City officials look into renaming a major road in Pueblo after Martin Luther King Jr.
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The National Association for the Advancement of Colorado People's (NAACP) Pueblo branch proposed renaming Pueblo Blvd. after civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
The Pueblo City Council gave the initial green light to the idea of renaming a street in Pueblo. However, local leaders haven't signed off on renaming Pueblo Blvd.
If the city chooses to rename the major boulevard, the Colorado Department of Transportation said the city would have to pay for all the costs involved in changing the name.
With Pueblo Blvd. stretching nine miles throughout the city, CDOT predicts renaming it could cost nearly $1 million.
"Certainly they ultimately, if it's their road, they have the final say on the renaming. So if a city street is selected, that's a local decision," said Andrew Hays, the director of Public Works.
The NAACP did propose three other potential road options. Additionally, the NAACP suggests just renaming just a portion of Pueblo Blvd., between Thatcher to Highway 50 and the Highway 50 bypass to Troy Ave.
"I know a lot of people are hesitant about maybe changing Pueblo Boulevard to Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. But I think we're open to communicating, but we just feel that it's time and the community should stand be," said Roxanne Mack, the President of the NAACP.
But, Hayes said his staff is putting a list of pros and cons for each roadway.
"Resigning those corridors, of course, putting new street name signs up. But there are also certainly some impacts to businesses that need to be considered residents as well that might be inconvenienced or have to go through some process to update their addresses so that that portion of the process is not something we're overlooking in our analysis," said Hayes.
Hayes said his staff will present it to the city council in the next couple of weeks so they can make a final vote in the future.
City leaders told KRDO they're gathering cost information about renaming a road and plan to represent it to the council in the next few weeks.
