Putnam Rules On Road Names May Be Changed

A rule change on the naming of roads in Putnam County may be on the way.

Commissioner Jonathan Williams said current practices allow roads to have the same primary name but a different secondary title. For example, Tennessee Avenue versus Tennessee Drive.

“I think it is a practice that we need to end,” Williams said. “It’s not only confusing to emergency services, who need to find addresses quickly, it’s confusing to delivery people and confusing to people that are new to the area or visiting the area.”

Commission Chair Mike Atwood suggested a Rules Committee discussion last week over the matter. Williams said with his new appointment to that committee, he plans to address the issue through that venue.

“We would just need to change the rule so that we no longer allow new streets to be added that have similar or matching names,” Williams said. “So we need to just create some kind of rule to disallow that and to encourage it into another direction, so if a new subdivision is built, perhaps if they want something similar they can choose a theme.”

Williams said the ruling has been on his mind for some time, but over the past year, subdivisions have seemed to match road names more often. The Putnam Commission approved two new roads in a subdivision with the same name Monday.

“It once again brought the issue forward, so I voiced my objection during the meeting, and it seemed like it got good reception,” Williams said. “Even though we went ahead and approved the two roads, there did seem to be some willingness to look at it and make some changes.”

Williams said he does not have a time frame for when a rule change would be discussed as the committee chair would need to call a meeting. Williams said, “I think it is something that would be addressed sooner rather than later.”