The John Hardee Expressway

Politicians love them. Recognitions, resolutions, proclamations, ribbon-cuttings and photo-ops may be only ceremonial but they pay dividends to win favor with influential constituents or score points with campaign donors. Such recognition consume energy that might better be spent on public business. Naming roads, interchanges and bridges after living people can backfire. It’s time to stop naming them after individuals who are still among us including public officials. An obvious pitfall of naming roads after current or former public officials who are still living is that they have yet to have their legacies fully cemented. They still can bring controversy or disgrace on themselves.

I can think of 3 landmarks renamed after their namesakes ran afoul of the law. A major Upstate expressway was named for a former state comptroller and renamed after his conviction for securities fraud. A public official’s crimes aren’t always enough to overturn a road-naming honor. A Lowcountry connector leading to the Port of Charleston still bears the name of a former state senator who in 2015 pleaded guilty to violating campaign ethics laws. Many people heading to and from our state’s major port travel on an expressway named for an admitted lawbreaker. Names on landmarks can damage a community’s identity. It’s inconceivable that a road honoring a lawbreaker does any good for an area’s self-image.

There are other pitfalls. There’s the cost of time and energy spent on naming things, and in terms of the cost of signs. It’s hard to believe those little green signs are really the best way to honor someone anyway. We should change the way roads, bridges, and other landmarks are named. More than 1,000 state roads bear the names of individuals. Most are named by the General Assembly. Some are named by the state Department of Transportation commission. That explains the heavy focus on government officials. There has to be a better way. The answer may be to take naming out of the hands of the Legislature and the DOT and leave it up to community-based citizen committees. That’s how schools are named, and it seems to work well. There could be a standard criteria for naming things with an emphasis on genuine heroes like fallen soldiers or peace officers. We will run out of things to name long before we run out of people whose sacrifices are worthy of tribute.

It’s time to stop naming things after still-living public officials or anyone else. Waiting until after someone passes would allow time for their legacy to be assessed. No public official who is actually worthy of such an honor would want a road, interchange, or bridge named after them anyway. The opportunity to serve the public would be enough of an honor in itself. If not, a nice plaque ought to do.

We welcome your letters

With letters to the editor, please include your name, address, and telephone number for verification. Your telephone number and address will not be published. Our deadline for letters is 2 p.m. Friday. Send them to chronicleletter@gmail.com .