Blackfoot considering renaming historic Yellowstone Highway
BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - The city of Blackfoot is asking people what they think of renaming the historic Yellowstone Highway.
The road stretches from Pocatello through Blackfoot and Idaho Falls into Yellowstone National Park.
“It is our Route 66. It’s Idaho’s Route 66. It’s a historic road. It’s been there a long time,” said Blackfoot's planning and zoning administrator, Kurt Hibbert.
Over the decades, the name has changed in several locations. It currently has more than 15 names, according to the Blackfoot planning office.
In Blackfoot, the road goes by South Broadway Street, North West Main Street and Highway 91.
To capitalize on the touristy nostalgia, some neighbors proposed changing the road's name back to Yellowstone Highway like it was in 1942.
“From a traveling point it makes a lot of sense. From a business point, it makes great sense,” said Tish Dahmen, the director of the Idaho Potato Museum, which sits on NW Main St.
The disjointed road names make traveling confusing for tourists and hampers emergency services, Hibbert said.
Plus, the city has two 'Main Streets' that run perpendicular to each other, which causes a lot of confusion, Hibbert said.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of anomalies in the city of Blackfoot that we’re working on right now and identifying as well. This is just the first and probably most high-profile road that needs a little bit of attention,” Hibbert said.
On Jan. 28, the city held a public hearing for people to weigh in on the idea.
“We’ve received some excellent input. A lot of people who came out were very interested and some people were a little angry,” Hibbert said.
Some people responded that they didn't want to change their address.
“One of the best pieces of public input that I heard was, ‘I’ve had this address for 78 years, please don’t make me change it.’ From a sentimental standpoint, I totally understand that,” Hibbert said.
“Its good in the long term. In the short term, it’s a lot of work. A lot of work for businesses, a lot of work for residences and sometimes it’s a pretty big pill that people may not want to swallow,” Dahmen said.
Nothing is decided yet, not even whether to call it 'Old Yellowstone Highway' or 'Yellowstone Highway.'
The city is still taking public input. The planning department is conducting a study on how many addresses would be affected and whether they would have to change the numbers or just the street name.
Mayor Marc Carroll recently wrote to the mayors of cities where the highway passes through asking if they'd want to get on board with the change.
