Voters reject plan to name streets in German municipality

BERLIN — Voters in a municipality in northwestern Germany have delivered a clear message: no street names, thanks.

Official results from a referendum held Sunday showed 60 percent of voters in Hilgermissen rejected the local council’s plan to name the streets, while 40 percent supported the proposal.

The proposed change was intended to make it easier for people — including police, emergency and delivery services — to find their way around the municipality of some 2,200 residents.

Hilgermissen was formed in the 1970s out of several villages. Addresses currently consist of a house number and the name of a former village, a system that has become more unwieldy as new buildings are added.

Three locals organized the referendum to oppose street names. Sunday’s result is binding for two years.