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Food for street names
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Posted on Apr 03 2000
How would you like the name of the streets where you live remind you of your favorite food on the island?
Well, residents of Koblerville may just have to live with that when the federal highway fund is finally given to the CNMI for the street naming project.
Some of the approved names are Empanada Lane, Ice Keki Road, Tamales Road, Kelaguen Drive, Bibinka Road, to name a few.
According to Saipan Mayor Jose C. Sablan, these have been approved by the Street Naming Commission created during the administration of former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio.
Mr. Sablan, who also heads the Street Naming Commission said the maps to be used in the project have been prepared but the money for the purchase of the materials and installation of the signs has yet to be released. An estimated $800,000 is needed to fund the project.
The federal fund will be used for the highway signs while those for the local roads will be funded by the CNMI government. Mr. Sablan said as soon as the federal money arrives, the Department of Public Works will bid out the contract for the street signs.
Earlier, the Carolinian community sought a review of the street names chosen by the Commission as they wanted to make sure that some Carolinian names which will reflect their cultural heritage will be used.
But some legislators said the move may delay efforts to put in place a street-naming mechanism for Saipan because a commission created by the mayor’s office had already taken the input of all sectors on the island when they drafted the master street map.
Street naming for Saipan has been hampered by bureaucratic problems over the last 10 years and the task has yet been completed despite creation of the commission in 1997.
