LaPorte considers renaming CR 54G
By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News
Should County Road 54G be christened with a new name? That's the question
currently before LaPorte residents, and there are strong opinions on both
sides of the issue.
The LaPorte Area Planning Advisory Committee decided in January there is
sufficient interest in changing the name to proceed with the process.
According to LAPAC chair Susanne Cordery-Cotter, the group will first solicit
more ideas for a new name. Anyone in the LaPorte community is welcome to
submit suggestions. People should submit name ideas, along with rationale
for the suggestions, to county planner Jill Bennett at 498-7689 or jbennett@larimer.org
or to Cordery-Cotter at 495-0931 or rccotter@juno.com. Sylvia Haun of LaPorte
noted that the issue affects all community residents, so input is encouraged.
At a Jan. 13 community meeting, LAPAC posted name suggestions that have
already been submitted by LaPorte residents and took a straw vote among
those present. Names that rose to the top were LaPorte Main Street, Colona
Gateway, Old Colona Road and LaPorte Gateway. LAPAC is now looking for
a few new names to add to this list.
After LAPAC narrows down the name possibilities, a mailing will go out
to home and business owners who have 54G addresses. Only these property
owners may vote on whether the name should be changed and which new name
they prefer if a change is made.
Haun and her husband, Asher, who own a business on 54G, are the official
proponents of a name change. If 54G residents vote to change the name,
the couple will carry the proposal to the county commissioners, who will
hold a public hearing and make a final decision. If a change is approved,
the county will install new road signs.
More than 30 people attended the meeting. About half did not want the hassle
and cost of dealing with a new address. The other half said that LaPorte,
with its long history, deserves a more interesting name for its main street.
Some proponents of change complained that emergency personnel and delivery
people have difficulty finding their addresses. "No one knows where 54G
is," said Cindy Roberts of the Plantorium.
"LaPorte is a very historic community, and the main street has a right
to have a significant name," said Haun. She added that it's important for
businesses to have an address with a LaPorte identity. "With County Road
54G, people automatically think you're off in the boonies someplace," she
said.
Cathy Thompson, co-owner of Overland Trail Shoppes along 54G, said, "I
think we need to look at the long term, that we do need a better name."
Other business owners along 54G do not want a change because it's expensive
to acquire new signage, checks and station-ery. Among those opposed are
Chad and Nikki Uthmann, who own two businesses on 54G and have experienced
the confusion a name change can cause.
"It takes many years to change state licenses," Nikki Uthmann said, and
there is still confusion about the change from U.S. Highway 287 to CR 54G.
One person at the meeting wanted a good estimate of the county's cost of
changing the name. Nedra Nauta of LaPorte said she thinks the county commissioners
have more important things to spend money on.
The name County Road 54G came into being in 1989, when the U.S. Highway
287 bypass was completed. Prior to that, the road through LaPorte was the
highway and bore its name. Since the change, many have referred to the
road as Old Highway 287.
About 200 properties have 54G addresses, according to Karlin Goggin, the
county addressing coordinator. The road is four miles long, beginning at
the U.S. Highway 287 bypass west of Shields Street and ending where it
meets the bypass northwest of LaPorte.
The process of changing a road name could be easier than it used to be.
According to Goggin, there is a new service for anyone with a new or changed
address. County staff notifies the 911 system, emergency service providers,
utility companies, the county assessor's office, the U.S. Postal Service
and other mail carriers so that the transition is a smooth one.
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