Another Reason I'm Glad I Don't Live in Dallas
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
There is some pressure in Dallas to name a street* after Cesar Chavez. The rename was floated on a survey to come up with a new name for Industrial Boulevard, which is slated to become the gateway for a new Trinity River project. Industrial has a kind of seedy reputation, and it was thought a name change might help its image. It looks like the new name will be Riverfront Blvd., which fits the area. All of the contingents seem to be on board with the idea.
So the committee in charge of renaming the thoroughfare decided that a street in Dallas should be named after Chavez, and that street should be Ross Avenue. (Warning: This is a newspaper blog post that contains comments, some of which are inflammatory in nature.)
Now hold on a minute.
Ross Avenue is already named for people significant to the history of the area - specifically brothers who owned the land around the street. There are plenty of streets that could be renamed. Does it really make sense to take a street named after someone with a significant local connection and name it after someone with no connection to the area? When Dallas renamed a street after Martin Luther King, they chose a major avenue that had a name confusingly similar to a major street in another part of the city. It made sense - at least to me - to change one of the street names.
Any time a street gets renamed, it's a disruption. The signs have to be changed. Not just the surface road signs, but freeway exit signs. What about people who live and work on that street? The businesses have to change letterheads and possibly spend extra advertising the new address.
Our city went through this a few years ago when considering renaming a street for King. The street that was originally chosen actually had a name that made sense for the street, and once people started counting up the cost of the name change the matter was dropped. I suspect they'll eventually rename another street, but the matter will be thought through more thoroughly first.
Really, it's not the fact that they're naming it after Chavez. They could name it after Homer Simpson for all I care. It just rubs me the wrong way that Dallas still hasn't got a clue when it comes to preserving history. That's the real shame.
*Just one question: What does this have to do with fixing potholes? I'm about to get yet another front-end alignment on the car, and then I have to drive down into Dallas next week. Note to self: Get an alignment with a warranty.
Tags: Dallas, They Don't Make Street Names Like That No More
Filed under: Dallas They Don't Make Street Names Like That No More
Comments are closed
Joe Isham said:
I still (out of habit) call First Street in Austin by its original name, not Cesar Chavez.
I suppose next time I go through downtown Dallas and see an exit for Riverfront Blvd., I will wonder aloud which wrong exit I took to put me in Cincinnati.
Perhaps your town should rename one of its residential lettered avenues east of the highway after Dr. King.
Date: 8/5/2008 6:50:40 PM
Date: 8/5/2008 6:50:40 PM
Julie said:
Hi, Joe! Hope you're not too wet!
You know, that would be a good idea, but since when have politicians listened to good ideas?
Date: 8/5/2008 6:56:19 PM
Date: 8/5/2008 6:56:19 PM
Joe Isham said:
I still (out of habit) call First Street in Austin by its original name, not Cesar Chavez.
I suppose next time I go through downtown Dallas and see an exit for Riverfront Blvd., I will wonder aloud which wrong exit I took to put me in Cincinnati.
Perhaps your town should rename one of its residential lettered avenues east of the highway after Dr. King.
Date: 8/5/2008 6:50:40 PM
Date: 8/5/2008 6:50:40 PM
Julie said:
Hi, Joe! Hope you're not too wet!
You know, that would be a good idea, but since when have politicians listened to good ideas?
Date: 8/5/2008 6:56:19 PM
Date: 8/5/2008 6:56:19 PM
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