Street name changes put brakes on confusion

A route through Carson City that once took a driver down streets with several names now involves just two street names.

The city recently installed College Parkway and Fairview Drive signs that replaced Graves Lane and a portion of Edmonds Drive along the roadway that forms a loop around the east section of the city.

Some residents were for it and others were against it. A group of officials wanted to call the entire stretch the "Capital Parkway." Members of the Regional Transportation Commission recommended using existing names - just fewer of them - and the Board of Supervisors gave the concept a green light in July 2004 for sign changes in January 2005.

The change was postponed because mail notifications didn't happen right away, and the need for a long adjustment period was important, said Matt Forest, the city's geographic information systems coordinator.

Confusion was the driving force of the street name changes. And for those driving ambulances, police cars and fire trucks confusion could become dangerous for the people they were trying to reach, Forest said.

Explaining the procedure more thoroughly isn't that easy, said Larry Werner, city engineer, who has lived in Carson for about 30 years.

Under the former system, West College Parkway turned to East College Parkway at North Carson Street. Past Goni Way, the street would become East Graves Lane. Now it is all College Parkway.

At Highway 50 East the street was North Edmonds Drive, then South Edmonds Drive, then Fairview Drive. Now it is all Fairview Drive, from Highway 50 to South Carson Street. The lower portion of Edmonds Drive remains nearby, however.

For now, Werner said he believes this will be the biggest street names revision for a while, though eventual thought might be given to changing the north-south stretch called Emerson Drive, North Roop Street, South Roop Street then Silver Sage Drive, for example.

Many area maps and the online services MapQuest still need to be updated, though most of the street signs now have been replaced. Some of the East College Parkway signs remain, for example.

Telling friends how to reach places in these areas will be much less confusing, Werner said.

"It's only two street names to look for now," he said.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215