Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Major street gets new name; and a report on dirty signs

Did you notice that -- almost in time for Independence Day -- a stretch of Independence Boulevard has a new name? From Kenilworth Avenue (at the Midtown redevelopment area) over to Seventh Street it's now Charlottetown Avenue. An article in the Observer last week revealed the news. So, is this a good thing or a bad thing or irrelevant? Thoughts welcome below.

One longtime Charlottean likes the idea of memorializing Charlottetown Mall (later known as Midtown Square), even if it's only on a small green sign. She wrote:

"Even if building it did cover Sugar Creek with concrete ... and even though I will be right in line when the Target opens where I once stood in line as a high schooler to see "Star Wars" at what was then the biggest theater in town ... I like it that "Charlottetown" -- and all it says about where Charlotte's been and is going -- will live on in a subtle, tiny way. A street sign. Pure Charlotte!"

My column last Saturday (yes, I write columns as well as this blog) about walls and the public realm brought in plenty of comment, most -- though not all -- in agreement. Sadler Barnhardt brought up an interesting point, about one small, additional way that the public realm is disrespected:

"Thanks for a good column. That reminds me of a project I have tried to get at least two Observer writers to help me with but no luck: the atrociously dirty street and stop signs around town. Is there money in the budget for this?? If not, why not? What can we do? Have you noticed? They have been this way for years."

He's right. Green mold covers many street signs in town. I'll try to find which department would be in charge of that. My first call will be to Doreen Szymanski of the Charlotte Department of Transportation, who seems to know -- if not everything -- then almost everything. I'll update this later, with a report.

And if you can e-mail me a photo of a particularly grungy street sign, I'll try to post it here.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

When Independence Blvd wasn't a freeway, it made sense for it to have the same name all the way through.

But when they freewayed Independence, the section of Independence around the Charlottetown Mall really became more of an extension to Independence. I think most people, especially newcomers to Charlotte, think of Independence ending when it runs into the Brookshire and Belk Freeways, so it makes a lot of sense to rename that old section to Charlottetown Avenue and let Independence end as a freeway.

As far as the dirty street signs go, I have an idea: Could we not recruit volunteers to clean street signs in their neighborhoods? I would think that there would be plenty of people who would like to be able to contribute to keeping Charlotte clean (just as we have volunteers who pick up trash) by cleaning signs every once in a while. All they'd need is some basic instruction and a brush on a long pole. (Obviously signs near electric lines would be off-limits.)

Anonymous said...

I like the new name for Charlottetown Ave. It's a nice tip of the hat to Charlotte's history, and it eliminates the needless confusion over where exactly Independence Blvd runs.

Anonymous said...

Thanks goodness. Now I can give people directions to the Double Door without losing them on the big Independence Blvd. 9which ahs happened before). This should have been done years ago.

I'll have to agree with clayj, volunteers cleaning signs is a good program to get started. Heck if you think certain signes are dirty, why not just go ahead, get out there and clean them? This ahsn't been an issue for me, but obviouly it is to someone else. Nothing a little Simple Green wouldn't cure.

Danimal

Anonymous said...

Great. Another street in Charlotte that changes its name in order to confuse people trying to follow written directions. Can we trade this change for re-naming Idlewild-Rama-Sardis-Fairview-Tyvola to something consistent?

Anonymous said...

^ I don't think you understand the change, if you think this is making things more confusing. S. Independence was a distinct road from the E. Independence freeway. For them both to have virtually identical names was needlessly confusing. This is much better because two different roads now have two different names.

Jumper said...

Clayj, in my experience only the people who have the signs on the corner of their lot are likely to wash them, and they are just as likely to turn them sideways to confuse outsiders. I suspect they do it to confuse the developers as long as possible.

I thought I was losing my vision. Turns out the signs are illegible. Whew.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if signage on Indepdence Blvd., instructing drivers to exit for Independence Blvd., will be changed to reflect this? How long has Cricket Arena had that name, yet signs direct people to "Independence Arena."

Anonymous said...

7:44, blame the state for both of those. That's their job. They will drag their feet on this type of stuff, especailly sine we are Charlotte.

I agree with you though.

Danimal

Anonymous said...

I believe we should continue the fine tradition of changing street names - even to the point of a different one starting/ending at every intersection.

That way, the next wave of Yankees that try to invade might not be successful since they won't be able to find their way!

;-)

Anonymous said...

Mary, when are you going to comment on the revelation that the Chamber and UNCC conspired to cook the books regarding the alleged "benefits" of mass transit:

http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?category=oid%3A61

"Since then, city leaders and some members of the media have used the study to "prove" transit foes are out in left field. Now it appears that the study wasn't "independent" at all, but a useful prop ultimately paid for with public tax dollars for use in the Charlotte Chamber's campaign to save the half-cent sales tax for mass transit. Incredibly, the guidelines for the study were set in series of e-mails between UNCC's chancellor and the head of the Charlotte Chamber. Needless to say, the e-mails cast serious doubt not just on the study, but on the academic independence of the university and the integrity of the professors who drafted it."

Why don't YOU show some integrity and condemn Bob Morgan and his cult of moneymongers down at the Chamber, as well as Chancellor Dubois and his lying ghouls at UNCC?

Anonymous said...

To the point of the last comment, anyone -and that surely includes folks at the Observer- who knows that Dennis Rash is closely associated with the UNCC center for transportation studies, should have cast a wary eye on the degree to which that entity itself is independent of the local government/business combine in this area. HE is the Exectuve in Residence to the center. He is also the retired BoA VP whose responsibility was real estate development. Add to that that his wife, Betty, heads the government/business effort to retain the transit tax, and it seems fairly evident that the independence of the study shold nto have been assumed. (BTW, I know Dennis, and he's a nice fellow. But he is hardly a disinterested academic researcher. He's an advocate. Unfortunately in this case he acted in a way that I think is disappointing.)

M

Anonymous said...

It is "CharlottetownE" with a final "E". How fancy, how pompous. Now all the business along that stretch will have to get new cards and stationary. How 'bout the phone book listing? Talk about stupid and confusing money-wasting idiots.....

JayDub said...

^The shopping mall that originally stood on that stretch of the former Independence was CharlottetownE with an "E." Fancy and pompous as that may have been when they named the mall, the new street name is simply honoring that original spelling.

Anonymous said...

It was the merchants and people on that road who chose to go forward with the renaming of the road.

Anonymous said...

Charlotte itself was originally Charlottetowne. For once, the final "e" isn't just some faux-historic spelling. It actually has grounding in reality, unlike Olde Towne Shoppinge Centre or whatever they're calling the trendiest new development.

Cato said...

I haven't seen the new street signs, but the final "e" is the linchpin for me. If it left it out, good. It it has it, then it's just annoying. Like pointe, shoppe, etc. If ye have a problem with that, then curses upon ye and thy progeny!

Regardless, at least they had the good sense to do it in time for merchants to get the new addresses in the phone book.

Why not have some fun and call it "Charlatan?"

Anonymous said...

The "e" thing reminds me of the episode of Family Guy where Peter builds a bar in his basement and puts up a sign behind the bar that reads "Ye Olde Pube".

Pathmaker said...

You can report dirty or illegible signs in Charlotte by calling 311.

Anonymous said...

Dear Pathmaker,

Who does one call to report illegal 'yard' signs planted by professionals for the developers only on the weekends.

I discussed this problem with someone downtown once. Basically was told not to take them down, even though they're illegal.

Anonymous said...

The city isn't going to step onto private property to clear off an illegal road sign.

That is up to the private landowner. I don't want tax dollars used to clean up someone's private yard.

If the signs were removed promptly, the developers wouldn't receive any benefit and they would stop doing it. I'm sure they are rational decision-makers.

Anonymous said...

The signs are in road right of ways, where the city has ordinances about their use, just as it has ordinances about other signage. Private ownership of land is not an issue in this.

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