On August 24th, the Board of Supervisors voted 6-1 (Frazier) to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway to Patriot Highway in Spotsylvania. If the Board of Supervisors took no action to rename Jefferson Davis Highway, it would default to Emancipation Highway in 2022, based on General Assembly legislation.
Lee Hill Supervisor Gary Skinner has requested a substitute resolution be added to the September 28th Consent Agenda to rename Jefferson Davis Highway to Veterans Highway, rather than the previously approved Patriot Highway.
There were some Spotsylvania citizens that were advocating for the Board of Supervisors to reconsider the name change following their August 24th decision, due to the lack of community input in the process. The Board of Supervisors first discussed the renaming on February 9th when the General Assembly was finalizing the renaming legislation. There were no proactive efforts by the Board of Supervisors between February and September to solicit community feedback. Although that type of community participation may have been problematic due to the requirement that the Commonwealth Transportation Board approve the renaming, it could have been placed on the August 24th agenda which would have given the community a chance to speak publicly on the issue before any decision was made. That may have reduced the need for a new resolution following some community backlash.
There is a public comment period for all consent agenda items, where you can voice you opinion on this topic.
Click here to review Scott Shenk’s Free Lance-Star article for more details.