Tallahassee to rework street naming powers amid tension over proposed Althea Gibson Way

The city of Tallahassee is proposing a new ordinance to allow them the final say on city road renaming.

City commissioners are considering amending the Tallahassee Land Development Code that would change the structure and order of road renaming.

These prospective changes come after a tense back and forth between city and county commissions over the renaming of Wahnish Way to Althea Gibson Way. The county voted against a formal renaming and instead is pursuing honorary signage.

As it stands now, any street name changes initiated by either the city or the county get directed to the county administrator who routes it to the Address Steering Committee, with the final stop being a vote from the county.

If passed, the ordinance would make it so the city would direct road names changes within the incorporated areas of Leon County to the city manager, instead of the county administrator. Commissioners would also take immediate action by directing staff to make Althea Gibson Way happen.

The city was to host a public hearing for the proposed ordinance at their next commission meeting, which is Wednesday, April 24. However, it was deleted from the agenda and is rescheduled for the May 8 meeting.

'Blowing things up for political reasons'

The city's new proposed ordinance comes amid tension between the sibling governments over a specific road renaming.

FAMU approached the city last October with the idea to rename a portion of Wahnish Way, from FAMU Way to Orange Avenue, which the city voted to initiate the renaming process. The portion of Wahnish Way was apparently shortened to include Bragg Memorial Stadium to Orange Avenue by the time the county administrator received it.

At their March 19 meeting, the county commission were presented the resolution to rename the road, which had changed once more to span the entirety of Wahnish Way. Staff explained to commissioners that county law requires renaming of "the entire street."

Commissioners, led by Commissioner Bill Proctor, voted against the renaming, with Proctor saying he was comfortable with a section but not the whole.

Mayor John Dailey, at the city commission's March 27 meeting, pointed the finger at Proctor as the reason the road renaming did not pass but said the city would make it happen. He even sent a letter to FAMU President Larry Robinson to assure him the road renaming would go through.

"I agree I think we're at an interesting point right now when you have a unanimous decision not only by the Board of Directors of FAMU but from the City of Tallahassee, and you have an individual who can blow things up for political reasons at the county," Dailey said at the time.

"I think it's time for us to reevaluate that situation and that we move forward in conjunction with FAMU and that we rename the road."

If you go

• The Tallahassee City Commission meets at 3 p.m. in City Hall, 300 S. Adams St.

• A public hearing on other matters is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at [email protected] or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Proposed Tallahassee local law could give street naming power to city