Who signs off on changing a street name like Troost Avenue? Here’s a look at what it takes

Troost Avenue may be the next major thoroughfare in Kansas City to be renamed to address its controversial namesake.

Over the last few years, Some Kansas City residents have called for major streets like Blue Parkway to be renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and for W. 43rd Terrace to be renamed Steptoe Street, to honor that the area was historically an antebellum African American neighborhood near present-day Westport and the Country Club Plaza.

Last month, the Kansas City Council passed a resolution to gather feedback on whether to change the name of Troost Avenue, Kansas City’s 10.7-mile dividing line named after Dr. Benoist Troost. Troost was Kansas City’s first resident physician and enslaved at least six Black people in 1850.

“The removal of symbols to a racist past is a significant step in a healing process that seeks a more just future,” the resolution reads.

The feedback will help inform whether the city will move forward on a name change, a process that can take a significant amount of funding and community buy-in, according to city officials.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s needed to change a major street name in Kansas City.

Community support

Ruby Jean’s Juicery owner Chris Goode hopes to change the name of Troost Avenue to Truth Avenue.

Public Works Director Michael Shaw said for a street name to be changed at least 70% of the residents on the street need to agree to the change.

Goode, whose business is located at 30th Street and Troost Avenue, began the push to change the name of Troost Avenue a year ago by starting an online petition that has nearly 1,700 signatures.

“I appeal passionately to you all to help our city turn the page on this more than a century-old chapter,” Goode said in his Change.org petition. “Dr. Benoist Troost shouldn’t be celebrated in any capacity and he certainly shouldn’t be celebrated on one of the most well-known avenues our city has ever housed.”

This isn’t Goode’s first time petitioning the city to rethink who is honored by its streets and monuments.

As a former member of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Board of Commissioners, Goode pushed for J.C. Nichols’ name to be stripped from the fountain in Mill Creek Park and for the creation of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on a 5-mile stretch along Brush Creek.

He said the first step to getting a major street name changed is to create awareness.

In his effort as a private citizen to change the name of Troost, Goode said the first thing he did was send a memo to city officials, local business owners, community organizations and residents along Troost Avenue.

His goal was to share the history behind Dr. Benoist Troost and his vision for renaming the major street. Next, he organized two community meetings in the last year to gather input from more than 100 people.

“We actually collaborated, we proposed ideas and, you know, encouraged people to expand the thought and invited all who wanted to attend,” Goode said. He launched the online petition to garner even more support.

The city council gets to decide

After noticing how many community members were interested in a name change, 3rd District Councilwoman Melissa Robinson decided to sponsor a resolution to create a landing page to gather feedback from residents, business owners and property owners concerning the renaming of Troost Avenue.

Robinson said that feedback will help council members draft an ordinance for the renaming of Troost and consider community concerns in the process.

“After we receive that feedback, our plan is to introduce the ordinance that would change the name from Troost to Truth Avenue,” Robinson said.

There is no set deadline for when that ordinance will be introduced, Robison said. However, the resolution passed in May required the city manager’s office to bring the findings from that landing page back to the city council by July 9.

“I would want to know what people who actually live on the street, what their challenges would be, what their pain points are,” Robinson said.

If the ordinance passes, then the city’s Public Works Department will take steps to order and replace street signs and change individual addresses, according to Robinson.

In some cases, the decision to change a street name lies with the city’s Park and Recreation Department, which makes decisions on streets that are boulevards and parkways, according to Shaw.

How much does it cost to change a street name?

Shaw said the cost of changing a street depends on the length of the street and the cost of labor to replace the street signs.

He said since Troost Avenue is nearly 11 miles long, it could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to rename it.

According to the ordinance to rename W. 43rd Terrace to Steptoe Street, changing the street signs cost the city $50,000 for less than a one-mile stretch.

To ease the financial burden of changing the name of Troost, Goode has raised $10,000 from the Health Forward Foundation to help spread awareness of the initiative. The Health Forward Foundation supports health equity projects throughout the region.

If the ordinance to change the name of Troost is approved, funding for the switch will come from the Public Works Department.

Shaw said funding the proposal will be doable, but it won’t be cheap. He said his department won’t know how much the renaming will cost until it’s decided how much of Troost will be renamed–the council could decide to only change the name of a portion of the street.

How long does it take to change addresses?

If Goode’s initiative to change the name of Troost to Truth is successful, changing the addresses at the U.S. Postal Service will happen rather quickly, according to Shaw.

It will be on individual residents and businesses to change their address on important documents. Residents will have to update their driver’s licenses, passports, and other documents. Business owners will have to update their business cards, other promotional materials and paperwork.

“If I live at 123 Troost and it’s on a checkbook, that’s got to change. There is no more 123 Troost Avenue, (it’ll be) 123 Truth Avenue,” Shaw said.

Why rename Troost?

In the late 19th century, Troost Avenue was a place wealthy families sought after but over time that changed. By 1934, the Federal Housing Administration basically codified the practice of redlining when it refused to insure mortgages in and around Black neighborhoods and subsidized the creation of white-only subdivisions.

In Kansas City, racially restrictive covenants led to two housing markets divided by race. Historically, housing advertising in The Star carefully specified properties as east or west of Troost Avenue, which is now the boundary of racial separation in Kansas City. According to Goode, many people still define the avenue as a marker for the “haves and have-nots.”

Goode said he thinks that view of Troost Avenue is outdated and harmful.

“These definitions in my mind don’t define what this stretch is today. These definitions don’t mention the miles-long prayer chain which stretched down Troost Ave. These definitions don’t mention the hundreds of millions of dollars in development that have taken place and continue to roll out,” Goode said in his Change.org petition.

So far, Goode and Robinson said they haven’t heard much negative feedback yet about the potential name change. Goode said one common concern is that changing the name of major streets and monuments can “erase history,” but he said he doesn’t believe that’s the case.

“I think it’s just important to dispel the notion that history exists on street signs and monuments,” Goode said. “When those street signs come down, he’ll still have a Wikipedia page. When those street signs come down, he’ll still be somewhere in the archives.”

Cortlynn Stark contributed to this story.