Petition Begun to Restore Market Street Name

A petition drive was launched Friday to change the name of Martin Luther King Jr. Way back to Market Street.

Members of the Keep Market Street Committee said the historical significance of Market Street motivated them to seek the citywide vote next year. To qualify the measure for the November, 1987, ballot, 55,000 signatures must be obtained by March 15.

The City Council approved the name change in April with the provision that it would become fully effective in a year and a half. In July, the council nixed the Keep Market Street Committee’s request to put the issue on next month’s ballot.

“We figured we weren’t going to get anywhere with the City Council, so we decided on this route,” said Wanda Williams, part owner of Chastain Signs at 19th Street and Martin Luther King Way and a member of the committee. “It’s the idea of history, that’s our only motivation for protesting this change. There are shops along this street that have been here 60, 70 years. We don’t want to see San Diego lose something more from its history, it has so little left, what with the renovation of the Gaslamp District and them tearing down all the old buildings.”

Other complaints lodged against the name change include those by businessmen citing the cost of reprinting catalogues and stationery, and by senior citizens who live along the street. They contend that the change would create a two- to three-month delay in the direct deposit of their Social Security checks.

Street signs with the new name are now in place above the old ones, but the official changeover will not be effective until next fall.

“We are expecting a good response to this petition drive, and are aiming for more like 70,000 signatures,” Williams said. “From the turnout we had when this went through council, it’s obvious people are interested in this issue, that there are people who value the heritage of San Diego.”

A spokesman for San Diego City Councilman William Jones--who was vocal in his support for the name change--said the committee’s continuing efforts on this issue came as no surprise.

“They told the council that if it did not reverse their decision they would pursue this line of action,” said Rich Juarez, Jones’ executive assistant. “This really doesn’t come as any surprise, but I can’t really say how successful they’ll be in getting all those names. That’s a lot of signatures.”