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October 17, 2007· scvtalk.com · PHP-Nuke (SCVTalk 1.0) · Wayback capture

City wants to rename remainder of San Fernando Road

Were you one of those people who didn't like the city renaming San Fernando Road in Downtown Newhall to Main Street? Were you incensed when the city suggested it would change Magic Mountain Parkway into Santa Clarita Auto Center Drive? Are you still a bit confused about all the name-changin' going on, wondering where it will end? Well the city has another name-change proposal for you to consider. They'd like to rename San Fernando Road from Magic Mountain Parkway all the way to 11th Street and Railroad Avenue in Newhall to Bouquet Canyon Road. Yes you read that right. In a press-release that's just begging to be lampooned in one of my humor articles, the City is asking for your input on just that.

"Bouquet Canyon Road may extend into Newhall if residents and property owners agree. The City of Santa Clarita is considering changing the name of San Fernando Road, from Magic Mountain Parkway to 11th Street and for all of Railroad Avenue, and would like the public to attend a community meeting on Monday, November 5, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall," the press release states. Look, I dig the desire to change street names. Most of our street's names were created in the dark days of Los Angeles County control. Those outsiders screwed up "Lyons" Avenue by ommitting the apostrophe from Sanford Lyon's last name. They changed Newhall's main drag from Spruce Street to San Fernando Road way back in the day, and I'm sure there's a whole list of other street names imposed on us from Downtown Los Angeles that don't really make sense. Reclaiming some of these streets as our own and giving them authentic SCV names is a fine idea to consider. I would have liked Main Street to be renamed Spruce Street as it was decades ago, but I'm not upset about it. However, this proposal isn't very well thought out. For as long as I've lived here, the four major communities of the SCV have been tied to the major streets that run through them. For Newhall, it's obviously Lyons Avenue. For Canyon Country, it's always been Soledad, Whites, and Sierra Highway. For Valencia it's always been McBean and Valencia Blvd. And for Saugus, Bouquet Canyon is the main drag. More than that, the name "Bouquet" does have an interesting history in the SCV , one that ties it to Saugus, not Newhall. The word itself is a misrepresentation of what the area was originally called. Way back in 1843, a French Sailor named Francisco Chari bought a ranch in the area and named it "Rancho Del Buque," or "Ship Ranch" in honor of his time as a sailor. That somehow got changed to Bouquet at some time in the past, and since then, Bouquet Canyon Road is Saugus and Saugus is Bouquet Canyon Road. Put another way, I doubt the city would ever consider renaming Valencia Blvd to Soledad Canyon Road, even though those two streets are the same. Nor would it, I hope, change all of Lyons Avenue to Pico Canyon Blvd. That wouldn't make sense, would it? So why does renaming SFR to Bouquet Canyon Road? All these street name changes mark an interesting time for Santa Clarita. Our leaders are trying to shape our identity decades after the foundation of this area was formed. It's a tough, almost no-win position they're putting themselves in. We should at least be thankful they're not considering changing SFR to Buck McKeon Parkway or Valencia Acura Way, but I think they can do better than this. What do you think?
CITY TO HOST COMMUNITY MEETING FOR STREET NAME CHANGE Portion of San Fernando Road May Become Bouquet Canyon Road Bouquet Canyon Road may extend into Newhall if residents and property owners agree. The City of Santa Clarita is considering changing the name of San Fernando Road, from Magic Mountain Parkway to 11th Street and for all of Railroad Avenue, and would like the public to attend a community meeting on Monday, November 5, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Century Room, located on the first floor of City Hall. “The community meeting is an opportunity for affected business owners, property owners and residents along this portion of the road to get involved and voice their concerns and comment on the project before anything changes,” commented Mayor Marsha McLean. The City and Redevelopment Agency are implementing various aspects of the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan, which was adopted in December of 2005, and calls for changing the street name of San Fernando Road and providing continuity with any proposed street name changes. On September 11, 2007, the City Council voted to change San Fernando Road to Main Street for the roadway between 5th Street and Lyons Avenue. The third and final phase of the street name change is to rename San Fernando Road, from 5th Street south to State Highway 14, to Newhall Avenue. Once completed in 2008, motorists will be able to travel directly into Old Town Newhall on Newhall Avenue. For more information, please contact Alex Hernandez, City Administrative Analyst at (661) 286-4030 or visit www.santa-clarita.com.

Comments (3)

  1. mikeOctober 17 at 10:28 AM PT
    I'm in favor, and I think it's one of the smarter things that the city has contemplated. We have the familiarity that comes with living here for so long, but mastering the roads in Santa Clarita is a difficult task. My wife, who has lived here for eight years, still can't make sense of how some of the major roads relate to one another. It's bad enough that our major roads change cardinal direction in way that is clear only to a map-reader. On top of that, we have so many major roads changing names without reason and with little notice. It was a good 12 years before I even realized that Bouquet Canyon didn't end at Valencia/Soledad. I've you're to parody something, our current situation of sudden name changes is far more absurd than the city's desire to fix it, however gun-shy they appear.
  2. MorningstarrOctober 18 at 7:21 AM PT
    Well if you are a business owner along that stretch of the road, I'm sure you will be thrilled to purchase new stationary, new listings, new ad pages, etc. And, for the rest of you, make sure you toss out that Thomas guide every year, just so you can find your way around town. But what's $60k+ to the City? But better to call it the Frank Ferry Expressway. Can't they just do a non-binding resolution instead? Lame
  3. BillOctober 20 at 5:20 PM PT
    I think Morningstarr hit the nail on the head. The people most effected by this (The businesses) should have the most input on a name change. They are the ones that are going to spend the most money out of their pockets to make the change. In the past whey we had area code changes on our phone numbers we had to change all the letterhead, invoices, business cards and all the rest. Now some businesses may actually WANT to make the change and others may not. For the rest of us, well, honestly, how much is it going to really affect you? I for one will default to those of you that have a real passion for all this. I can afford a new map book and I get a new one every couple of years anyway. Bill

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