CHS students want part of street renamed

Cape Girardeau Central High School students want a section of Silver Springs Road near their school renamed Tiger Pride Drive, Tiger Trail or even Jungle Trail in honor of the school mascot.

Student Senate members are expected to personally make the request at tonight's city council meeting. City officials said about 70 students may crowd the council chambers.

Katie Porter, Student Senate president, said her group believes renaming the street would promote school spirit and community pride. "We just think it would be really awesome," she said.

Ironically, the request will come on the night that Mayor Jay Knudtson is scheduled to don a red Jackson High School jersey in recognition of the rival school's recent football victory over Cape Girardeau Central High School.

Knudtson said he's "all for school spirit" but doesn't know if the council should rename the stretch of Silver Springs Road running from Mount Auburn Road to South Kingshighway. The high school is located at 1000 S. Silver Springs Road.

City officials said renaming a section of Silver Springs Road may create confusion, particularly for visitors.

"We typically don't name a section of the street something different than the through street," the mayor said.

But Porter doesn't believe it would be confusing because Silver Springs Road already makes a sharp turn at the intersection with Mount Auburn Road. "There is a stop sign right there. It is kind of like Silver Springs Road is two roads, not one," she said.

City manager Doug Leslie said several streets in Cape Girardeau have commemorative names. They include Kiwanis Drive and Rush H. Limbaugh Jr. Memorial Drive. But Leslie said those streets weren't previously named and each of the commemorative names was applied to an entire street, not a section of road.

Leslie suggested in an agenda letter to the council that the three other property owners along that section of street should be contacted to see if they have any concerns about a possible change in the street name.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123