Proposal to Rename 16th Street, N.W.

A bill was introduced just before summer recess on Capitol Hill by Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX), who wants to rename the street Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

The bill has now been referred to the committee of Government Reform, headed by Virginia Congressman Tom Davis. Davis tells WTOP the bill is "ridiculous" and he plans to put it in the "appropriate file."

"We have named Ronald Reagan Airport, we have the Ronald Reagan building downtown, but I think if Congressman Bonilla wants to name anything else he has to look at his own district in San Antonio."

The bill is unfunded, which means it would be up to the District to pay for all the costs associated with a name change. WTOP has learned it would cost the city $1 million to change signs and addresses.

D.C. Council Member Adrian Fenty wrote a letter to Bonilla, Davis and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton expressing his objections.

"Not only does this 11th hour piece of legislation attempt to change the cultural landscape of one of the District's most historic and diverse roadways. It also neglects to take into consideration the wishes of thousands of those who live, work and go to school on 16th Street."

Mayor Tony Williams was never notified about the name change idea, and agrees with Fenty and Davis, saying a Ronald Reagan Boulevard "makes little sense."

"Sixteenth Street is one of our city's most prominent thoroughfares. It represents all presidents -- not just one president."

Sixteenth Street runs from the tip of the District to the White House.

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