Name change part of anniversary celebration plans
By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
Livingstone College officials want to change the name of Institute Street in Salisbury to “Livingstone College Way.”
Dr. Herman J. Felton Jr., vice president of institutional development at Livingstone, said Tuesday the college would like to improve Institute Street with sidewalks, lighting, maples and oaks to create a “promenade” into the college.
Livingstone College will be marking its 130th anniversary Feb. 5, and the name change would be part of celebrating that benchmark, according to Felton.
The “Institute” name for the street apparently refers to when the college was known as Zion Wesley Institute in its earliest history in Salisbury.
The street’s name change to Livingstone College Way would be more in line with the college that exists today, Felton said.
Institute Street extends from West Innes Street to West Monroe Street, where the Livingstone campus is located. Some 33 property owners along the street would be affected by a name change.
Several citizens expressed reservations about the name change Tuesday when the Salisbury Planning Board held a courtesy hearing.
Under the city’s naming and renaming policies, the Planning Board must first review requests before its recommendation goes to Salisbury City Council for final approval.
The new name also has to be cleared by Rowan County Emergency Services, which makes sure the name is not duplicated elsewhere; the city’s Technical Review Committee; and the N.C. Department of Transportation, if a state-maintained street is involved.
The city also requires a petition for a street name change to be signed by at least 75 percent of the property owners along the street.
Dorothy Campbell of 412 S. Institute St. said she wasn’t really opposed to the name change, but “we need to know more about what’s going on.”
While the college circulated a petition earlier, most of the people who signed were renters, not property owners, Campbell said. She also warned of a street about seven blocks away from Institute that’s already called “Livingstone Avenue.”
That small street has three houses, two of which are boarded up, and is located at the end of West Horah Street across Brenner Avenue.
“Can you imagine what our mail delivery will be like?” Campbell said of the possible confusion between a Livingstone College Way and Livingstone Avenue.
Blanche Sherrill of Monroe Street said the “Institute” name has historical value. If the street has to be renamed, she suggested that it recognize someone instrumental in the school’s founding.
Greta Conner, a Sedgefield Acres resident, expressed concern over two streets having close to the same name. She described the problems her neighborhood had in the confusion over Crestview Drive and Crestview Avenue.
Planning Board member Maggie Blackwell said she was torn about Livingstone’s request. She is supportive of the college, she said, but also respects history and the citizens’ concerns about their neighborhood.
Blackwell and Planning Board member Albert Stout said a petition signed by at least 75 percent of the property owners would be important for them in making a decision.
In the end Tuesday, the Planning Board tabled the renaming request until it received a petition.
Felton said the college will now try to obtain signatures of property owners only.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.