The University renamed the road in front of the LSU African American Cultural Center from one remembering Confederate admiral Raphael Semmes to Veterans Drive.
The renaming is one of two major changes coming to campus on Nov. 27 as part of the Comprehensive and Strategic Campus Master Plan that was approved at the Oct. 13 Board of Supervisors meeting. Buildings on campus are having physical addresses added, and streets around campus will be renamed, according to a University press release.
The renaming of Raphael Semmes is part of the University’s commitment to honoring the armed forces, said LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard.
“Raphael Semmes Road will be named Veterans Drive,” Ballard said in a statement. “The street will be home to LSU’s new Veterans Center, and is consistent with other military memorials in the area, such as Memorial Tower, Memorial Oak Grove [and] Veterans’ Memorial on the Parade Ground. LSU continues to pay homage to those who risked their lives [for] our nation.”
The addresses and street name changes are the result of the Master Plan’s Roadway Naming Modernization Plan, according to the press release. The goal of this plan is to cohesively improve way-finding on campus and help the University move toward a GPS-based address numbering system, which includes coordinates to main entrances and service entrances to make navigation easier for emergency services, deliveries and directions for those on campus.
The criteria for the street renaming is laid out in the Roadway Naming Modernization Plan. The plan was designed by the Office of Planning,
Design and Construction, and evaluates the names of all roadways to develop a systematic approach to more appropriate, long-term street names. According to the plan’s documents, in many cases, the current roadway names were determined without appropriate input and thoughtfulness from the University. Some roads are named for people, while others are named for surrounding geography or buildings. The plan also notes terms like “street,” “road,” “lane,” “drive” and “avenue” were not used with any systematic approach or criteria.
The plan establishes new criteria for naming streets, with the term “road” given to primary roads through campus, and “drive” given to secondary roadways with multiple intersections. “Lane” refers to generally straight tertiary roads that begin and end at an intersection. “Circle” denotes tertiary roadways beginning and ending at intersections, but follow a generally curved path.
The Office of Planning, Design and Construction also conducted research on the backgrounds of individuals who have campus roadways named after them to determine their connection to the University and its mission. After discovering the vast majority had little to no direct connection or significance to the University, it was recommended that the streets be renamed to something more generic to allow for something more appropriate in the future, according to the Renaming Plan document. The one exception to these findings is Skip Bertman Drive, because it is the most recent road to be renamed with appropriate consideration. Additional changes being made include renaming Ceba Lane to Engineering Lane and Nicholson Drive Extension to South Quad Lane.
The Renaming plan will work in conjunction with the addressing effort to allow for a one-time campus mapping and signage update. This allows building occupants to only need one update to their address, and provides a future naming structure relating to the Comprehensive Mobility Plan included in the Comprehensive and Strategic Master Plan.
Ballard said the changes are already occurring, so the change should be noticeable soon.
“Changing the signs only takes a few days, so students should see the changes in the next week or so,” Ballard said.
Renaming of Raphael Semmes Road among initiatives to modernize roadways at LSU
November 30, 2017
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