment and over the objections of the affected neighborhoods, NPU, historic preservation community, and ancestors of Reuben Cone - Cone Street's namesake - to name a few, a council member made the assertion that renaming streets was a non-controversial practice to the people in the City of Atlanta.

So I would like to unscientifically ask you all: what do you think about the City of Atlanta's practice of regularly renaming streets? Is the Councilman right?

Thanks for any input.

Oh...and keep up the good fight! This practice has to stop...

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by koko339

This topic was discussed over on this thread as well:
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...eet-names.html

I am totally against the renaming. I don't live downtown but I do go to school down there, and I love city history. Besides the practical arguments against renaming, I find it very disrespectful. Also, these streets with full names just sound clunky .

Its a terrible idea this street renaming business. Honor these people a different way. History has been writing, documented & accounted for. This renaming & remaining is a waste. How about Atlanta start connecting some of its back roads and name the connections after said people.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by FlyiMetro

... How about Atlanta start connecting some of its back roads and name the connections after said people.

Yes.


Or build monuments. Or fountains. Or pocket parks.


And name them after these people...

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

Hi everyone,

I work with the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and NPU-M (the NPU consisting of Downtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Castleberry Hill, and part of the Marietta St. Artery). Currently we are engaged in an effort to stop the city from renaming two historic streets Downtown - Cone and Harris.

As a community, we agree that Xernona Clayton and John Portman - the honorees for Cone and Harris streets respectively - are citizens worthy of honoring but we are against the City Council's apparent insistence on using street namings as the primary way to honor people in this city.

At the recent special call Council meeting where the name changes were set to be rammed through without public comment and over the objections of the affected neighborhoods, NPU, historic preservation community, and ancestors of Reuben Cone - Cone Street's namesake - to name a few, a council member made the assertion that renaming streets was a non-controversial practice to the people in the City of Atlanta.

So I would like to unscientifically ask you all: what do you think about the City of Atlanta's practice of regularly renaming streets? Is the Councilman right?

Thanks for any input.

At this point in time, renaming streets is absolutely, positively a worthless exercise in stupidity.

Does the City Council grasp the "real" issues facing the city? Why would they waste their time debating such a trivial issue when so many other issues are much more important.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by ecuresident

Personally I dont care, anything to make it easier. Roads down here are confusing as hell. There are 4 different peachtree streets and businesses never put peachtree st NW, or Sw, etc. And why the heck do streets just change names here? Moreland Ave Changes to Briarcliff (or vice versa) for no reason. The street is continuous, so why does it just change names all of a sudden?

Most likely during the racial past of this town, different names meant which part was white and which was black...