The City Council has received a request from some Boy Scouts for an Eagle Scout project to better highlight some of the city's historic street names.
A half dozen downtown streets that go by modern names also have obscure original names, and the Scouts would like to add some new signs to highlight them.Mayor H. Arthur Johnson said the project would not cost the city anything. However, the city's public works department believes adding more signs to a 12-foot-high street sign poles means the pole must be higher, according to state regulations, because of the multiple signs. That would cost the city money.
The council plans to discuss the issue further during its Jan. 20 meeting.
Councilman Stephen Whitesides said some of the historic streets do have their original names imbedded in old sidewalks along their frontage.
The historic streets with their current name and their original name are:
200 North - Cherry Street; First North - Pine Street; Center Street - Locust Street; First South - Maple Street; Second South - Oak Street; Third South - Plum Street; and 300 North - Walnut Street.
Whitesides said 300 South isn't really a street now because the Davis High School commons area sits there.
Councilman Reed Nelson said he prefers the Scouts create monuments instead of signs, fearing added confusion from two different street names.