Where the Streets Have No Name

Time is running out to offer the city your street name ideas

BlogNews by Henry HoustonPosted on
Photo courtesy city of Eugene

The city of Eugene’s experiment with having the internet make municipal decisions will soon wrap up.

The city asked community members to name three new streets: One is a main route for vehicles and two are sides streets that connect to the new downtown Riverfront Park. With the submission period ending soon, residents have so far submitted 1,010 names for three unnamed streets since Aug. 22.

Eugene Weekly took a look at the list of names, and we’ve found some front-runners. Something Oregon Ducks-related is in the lead with 32 submissions. This includes names like Puddles, Webfoot or anything with Ducks.

At 31 submissions, Steve Prefontaine’s memory is in the run at second place. In third place with 24 votes is former Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota. Twenty-three submissions honor the Kalapuyans, whose traditional homelands are the Willamette Valley. There are 14 votes to name one of the streets after former President Barack Obama, as well as the Mims family and local author Ken Kesey.

Some residents have been creative with their names, too. Sure, there’s a chance of Obama Way, but a few residents offered up Trump Way, MAGA Street or Freedom Street. One submission seems to be looking back to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s naughty collegiate history by suggesting “Devil’s Triangle.” Surprisingly, a Phil Knight-related street has only a few submissions, and apparently Mark Frohnmayer has a few fans — Arcimoto has two submissions.

Of course, some uncreative submissions have put forth the run-down joke Roady McRoadface.

Street name ideas are due on Engage Eugene by 5 pm Friday, Sept. 13. Street name ideas have to fall under three categories: community/culture, ecology/river and industry/energy. When the name submission period ends, names will be reviewed and narrowed down. Beginning at the Sept. 22 Sunday Streets event, community members will then vote for six finalists; this period ends 5 pm Oct. 11.

Mayor Lucy Vinis will decide the fates of the three street names from the six finalists in the fall.

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