There are other things to consider.
Councilwoman Canady, who represents The Paseo, indicated that the majority of residents who live on it are opposed to the name change. Councilman Wagner said he walked The Paseo to talk to residents and discovered that many were unaware the name change was being discussed. Both council members complained that the City's official process had not been followed.
A city ordinance requires that 75 percent of residents living on the street being considered for a name change must consent. That ordinance was ignored.
Wagner also pointed out that there has been a city park honoring Dr. King since 1978, so the idea that Kansas City had done nothing to honor Dr. King was incorrect.
https://kcparks.org/places/king-martin- ... jr-square/
Mayor James also formed a citizens commission to hold public hearings to study the matter and make recommendations. Based on feedback from residents the commission recommended that the new airport terminal was the preferred choice. There didn't appear to be any widespread opposition to that choice.
Without giving consent, Paseo residents will have to change voter registration, kids' school files, addresses on driver's licenses, bank accounts, print new checks, credit cards, utility addresses, mortgage statements, any loans, titles on property and cars, insurance policies, magazine subscriptions, social security and Medicare, investments, pensions, refile paperwork for Section 8 housing, food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid, employee records for taxes, doctors and hospital records for billing, as well as updating their mailing address with the three big credit bureaus.
There are residents living in Riverview Gardens public housing on the north end of The Paseo that are new-immigrants, and refugees, that don't speak English well yet. They barely have learned to navigate life here, and they will have to have someone help them update all their personal records--including immigration.
They will have to pay fees for reprinting checks, issuing new driver's licenses, and new title and registration fees.
Some of these residents have the lowest incomes in our city, or are on fixed incomes. Some are barely scraping by. Some go to food banks because they don't have the money to eat all month. Some go without eating the last few days of the month already. They have trouble paying their electric and water bills. Some of their kids don't have proper coats for winter. Many don't have home computers, or an internet connection, and use those at the public library.
They will have to pay fees to update records. Money some of them don't have. A household with four licensed drivers will pay $108.60 to get duplicate cards made. Then there are additional fees to change titles on property, and update vehicle registrations.
Some of them are senior citizens and might need someone to help them update everything.
None were asked to give their consent.
I can only imagine how many records a business would have to change.