Robinson likely to be a hit

Chapel Hill Town Council members are hoping they’ll hit a home run with the proposed new name for Martin Luther King Jr. Street, as residents soon might say hello to Jackie Robinson Street.

The new name will come about because the council voted Dec. 6 to rename Airport Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Council member Ed Harrison said he was pleased that the renaming has not been plagued by the controversy that followed the Airport Road discussion, which spanned 11 months.

“It’s a fine name. It’s got neighborhood support,” Harrison said. “That’s better than we had for the last renaming.”

Robinson became the first black player in major league baseball in 1947, a move that heralded the civil rights movement — in which he played an active role.

Robinson effectively edged out other candidates considered by town officials and street residents, including Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Stafford.

In contrast to Tubman, who led slaves to freedom on the “Underground Railroad” during the mid-1800s, Stafford was not a real person.

Rather, it is a word a Chapel Hill resident who does not live on the street suggested purely for aesthetic reasons.

“I think that the committee thought that Stafford sort of came out of left field,” said Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko.

Town staff and Orange County Emergency Management Services also removed several other potential names because they too closely duplicated pre-existing roads.

Similar street names can sometimes lead to delays and difficulties in emergency response, among other inconveniences.

After the duplicates were removed, only Stafford and Tubman remained.

In a preliminary poll of the street’s roughly 12 residences, Stafford outpolled Tubman 5-2, but upon further consideration, the council dropped Stafford — citing a lack of cultural significance — and revived candidates Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the stop light, and Robinson.

A second neighborhood poll in which residents ranked their choices revealed Jackie Robinson Street as the favorite.

Town staff originally had noted that Jackie Robinson Street was similar to Robinson Road, but EMS since has determined that the similarity should not be an issue.

Mayor Pro Tem Edith Wiggins said she fully anticipates that the name will be chosen April 5 when the council decides whether to authorize the renaming, noting the lack of opposition the proposal has faced.

“The council was pleased to see that the residents who have to make the change were involved,” she said.

Both renamings are scheduled to occur May 8.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.