Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson is proposing a way to speed up changing the names of streets named after Confederates.
Providing three examples in the city of Confederate-named streets — Taney Avenue, Forrest Street and Quantrell Avenue — Wilson wrote, “Unfortunately, these three examples are replicated throughout our city. Our predecessors used street naming policies as a form of permanent protest against the burgeoning civil rights movements and growing political power for African-Americans.” (Taney wasn't involved in the Civil War like the namesakes of many other streets, but the street was named after Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who believed that African-Americans were not meant to be included as “citizens” in the U.S. Constitution.)
Wilson’s proposal calls on the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission to come up with a list of people and things worthy of honor — a list to choose from for future names — with a special consideration for women, minorities and previously used names. A city naming committee will propose three streets to change names every year, and the city manager would place money in the budget to complete the task. With 41 streets on the list, the process will take about 14 years.
Last year, Alexandria authorized a pilot program to rename Confederate streets that encouraged residents to collect signatures and propose name changes. The program stated that for any road listed on the Inventory of Confederate Street Names, a person can submit a change request through the Alexandria Permit and Planning portal (APEX). The request had to include signatures from at least one-fourth of property owners along the roadway in question. The pilot program did not result in any changes of street names in Alexandria.
There are practical considerations, which Wilson noted in his memo: Thousands of residents would have to change their mailing address and everything related that has their address on it from credit cards to Amazon accounts. For businesses, this may be a financial burden when they add up the cost of designing and printing new advertisements, business cards and stationery — plus digital media adjustments. GPS and mobile map apps would need to catch up, as well.
In addition, changing street names could be expensive for the city, not just for street signs, but printed maps, digital media, the city’s 911 dispatch system and more. The city’s budget office reported last year that renaming all 41 streets could cost more than $800,000.
The matter will be taken up in this spring’s budget planning session for the next fiscal year, which will start July 1.
