Residents' passion over road has lost its steam

More than 850 addresses will be affected when one local road changes names in May — and although debate raged for 11 months on whether to rename Airport Road, most affected residents seem to now be taking the change quietly.

Only three people attended an information session Tuesday to receive an update on the town’s efforts to assist them during the renaming process.

In December, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted unanimously in favor of renaming Airport Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The special committee that made the renaming recommendation to the council also recommended that the town offer assistance to residents and property owners to make the transition easier.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko reviewed material from a letter sent in mid-February to every Airport Road address.

Lazorko explained what changes will be made automatically and what records residents need to update on their own.

She said the U.S. Postal Service, Duke Power, Piedmont Natural Gas and other groups automatically will update their records to reflect the address change.

Residents themselves will have to make changes to their records with the Internal Revenue Service and to their Social Security information, among other documents.

And although only three residents were present Tuesday, at least one was not satisfied.

Edward Hudgens, who rents an apartment along Airport Road, said he was disappointed in the meeting because he did not think any new information was presented.

He also said he was surprised at the turnout for the meeting.

“I was expecting more people, and I was expecting more representatives to be here,” he said.

Hudgens said he would have liked to see council members, along with representatives of groups who will be making address records changes, present at the meeting.

A representative from the Orange County property tax office and the Chapel Hill postmaster both attended the meeting.

Residents in attendance also were curious about how much the changes will cost individuals.

Both Hudgens and Earl Anderson, who also rents an apartment along the thoroughfare, said the changes would not affect them greatly but expressed concern about the costs to business owners.

“I think those are the people who are going to get hit,” Hudgens said.

Several business owners along Airport Road were adamant in their opposition to the renaming during last year’s discussions.

But Lazorko said the town cannot use its funds to help residents with changes to their personal records and information. “Providing financial assistance to print new business cards is an unacceptable use of public finds,” she said.

Bruce Johnson, who owns Johnson’s Garage, at 701 Airport Road, estimated that it would cost $17,700 to change his business’s phone listings and business cards.

Airport Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Street, which might be renamed Jackie Robinson Street, will change names May 8.

That day, a special ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at a location that has yet to be determined.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.