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<br />KULLBY Kent R <br /> <br />From: <br />Sent: <br />To: <br />Subject: <br /> <br />Elisabeth Potter [ewpwords@hotmail.com] <br />Monday, May 01, 20064:06 PM <br />KULLBY Kent R <br />Proposed Street Name <br /> <br />May 1, 2006 <br /> <br />The Honorable Kitty Piercy, Mayor <br />and Council of the City of Eugene <br />c/o Kent Kullby,AICP, Division of Planning <br /> <br />Ladies and Gentlemen: <br /> <br />I have been invited to comment on the name proposed for a short segment of <br />road at the base of Skinner Butte which, in accord with the Whiteaker <br />Neighborhood Plan, is scheduled for improvement. <br /> <br />As a former National Register Coordinator for the Oregon State Historic <br />Preservation Office and a frequent visitor to Eugene, I am acquainted with <br />the historic property fronting on the road segment. The <br />Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, as the property is known today, was listed <br />in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. <br /> <br />It is my understanding from a briefing by Planning Division staff that the <br />name for the connector street recommended by the Planning Commission <br />following a public hearing on March 14 is "Shelton McMurphey Boulevard." In <br />consideration of emergency first-response services, Eugene's street-naming <br />guidelines understandably discourage duplicative names and hyphenated names. <br />Since Shelton Avenue is established elsewhere, the dilemma was resolved by <br /> <br />adding the additional family name of McMurphey but without the hyphen that <br />would be required for precision in assigning contracted family surnames as <br />an administrative name. <br /> <br />My concerns with regard to the proposed solution are similar to those which <br />may have been expressed by living descendants of the historical family. 1) <br />The original developer of the property fronting the railroad and road <br />corridor, Dr. Thomas Shelton, is prominent enough to merit recognition in <br />his own right. 2) A contraction of family names without a clarifying hyphen <br />could lead to misinterpretation of the words as the given and surnames of a <br />non-existent Shelton McMurphey. The term "boulevard" for a five-block-long <br />connector, even an improved connector of such limited extent, is an inapt <br />description and therefore compounds the awkwardness of the street name <br />presently proposed. It is my understanding that the term "drive" was <br />weighed in discussion during the hearing last March. I hope it is not too <br />late for the City to give further consideration to "drive" as a more <br />accurate descriptive term. <br /> <br />Elisabeth Walton Potter <br />2655 Skopil Avenue S <br />Salem OR 97302 <br />503-581-3668 <br /> <br />R.\I.-.-:~C::I\~;'D--=;l <br />._ '..'..._ l' \'_ <br /> <br /> <br />r-:.---------l <br />I MAY - 1 2006 <br /> <br />L..__.__.___.. "___" ..._____J~. <br />CI-!";'~;!- ~:::/; :'-: <br />pi /\'. T ':'iT <br />,,,.,~. '-,.~ .".~._., .,' '.-'~<--' -""~--,,,.__,,'-'.._- <br /> <br />With good wishes, <br /> <br />FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar - get it now! <br />http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ <br />