Northpinellas: Petition: Remove King's name

TARPON SPRINGS -- While Dunedin and Largo consider renaming roads to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a petition circulating in Tarpon Springs would do the reverse, renaming part of what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The part of the road in question is west of Pinellas Avenue to Whitcomb Bayou. In 1990, residents on that part of the road resisted putting King's name on their street, which was then called Lake Street.

Nearly 13 years later, resident Bob Jakeway says some of the homes have sold, but homeowners in the two-block stretch still don't like the name of their street. They want it to take the name of Whitcomb Boulevard, which wraps around Whitcomb Bayou.

Residents on the west end of the street are predominantly white, while residents on the east end of the street are predominantly black. During the 1990 debate, the fact that the street ran through both black and white neighborhoods was one reason city officials chose it to carry King's name.

Jakeway, who started the petition to rename part of the street, says the issue now is not about King or race.

"It's strictly a safety issue," said Jakeway, 58, a Verizon manager who lives in a three-story house on the south side of the street. "No one's being dishonored."

Jakeway collected 240 signatures on a petition in support of the change, and said people signed for many different reasons. His is that he worries emergency vehicles won't be able to find his house.

That's because Jakeway contends that the street name changes several times. It begins on the east side of U.S. 19 as Lake Street, then turns into E Martin Luther King Jr. Drive as it runs through Union Academy. When it crosses Pinellas Avenue and enters the neighborhood in question, the name becomes W Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

At the bayou, he said, the street becomes Whitcomb Boulevard as it curls around the water, then turns into Gulf Road all the way to Sunset Beach, except for one house which faces Gulf Road but has a Cleveland Place address.

"It's crazy," Jakeway said. His proposal would also change the one Cleveland Place address to Gulf Road.

About 20 homes on what is now W Martin Luther King Jr. Drive are affected, and all of the owners support the change, he said. "There is not one that doesn't want to change it."

Jakeway has spoken to each of the five current city commissioners, and plans to bring his issue before the board after the open commission seat is filled at the Feb. 4 special election. Residents are willing to pay for their own street signs, he said.

If the commission doesn't change the name, he will gather the signatures to force a referendum, he said.

Mayor Frank DiDonato said he would need input from police, the fire department and the community before forming an opinion. And if the city decides this street has too many names, it might want to look at other such streets at the same time, he said.

"It hasn't come forward yet," he said. "I'll probably make up my mind at the time."

Fire Chief Kevin Bowman said his department knows exactly where W Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is, and there is no safety issue there. In general, it's less confusing for a street to have fewer names. But 911 technology is speedy and effective, and even departments from other cities can find the street.

"It doesn't bother us what the name of the street is," he said. "We're going to get there."

City Commissioner David Archie, who supported the original change 12 years ago, hasn't decided how he feels about the idea. It's just preliminary discussion and the research has yet to be done, he said.

"I don't have a lot of information," he said. "I try to be open-minded."

Meanwhile, in the county's two largest cities without streets named for King, momentum is building to rename streets in his honor.

In Largo, the county's third-largest city, at least three city commissioners this week said they would support renaming Central Park Drive after King.

In Dunedin, Commissioner Bob Hackworth on Tuesday asked fellow commissioners to consider a similar move.

This is a big step for the two largely white cities as they follow cities such as St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Safety Harbor and Tarpon Springs in honoring the legacy of peace and racial equality that King stood for.

"We are living in exciting times of both reckoning and reconciliation," said Darryl Rouson, president of the St. Petersburg chapter of the NAACP. "This means that agencies of government and communities all across the country are enveloped in issues of sensitivity, diversity and cultural recognition, so it doesn't surprise me that, at this time, Largo and Dunedin would be reconsidering this issue."

In Dunedin, which is 94.9 percent white, it is Jackson Street that Hackworth is asking fellow commissioners to consider changing to honor King. Jackson Street is five blocks north of Dunedin's downtown and runs from Bayshore Boulevard a few blocks east to Douglas Avenue, where it dead-ends. The commissioner said the upcoming King holiday was an appropriate time to introduce the suggestion to change its name.

"It just occurred to me that the city of Dunedin has not joined the long list of cities that have given a tribute to Dr. King by renaming a road after him," Hackworth said. "And I think we should."

In Largo, the idea to rename Central Park Drive was suggested last week by Rodney Woods, a resident who addressed the City Commission after he read a Dec. 29 Times story that outlined a failed attempt to honor King with a street or celebration.

Mayor Bob Jackson and Commissioners Pat Gerard and Charlie Harper said they would support Woods' idea. Gerard asked that Woods' proposal be placed on next week's commission agenda.

The road passes through Largo Central Park, providing access to the city's library and Largo Cultural Center. Because it passes through the park, a limited number of businesses or homes would be affected by the change.

Largo has a population of nearly 70,000 that is nearly 92 percent white.

Woods, 45, is black and has lived in Largo for three years. He met with Jackson on Jan. 7 and the mayor persuaded Woods to address commissioners that night at their regular meeting.

Woods told commissioners he enjoys living in Largo and has never been mistreated because of his race.

"The city could really make a statement -- that we are really concerned -- and give (King) a prominent street in the city," Woods said.

-- Kelley Benham can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or benham@sptimes.com . Michael Sandler can be reached at (727) 445-4174 or sandler@sptimes.com . Leon M. Tucker can be reached at (727) 445-4167 or tucker@sptimes.com .

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