Benton Circle to remain Benton Circle, thanks to Northeast’s neighbors
Loudmouths in the Northeast put a stop to the efforts of the commissioners of the Kansas City Parks Board to rename Benton Circle in honor of deceased neighborhood denizen Ruthanne Harper.
We covered the news of the Board’s plan to knock Thomas Hart Benton‘s name off the traffic circle roundabout back in July.
Northeast neighbors reached a compromise with the Parks Board at last week’s meeting and have agreed to instead name a portion of Gladstone Boulevard in Harper’s honor. Previously, the board agreed to rename Benton Circle in honor of Harper during a discussion that called for renovation to the traffic marker. Neighborhood leaders, bristling at the idea that Benton Circle’s name could be replaced without first consulting the area’s residents, formed the Save the Name Committee.
“It was the idea and the manner in which the Parks Board handled it that the neighborhood objected to,” writes Northeast resident David Remley via e-mail. “The Benton Circle has been called that for over 100 years. … In effect, the Parks Board changed its mind in response to neighborhood concerns and selected another way to honor Ruthanne that was acceptable to all.”
Meanwhile, the Benton Circle remains Benton Circle.
“I think the decision by the Parks Board was wise and will honor
Ruthanne in a much better way, in keeping with what she would have
wanted,” says Remley.
