Phoenix may officially rename Broadway Road after MLK Jr.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix City Council will consider Wednesday if it wants to begin the process of officially changing the name of Broadway Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The council will review a petition filed by Phoenix resident Joanne Scott Woods about the potential name change.

The petition requested that Councilwoman Kate Gallego and Councilman Michael Nowakowski begin a study on the feasibility of renaming the roadway for the civil rights icon.

If the council supports the change, the petition requested it be done within the next two years. However, a staff recommendation said the council should inform Woods of the name-change process before deciding.

Two years ago, Phoenix renamed Broadway Road after King and put up signs, but officially the road remains Broadway.

The change will have to clear a couple big hurdles to become a reality. Seventy-five percent of registered owners, residents and neighborhood associations within at least the nearest one-eighth of a mile would have to approve the switch.

The city said that step would require nearly 1,000 people be contacted.

Should enough people give it a thumbs up, the new name would have to get the nod from the Maricopa County staffers.

Only then would it go back to the city council for a formal vote.

But there could be a workaround. Under city code, the mayor or three councilmembers could move to immediately begin the change process if the name is found to be derogatory or offensive.

Woods argued that Broadway Road was named for Maricopa County Sheriff Noah Broadway, who fought for the Confederate Army.

It was estimated changing the street signs between 48th Street and 91st Avenue would cost the city about $200,000. It was immediately unknown what the cost to businesses would be to update their addresses and advertising materials.

It would likely cost very little for residents to change their address.

Other government agencies, including the county and state department of transportation, would also have to pay to change signage.

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