The city of Durango launched a survey on Friday asking residents to share their name ideas for the street between Backcountry Experience and River City Hall off Camino del Rio.
The nameless street, which will soon be subdivided because of a property exchange between the city and Durango Fire Protection District, serves as an access road to DFPD’s downtown fire station, the Powerhouse Science Center and the Animas River Trail.
Naming the street is a part of the subdivision process, a city news release says. The city is inviting residents to participate in naming the street.
In the online survey, the city lists six street names as suggested by staff members and also includes a custom suggestion form if one wants to make their own pitch.
The suggested street names are:
- Electric Avenue
- Firepower Way
- West 12th Street
- Doughty Way
- Look Twice Way
- Get Out the Way, Way
The building swap between the city and DFPD involves a trade of River City Hall at 1235 Camino del Rio, owned by the city and leased to the fire department, for the former Durango School District 9-R administration building at 201 East 12th St. and owned by the fire department.
As part of the trade, the city agreed to also pay $3.6 million to DFPD.
DFPD is planning to construct a new fire station in place of the River City Hall city offices and fire station. It’s been on the search for a new location for decades, but after other opportunities fell through (including the former school district administration building), plans were solidified to rebuild a new downtown fire station where the current one stands.
“We are asking the community to join in the fun and help us narrow down some creative names through a survey,” the release says.
City spokesman Tom Sluis said in a text message to The Durango Herald the chance to have a say in a new street name has garnered interest in the community. Twelve hours after posting the survey announcement to Facebook, the city had already received 5,000 views.
Plans to release the survey, of course, were in place before the history-making victory of Sepp Kuss in the Vuelta a España’s general classification last month, he said.
Suggestions from Facebook users on the city’s post included “Sepp Kuss Way”; “Gallagher Way” in memory of DFPD fire training captain Scott Gallagher, who was killed by a drunken driver in a hit-and-run on Aug. 7 2022; “Veteran Way” in reference to the nearby Veterans Park; and “Hero’s Way” in reference to the downtown fire station.
Even “Streety McStreetface” received some support from users on the city’s Facebook post. The meme name is a reference to a survey gone hilariously wrong when the British Natural Environment Research Council outsourced name suggestions for a $287 million polar research vessel to the Internet and received an outpouring of votes for “Boaty McBoatface” as a result.
The survey closes on Oct. 18. It is available online on the city’s website at https://bit.ly/3PGkLzE.
cburney@durangoherald.com
