Road Name Change Means Expense for Local Businesses
by Sean Maroney and Vicky Fernandez

Airport Road will become Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on May 8, the 45th anniversary of King’s visit to Chapel Hill. The name change will affect more than 800 residents and business owners.

“Just yesterday, I was at the bank trying to order new checks,” said Michael Stella, resident at the Mill Creek apartment complex. “They said, ‘We can get you a box of checks, but your road name is going to change in two months, and you’ll just have to throw away all the ones you haven’t used.’”

Students like Stella aren’t looking forward to the hassle associated with a change of address. Residents of the current Martin Luther King Jr. Road will also have to change their checkbooks, but some said the process won’t be a problem.

“It’s convenient for everybody,” said Pam Mayo, resident of Martin Luther King Jr. Road. “All you have to do is go on the website, punch it up and put it in…you don’t even have to leave your home.”

But some business owners on Airport Road said they do find this inconvenient, which they told the Chapel Hill Town Council.

“We did a packet and did 16 small businesses,” said local business owner Bruce Johnson. “[They] answered these questions and what it’s going to cost to do various things.”

Those business owners said it will cost them nearly $150,000. The folks in the Chapel Hill Town Hall are trying to reduce the impact.

“We realize that this is not going to be the easiest thing for people to go about changing their checkbooks and filling out other change of address forms,” said Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko. “That’s why we’re taking every step we can to try to make it as painless as possible.”

These steps include automatic address changes with major utility companies, one-year mail forwarding and updating the online directory Mapquest.com. Businesses, however, will have to go it alone to absorb the costs associated with the change.