Editorial

City needs new naming process

The Portland Tribune, Jul 31, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Portland may rename an existing street once only every 20 years or so, but that’s no excuse for not having explicit criteria for how a name change should be enacted.

Frankly, over time this hasn’t been much of an issue. It was more than two decades ago that the city honored Martin Luther King Jr. by renaming Union Avenue in his honor.

In 1996, Front Avenue was renamed Naito Parkway to honor businessman Bill Naito.

The issue arose again a few years ago when members of a North Portland ministerial alliance advocated that Portland Boulevard be renamed in honor of Rosa Parks, who became a civil rights icon after refusing to give up her seat on an Alabama bus to a white man in 1955.

Portland’s City Council agreed to the renaming last year and instructed the change to occur over three years.

Now a Portland Latino group is gathering support to rename North Interstate Avenue in honor of César Chávez, and Mayor Tom Potter is lending a hand to the effort.

We don’t oppose granting appropriate recognition to local and national figures by occasionally renaming public facilities, such as community centers, buildings, parks, streets, bridges and pathways. But the city needs better criteria for this process than exists today.

Consider all interests

Name changes should carefully observe the communities of interest and businesses within affected neighborhoods.

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