I would like to suggest that the Friends of Zilker vote on the proposed name change for Robert E. Lee road in our neighborhood. This would allow us to decide to support (or oppose) the efforts of our District 5 Council Member Ann Kitchen.
Details on her actions at City Council can be found here: Statesman Article
Proposed ballot language might sound something like this:
"Friends of Zilker Neighborhood Association is in support of the application, proposed by our representative, District 5 City Council Member Ann Kitchen, to initiate the process to rename Robert E. Lee Street in the Zilker neighborhood. Recognizing the impact of recent events in Virginia and elsewhere, the Friends of Zilker Neighborhood Association wishes to affirm its support of the City of Austin street renaming process, and believes that through such efforts, a new, more updated, and inclusive name would be brought forward by the appropriate parties. As the current Robert E. Lee Road is a main entrance to the Zilker neighborhood, provides access to one of Austin’s most prized possessions in the form of Barton Spring Pool, and is visible to millions of Austin residents and visitors, we believe that moving towards a new nomenclature for this thoroughfare is a an important effort for our neighborhood and the City of Austin.”
I would like to either name it Bluebonnet so the name is continuous from Lamar… or something fun like “Zilker Rd” … To my knowledge no such road exists in central Austin.
I don’t think we should include proposed name changes in the ballot language. That said, as a side discussion, the issue I’ve heard with naming it Bluebonnet is the numbers overlap and the houses would have to be renumbered. I like Zilker Rd though
I agree about not including proposed name changes on the ballot, but what about outlining a more specific process about how a new name is selected? To put it another way, I wouldn’t want to see … that other group be granted the unilateral right to pick on everyone’s behalf.
I may be naive, but I don’t think the city would give the naming rights to any neighborhood association. My guess is that council would vote on it. There was a link in one of the numerous threads on this subject outlining the cities process for changing a street name. We could say:
“Any name change should follow standard procedure for changing a street name and should solicit input from the residents of Zilker directly as well as the residents of the City of Austin as a whole.”
I would like to see the proposal voted on and submitted to the city as representative of the neighborhoods beliefs (or dissent to it with a “no” vote)
Considering David King (via Ann Kitchen) nearly managed to get mandatory event-parking restrictions passed for the entirety of 78704 west of Lamar, I think you might be just a little naive. But sure, adding that language sounds good. I know the city has a laborious process for any street name change, but once all the red tape has been worked out, it’d be nice if they allowed for some type of public vote on the subject, even if it’s something online as opposed to a physical ballot referendum. (That said, I think an online vote would need some means of affirmative ID verification to prevent people from voting multiple times – as well as any potential troll hijinks.
I wouldn’t be opposed. It would be difficult to vote on and should be started as a separate topic to formulate an initial list to propose for a vote.
Based on the details about, sounds like the renaming is moving along. But if you look at the steps listed, here http://www.austintexas.gov/page/street-name-changes , the City still has a way to go. Looks like we are on step 3:
The applicant must contact all affected property owners for their signature agreement to the proposed street name change. An affected property owner is any property owner who owns property that abuts the right of way proposed for renaming. Contact can be made using the property owners information and mailing address of record from the Travis County ad valorem tax rolls.
Unless it is initiated by a Council member, the case cannot be brought before Council or set for a public hearing until more than 50% of the property owners respond with their signature of agreement.
Since Councilmember Ann Kitchen is bringing a motion forward, I’m guessing the next step is a public hearing? That seems like a good time for us to have our vote completed and submit the results to the City. Can one of the FoZ board members reach out to her office and perhaps help us determine the next best steps?
I think as far as Friends of Zilker is concerned it is probably getting this matter for a vote - but yes, it would be great if we could deliver the results of the vote so CM Kitchen could use that data during the public hearing. Do you want to revise the proposed language based on this information?
But sure, adding that language sounds good. I know the city has a laborious process for any street name change, but once all the red tape has been worked out, it’d be nice if they allowed for some type of public vote on the subject, even if it’s something online as opposed to a physical ballot referendum. (That said, I think an online vote would need some means of affirmative ID verification to prevent people from voting multiple times – as well as any potential troll hijinks.