Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

City sets boundaries for South Church Street name




This section of Shelbyville Pike is being renamed South Church Street. MURFREESBOROJason Reynolds

This section of Shelbyville Pike is being renamed South Church Street. MURFREESBOROJason Reynolds

Officials are hoping to answer one question that has been debated for some time: Where does South Church Street end and Shelbyville Pike begin?

The Murfreesboro Planning Commission and planners last Wednesday tackled that question and approved a name change.

North Church Street turns into South Church Street near the downtown square. It runs south away from downtown and past Interstate 24. Regardless of the name, the road is part of U.S. Route 231.

But where does it end? Does it end somewhere near Pad Thai Cafe? Does it end at Kroger at Innsbrooke Towne Square, or perhaps at the intersection with Veterans Parkway near where Toot’s South is located?

Based on staff recommendations, the commission decided South Church ends south of Veterans at the intersection with Joe B. Jackson Parkway. Everything past there will remain Shelbyville Pike.

The commission looked at a section of U.S. Route 231/State Route 10 that is about 1,600 feet in length, according to commission documents. It is bounded on the north by the intersection of Savannah Ridge/Lansdan Drive and on its south side by the intersection of Joe B Jackson Parkway/Lynnford Drive. City staff said they are not aware of any prior formal decision to settle the road’s local name.

The commission has final authority to settle city road names, with reasons for decisions based on public safety or the public welfare, officials said.

The businesses at the southeast and southwest corners of Savannah Ridge/Lansdan Drive and U.S. 231 (Camino Real and Exxon/On the Run) already have South Church Street addresses, the documents say.

Assistant Planning Director Matthew Blomeley said the commission was being asked to settle the name question because the city and county are buying new emergency service software. There are sometimes questions about the name of sections of major roads in Murfreesboro when the road runs into the county or there are sections where the city has annexed some of the land around the road.

“Staff proposes to change the name of this segment of the highway from Shelbyville Pike to South Church Street. Its intersection with Joe B Jackson Parkway/Lynnford Drive would be the point at which it formally becomes Shelbyville Pike,” documents say. “Joe B. Jackson Parkway, a major arterial, forms a logical and recognizable intersection for the street to change names from South Church Street, which is associated with the more urban development of the City, to Shelbyville Pike, which is associated with the more rural development of the unincorporated County.”

At one point, businesses in the same block have addresses split between South Church and Shelbyville Pike, Blomeley said. Emergency services officials said setting a defined point like Joe B. Jackson for the name change would make it easier to remember.

The commission held a public hearing last Wednesday about the name change, but no one showed up to discuss the matter. Rutherford County Planning Director Doug Demosi attended the Murfreesboro Planning Commission meeting as he was involved in helping settle the matter, Blomeley said.

Rutherford County Emergency Communications District wrote a letter in support of the name change.

Blomeley asked the commission to give staff flexibility to set a date for the name to change, to be set sometime after Jan. 1 to avoid the holidays. The commission unanimously approved the change.

Leave a Reply