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Name the Newtown Pike Extension

NAME IT!
What would you call Newtown Pike Extension?
 Councilmember Tom Blues, whose district includes the new Newtown Pike Extension, came up with the idea for a naming contest for the new Newtown Pike Extension. Mayor Newberry says, “This road has been on the drawing board for decades,” Newberry said.  “Now it’s moving ahead, but it needs a new name, so we’re asking the public for ideas, and then putting the decision to a vote.”
Councilman Blues photographed by Ace last year at the announcement that the Newtown Pike Extension utility lines would be buried.
Enhanced 9-1-1 regulations will not permit the road to be called Newtown Pike Extension. The city wants to be sure that street addresses are not confusing.
Citizens are invited to submit their ideas for the road’s name on the city’s website by Wednesday, Aug. 18.  Go to www.lexingtonky.gov and click on  “Newtown Extension – Name it!”  Computers are available in public libraries and paper forms will be available in the lobby of the Government Center, 200 E. Main St.  The website, which will begin accepting entries at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, includes local naming guidlelines.
Working with Councilmember Blues, Mayor Newberry will appoint a committee that will choose the finalists by Aug. 20.  The community will then have until Aug. 27 to choose the winner by voting.  Again votes will be accepted electronically through the website or by paper ballot available in the Government Center lobby.
State funding of approximately $18 million has enabled the city to complete the first phase of the road between Main Street and Versailles Road in time for the opening of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Sept. 25.
In the future, the new road will be an important new gateway into south Lexington and to the University of Kentucky. It will ultimately stretch from West Main Street, where Newtown Pike now ends, to Broadway. A second prong, along what is now Scott Street, will end at South Limestone Street at the main entrance to the University of Kentucky.
For the most part, Newtown Pike Extension is a four-lane boulevard with bike lanes. It will significantly reduce downtown congestion and also support Lexington’s downtown development plan.
Readers have already made multiple suggestions to Ace, including: Sam Barnes Way, Melvin Turpin Boulevard, and several others. It will also be a category in this year’s Best of Lex Ballot, on stands August 5. Follow Ace Best of Lex on Twitter  for regular updates and to make recommendations.

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