Word on the street? Carson mayor would like it to be him

Late-night TV show host Conan O’Brien wants one. Long-ago real estate developer George Crenshaw actually got one.

So why shouldn’t Carson Mayor Jim Dear get a street named after him?

Dear wants to have a main boulevard at a proposed development next to the 405 Freeway near Del Amo Boulevard named after him. The site is a former dump, and the street the mayor is eyeing is known as Lenardo Drive.

Carson’s City Council was divided 2-2 last week when Dear asked that the planning commission be directed to approve the name change. Dear continued the item until Oct. 4, when the fifth council member — one of his supporters — will be present.

But “Jim Dear Boulevard” was protested by some at the council session. “The only thing that should be named after you is a plaque at the cemetery,” said one resident, quoted in the local Daily Breeze newspaper.

Many cities, like Los Angeles, balk at naming streets and buildings for the living.

Exceptions can be made. Although L.A. officials have taken no action on the proposed “Conan O’Brien Boulevard,” they did create George Burns Road on the comedian’s 90th birthday in 1986.

As for “Jim Dear Boulevard,” developers of the Boulevards at South Bay project say they’d prefer to choose their own name for the street — one with “marketing/branding strength.”

Oh, dear.

bob.pool@latimes.com