Drivers in Leander will no longer see signs denoting roadways Old FM 2243 West or Nameless Road inside city limits.
Leander City Council voted to rename Old FM 2243 West, and a portion of Nameless, to Hero Way West during a May 18 meeting.
The origins of the new name stretch back to November 2014 when city staff began to notify property owners of the proposed renaming of Old FM 2243 West to Hero Way. The current Hero Way runs from US 183 east to Ronald Reagan Boulevard, and Old FM 2243 West runs west of US 183 and later becomes Nameless Road.
After further evaluation, city staff discovered that naming the entirety of the roadway Hero Way would cause all the addresses on the roadway to be renumbered, City Engineer Wayne Watts told council members during the May 18 meeting. City staff determined that renaming the roadway Hero Way West would allow nearly all existing street address numbers to remain unchanged.
The only existing street number addresses that will change are 11 addresses west of the street Honeycomb Mesa, Watts said.
Leander city staff determined that renaming Old FM 2243 West to Hero Way West would allow nearly all but 11 existing street address numbers to remain unchanged.[/caption]
He said a decision on whether to rename the roadway was needed from City Council because of construction along Old FM 2243 West. The city has been expanding the roadway between US 183 and a location west of North Lakeline Boulevard since January 2016, and city staff needed to begin ordering street signs and traffic signals for the expanded roadway, Watts said.
“We need to know what the council wants us to do; do we want this to be Hero Way West, do we want this to remain Old [FM] 2243 West?” he said.
Leander resident Jody Giddens said he lives along Old FM 2243 West/Hero Way West/Nameless Road, and he and his family wish to keep the historical roadway name.
“I prefer to remain Nameless,” he joked.
Council members voted 5-1 in favor of renaming the roadway Hero Way West, with Council Member Troy Hill voting against. Leander Mayor Chris Fielder recused himself from the discussion and voting, since he owns a business on Old FM 2243 West.
Several miles of Nameless stretch outside of the city limits of Leander, but the change only applies inside of the city limits, Watts said.
Once a road is renamed, the U.S. Postal Service will continue to deliver mail to the former addresses for up to one year, according to city documents.
City staff will now begin the notification process for all impacted parties on Old FM 2243 West, and the necessary local, state and federal entities, according to the city.