Title
Vote on a request to amend a resolution Honoring Chatham’s Bard, George Moses Horton
Abstract
Action Requested: Vote on a request to amend a resolution Honoring Chatham’s Bard, George Moses Horton
Introduction & Background:
On December 20, 2021 the Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution Honoring Chatham’s Bard, George Moses Horton. Commissioner Jim Crawford introduced the resolution to rename the 15-501 U.S. highway from the north boundary of Pittsboro to the Orange County line “North George Moses Horton Boulevard;” and it shall name the 15-501 highway from the south boundary of Pittsboro to the Deep River and Lee County line “South George Moses Horton Boulevard.”
Discussion & Analysis:
After reviewing Commissioner Crawford’s resolution regarding renaming US 15-501 S, US 15-501 N, Hillsboro Street, and Sanford Road to North and South George Moses Horton Boulevard, Emergency Operations Director Steve Newton shared the following concerns:
- Emergency Management continues to recommend against creating duplicate road names (George Moses Horton Rd, S Horton St, Horton Rd already exist). Introduction of duplicate road names will lead to confusion when responding to emergencies and will delay the arrival of life-saving care;
- Renaming will initially require individuals and businesses to change their addresses (including mail, drivers licenses, professional licensures, etc.) for at least the following number of businesses/residences:
o US 15-501 N - 217 address changes
o Hillsboro Street - 194 address changes
o Sanford Road - 69 address changes
o US 15-501 S - 49 address changes
Mr. Newton stated a suitable alternative may be requesting an Honorary Designation of those roads in accordance with NCDOT’s Honorary Naming and Designations of State Transportation Assets/Employee Memorial Program. Instead of renaming the roads, a “Designation” is a means to provide honorary status to a facility (roads, bridges) in which NCDOT installs signs recognizing the honorary status (i.e. George Moses Horton Highway).
Based on the input from Mr. Newton, Commissioner Diana Hales requested information on the process and reasoning behind the renaming of Highway 64. Mr. Newton provided the following information in response to Commissioner Hales’ request:
A public hearing was held on January 17, 2017 to consider renaming US 64 to US 64 BUSINESS EAST and US 64 BUSINESS WEST.
Emergency Operations proposed this renaming because:
a. The renaming was required by NCDOT after the US 64 Bypass was complete. The existing highway had to be renamed with the suffix “Business” according to NCDOT’s requirement.
b. There was a significant potential for duplicate or otherwise confusing addresses along US 64 (along either the Bypass or Business sections).
c. Staff’s recollection is that the timing coincided with addressing the new Ag Conference Center but was not driven by addressing it (other than possibly to prevent addressing it on US 64 and then having to readdress it a few months later).
Impact:
a. 68 residential structures and 8 commercial structures were readdressed from either US 64 EAST to US 64 BUSINESS EAST or US 64 WEST to US 64 BUSINESS WEST. Address numbers were not changed.
b. EAST STREET and WEST STREET inside the Town of Pittsboro were not impacted.
c. Most online and digital maps at the time (Garmin, Google) already had the road listed as US 64 Business.
d. Once approved, Emergency Operations updated the Chatham GIS centerline and address point data, notified property owners, and alerted the US Postal Service and first responder agencies of the change.
Based on the information provided, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners shall request that the NC Department of Transportation recognize 15-501 U.S. highway from the Orange County line to the Deep River and Lee County line with the Honorary Designation of “George Moses Horton Highway”.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: N/A
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation: Motion to amend a resolution Honoring Chatham’s Bard, George Moses Horton