http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/us/martin-luther-king-jr-streets/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/18/us/martin-luther-king-jr-streets/index.html)
I remember the Chris Rock routine and then noticing just how right he was - both the MLK streets in Long Beach (where I lived at the time) and Los Angeles were in low-income, higher-crime parts of town.
I don't want this to get political, racial, classist or otherwise, but I'm wondering what others' experience with an MLK street has been, and, if they do match what is described in the article, if their cities have made efforts to upgrade/beautify/clean up/etc. the street.
Camden's MLK street is the main thoroughfare to the Waterfront. It's actually not that bad. In Baltimore, it functions as a arterial connecting I-395 with the edges of Downtown, and providing access to Camden Yards (Home of the Baltimore Orioles).
Trenton's is not the nicest part of town to be in...
Also, ISTR reading that MLK streets were named after parts of the city where African Americans were most populous.
Chicago's begins at McCormick Place (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCormick_Place) and heads south through the South Side (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Side,_Chicago). It goes through Bronzeville (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville), an historic African American neighborhood, along the edge of Washington Park (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_%28Chicago_park%29), by Chicago State University (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_State_University), and ends at 115th Street in Pullman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman,_Chicago), a majority white neighborhood. There are couple of small streets that continue the name south of 130th Street as they are along the same grid line.
In a way, it connects black and white, education, commerce, tourism, and recreation.
Quote from: Zeffy on January 18, 2016, 03:39:46 PM
Camden's MLK street is the main thoroughfare to the Waterfront. It's actually not that bad. In Baltimore, it functions as a arterial connecting I-395 with the edges of Downtown, and providing access to Camden Yards (Home of the Baltimore Orioles).
Trenton's is not the nicest part of town to be in...
Also, ISTR reading that MLK streets were named after parts of the city where African Americans were most populous.
To.piggyback on:
MLK Jr Blvd in Baltimore used to be called City Blvd. I wasn't around when they changed it so I wouldn't know exactly when it was.
MLK Jr Blvd runs from 395 all the way to what I call State/Cultural Center from the metro and light rail stations nearby, though there may be a different name for the area.
In Nevada:
Las Vegas/North Las Vegas: Martin L. King Blvd (originally named Highland Drive, renamed in the late 80s/early 90s). Starts just west of downtown Las Vegas and heads north. On the south end is some larger commercial properties in a decent area. Then passes under US 95 and goes along the west edges of the 'Historic Westside' neighborhood, which is the historically black neighborhood--although MLK is a major arterial road and this portion is in pretty good shape having seen some new business parks and street revitalization/widening within the past 5-10 years. Entering North Las Vegas, MLK passes through some more industrial areas before getting to more affluent housing areas of that city.
Reno: Martin Luther King Jr Highway. Name for the US 395/I-580 freeway from southern Reno all the way north to the California state line at Bordertown.
Milwaukee's Dr. MLK Dr starts at McKinley Ave at the nort edge of Downtown and runs north for about 2 miles along what was N 3rd St. It then curves northwest for a mile and ends at Capitol Dr. It then turns back into Green Bay Ave.
The street goes through a commercial district where a lot of African Americans shop, but the other part of it travels through a crime ridden area.
Milwaukee also has a Cesar Chavez Dr that runs through a Hispanic neighborhood.
Fun fact: Both of the Seattle-area light rail systems will soon have segments on two different streets named after MLK: Central Link in Seattle has ran on Martin Luther King Jr. Way S since it opened in 2009; Tacoma Link (more like a streetcar) will soon get an extension up onto Tacoma's own Martin Luther King Jr. Way in a few years.
Fayetteville, AR renamed 6th St as Martin Luther King Jr Blvd several years back.
MS 1 is Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Wire-hung street signs at US 82 say DR MLK JR BLVD
This morning, I noticed that at the intersection of 99th& maryland avenues in Glendale, AZ a white on blue street blade bearing the words "Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd." had been installed on the light mast, so there were two names posted for this one road (maryland ave.). Though the regular white on green sign with the usual name remained, so no doubt that the name change is temporary.
Quote from: Bruce on January 18, 2016, 07:39:32 PM
Fun fact: Both of the Seattle-area light rail systems will soon have segments on two different streets named after MLK: Central Link in Seattle has ran on Martin Luther King Jr. Way S since it opened in 2009; Tacoma Link (more like a streetcar) will soon get an extension up onto Tacoma's own Martin Luther King Jr. Way in a few years.
To relate it to the OP: the segment of MLK Way through the Central District (due east of downtown) is definitely through a poorer area of the city, and south of there through Rainier Valley was probably as bad or worse. However, as Link has brought new development, sections of the Rainier Valley are much improved.
125th Street in Manhattan is also known as "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd", but no one calls it that. It's in Harlem, though, so it fits the bill.
In Staten Island, the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway" is formerly known as the Willowbrook Expressway. Whites are the largest ethnic group in the area although there are significant numbers of various minorities. Sort of fits the bill, maybe.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in White Plains, NY, was formerly known as Grove Street. It's in the middle of downtown but it does also run right past the local public housing projects, so...
Two other things I notice about the trend:
1) Streets named after MLK end in "Boulevard" with disproportionate frequency. I guess it sounds grander that way.
2) When things are named after him they almost always use his full name despite it being a mouthful and cumbersome to fit on signs.
This is somewhat understandable, though, since he has a rather generic last name, so if you followed the more traditional method of just using that, it would be unobvious who it was named for. Indeed, there are numerous places with a "King Street" or similar that has had that name since before MLK was even born, and are named either after someone else with the same last name, or in honor of a monarch.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on January 18, 2016, 11:09:07 PM
Quote from: Bruce on January 18, 2016, 07:39:32 PM
Fun fact: Both of the Seattle-area light rail systems will soon have segments on two different streets named after MLK: Central Link in Seattle has ran on Martin Luther King Jr. Way S since it opened in 2009; Tacoma Link (more like a streetcar) will soon get an extension up onto Tacoma's own Martin Luther King Jr. Way in a few years.
To relate it to the OP: the segment of MLK Way through the Central District (due east of downtown) is definitely through a poorer area of the city, and south of there through Rainier Valley was probably as bad or worse. However, as Link has brought new development, sections of the Rainier Valley are much improved.
The MLK Jr Way in Tacoma runs through Hill Top, which is easily one of the poorest areas of Tacoma (and is also well known for its large black community and gangs, though the latter has been on the decline in recent years).
The Wilmington DE one seems to be in one of the areas of that city that isn't too ghetto. Its basically a connector from Downtown to I-95, and possibly also a DE state highway but im not sure.
Here in New Bern it runs what was named Clarendon Blvd from the Neuse Blvd split (at that time the split between US-17 and NC-55) all the way to what was the city limits on US-17 South at that time (now US-17 Business). So, basically it starts where the rundown part of town ends and goes through the heart of our shopping district. Business owners fought it tooth and nail because it forced them to have to change stationary, business cards, advertisements (etc). They lost.
A more recent rename: Philly's Martin Luther King (Jr.) Drive (originally West River Drive) (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9927615,-75.2071246,14.67z) runs through West Fairmount Park along the western bank of the Schuylkill River.
Quote from: PHLBOS on January 19, 2016, 09:04:54 AM
A more recent rename: Philly's Martin Luther King (Jr.) Drive (originally West River Drive) (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9927615,-75.2071246,14.67z) runs through West Fairmount Park along the western bank of the Schuylkill River.
And just to backup the above for those not familiar with the area, this is one of the most scenic roads in the town. It begins next to the Falls bridge and ends right next to the Philly Museum of Art.
Columbus renamed the block of St. Clair Avenue connecting Spring Street and Mt. Vernon Avenue to MLK Jr. Blvd. It's just east of I-71 and it's in a bad neighborhood. To give you an idea, the county department of Job and Family Services is a couple blocks away. Yeah...
Buffalo has a Martin Luther King Park at NY 33 and Best St. Also a miserable neighborhood, but the community (and gangs) gets quite pissed whenever someone gets shot in the park.
The CBD business loop in Fayetteville, NC is the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway.
Morristown NJ's MLK Avenue starts in an area just east of downtown known for crime and drug use. It leaves this area quickly and gets a lot nicer and suburban, though. It's also a shortcut from downtown to the NJ 24 freeway for those not wanting / able to get on I-287.
In Kissimmee, FL there is a Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd where the old CSX grade was that is now a roadway using the old RR ROW. Kissimmee does have a ghetto, but its not there where the new road runs. However, Kissimmee, FL is growing in Latino populations though.
San Diego's Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway (Route 94) received its name in 1989 and might be the only regularly signed freeway name in that city.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland/Berkeley is the former Grove Street (prior to 1984) which provides some of the origin of the original (but rarely ever used) Route 24/I-980 moniker, Grove-Shafter Freeway.
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Sacramento was Sacramento Boulevard prior to the 1980s; it passes through the historically black Oak Park area. (The northern portion of the old Sacramento Boulevard became part of Broadway in the 1940s)
Here in Huntsville, we don't have a street named after him (as far as I'm aware), but we do have an elementary school named after him.
Quote from: cl94 on January 19, 2016, 11:40:02 AM
Columbus renamed the block of St. Clair Avenue connecting Spring Street and Mt. Vernon Avenue to MLK Jr. Blvd. It's just east of I-71 and it's in a bad neighborhood. To give you an idea, the county department of Job and Family Services is a couple blocks away. Yeah...
Buffalo has a Martin Luther King Park at NY 33 and Best St. Also a miserable neighborhood, but the community (and gangs) gets quite pissed whenever someone gets shot in the park.
It's a park and a street, which I didn't know until I looked on the map; I thought it was just a park.
Sticking with the theme, there's a GA 158 MLK Dr. in the Atlanta area, as well as an expressway called "Freedom Parkway" north of downtown.
13th Street in Terre Haute has brown signs at certain places that call it Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Way. No one calls it that and it is still officially 13th Street. The city went crazy a few years ago and started naming every busy street after someone, although as mentioned none of them are actually official.
Here in Cincinnati, Madison Ave turns into Martin Luther King Dr., then it turns into Hopple Street. It skirts the Northern edge of the University of Cincinnati. It's not in the absolute best part of town.
There is not an actual street in Richmond, VA named for Martin Luther King Jr., but the VA 33 bridge over I-95 is named for him, and connects downtown Richmond near the VCU Medical Center with Mosby Court, a low-income housing project that is one of the most economically depressed and dangerous parts of the city.
There is a Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. here in downtown Madison, that leads eastward from the Capitol Square to Wilson St. I believe it was originally named Monona Ave.
There exists a Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. in downtown St. Louis, that stretches westward to University City where it becomes MO-180 and then St. Charles Rock Rd. It begins at Tucker Blvd about 1/2 mile southwest of the western end of the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge that carries I-70 across the Mississippi. It's not the nicest part of town to be in, but there are some pockets that are nice and the stretch gets nicer after you get into St. Louis County.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Parkway in Des Moines. The original north-south leg was known as Harding Road until 1993. In recent years an east-west segment of MLK has been built as a south bypass of downtown and will eventually connect to US 65 in Pleasant Hill (www.seconnector.com).
MLK replaced Union on 99E one-way northbound in PDX. It went through what was once a major black neighborhood which has since gentrified.
Rick
In Jacksonville there is a local street called MLK Dr, but in the late 1990s the renamed the 20th St Expressway and Haines St Expressway as MLK Pkwy.. It's us1 and us1 Alt.. There were no businesses on 20th st and the service roads on Haines St Expressway remained Haines St so addresses did not change.
Northwest Jacksonville is predominantly African-American
Quote from: nexus73 on January 19, 2016, 11:42:03 PM
MLK replaced Union on 99E one-way northbound in PDX. It went through what was once a major black neighborhood which has since gentrified.
Rick
And it, coincidentally, also has rail transit service in the form of the Central Loop Streetcar.
Quote from: wolfiefrick on January 19, 2016, 05:30:40 PM
There exists a Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. in downtown St. Louis, that stretches westward to University City where it becomes MO-180 and then St. Charles Rock Rd. It begins at Tucker Blvd about 1/2 mile southwest of the western end of the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge that carries I-70 across the Mississippi. It's not the nicest part of town to be in, but there are some pockets that are nice and the stretch gets nicer after you get into St. Louis County.
Traveled it from end to end. Used to be called Easton Ave.
Apparently there's also an MLK Jr Parkway in downtown Des Moines, IA.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5851763,-93.6107507,14z
Also MLK Way in King County, WA, which is named after MLK (but as jakeroot said, originally William R. King)
Quote from: Buffaboy on January 23, 2016, 05:36:55 PM
Also MLK Way in King County, WA, which is named after MLK
MLK Way in Seattle was already mentioned, but I would like to point out that King County was originally named for William R King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce. The county decided in the mid-80s (officially in 2005) to rename the county after MLK (why, I have no idea -- this area has zero connection with MLK).
MLK in Pontiac, MI goes through a low income area, but you could say that for almost any area of Pontiac.
Detroit has a high school named for Dr. MLK. The full name of the school is Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Senior High School.
- In Baltimore, Martin Luther King Boulevard (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/39.2755595,-76.6201514/Martin+Luther+King+Blvd,+Baltimore,+MD+21201/@39.2889288,-76.6319019,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c804bdf0cc22a7:0x7983c16902b4fcae!2m2!1d-76.6189176!2d39.3022975) is a true boulevard, relatively speaking newer than most other streets in the city, which serves as a bypass around the west end of the downtown area. It runs from the north end of I-395, past an interchange at U.S. 40 (former I-170) and ends at North Howard Street near a state office complex.
- In the District of Columbia, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Martin+Luther+King+Jr+Ave+SE+%26+Good+Hope+Rd+SE,+Washington,+DC+20020/38.8204264,-77.0109688/@38.8398728,-77.0059494,14z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!1m1!1s0x89b7b9c7750c6a45:0x3e818f4c31b25cb8!2m2!1d-76.9886086!2d38.8674403!3m4!1m2!1d-76.9956693!2d38.8579358!3s0x89b7b9e9032e8751:0x57e109b92cddeea7!1m0!3e0) is in the Anacostia area of the Southeast quadrant, formerly known as Nichols Avenue, S.E. For years, the only government institution along the street was the St. Elizabeth's Hospital for people with psychiatric problems. More recently, the Department of Homeland Security has taken-over the west side (https://www.google.com/maps/place/2701+Martin+Luther+King+Jr+Ave+SE,+Washington,+DC+20032/@38.8530923,-77.0049328,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7b9e591326695:0x214e0e69d0c4e2f2) of the St. Elizabeth's campus in the 2700 block for its own consolidated headquarters complex. Across the street from the DHS complex, the municipal government of the District of Columbia has its Office of Unified Communications (http://ouc.dc.gov/).
- In nearby Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland Route 704 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Route_704) is named for Rev. King. It was formerly known as George Palmer Highway, and connects the extreme east corner of D.C. to Md. 202, U.S. 50 (John Hanson Highway) and via U.S. 50 to I-95 (Capital Beltway).
Quote from: jwolfer on January 20, 2016, 10:38:14 PM
In Jacksonville there is a local street called MLK Dr, but in the late 1990s the renamed the 20th St Expressway and Haines St Expressway as MLK Pkwy.. It's us1 and us1 Alt.. There were no businesses on 20th st and the service roads on Haines St Expressway remained Haines St so addresses did not change.
Northwest Jacksonville is predominantly African-American
I have been on US 1 in that part of Jacksonville. If its not freeway its a limited access at grade expressway. However, I always thought that calling it a street was not the right descriptor for it anyway, as it hardly resembled a true street. Calling it a Parkway, yes that better fits it.
Quote from: jakeroot on January 23, 2016, 06:23:01 PM
MLK Way in Seattle was already mentioned, but I would like to point out that King County was originally named for William R King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce. The county decided in the mid-80s to rename the county after MLK (why, I have no idea -- this area has zero connection with MLK).
This area has zero connection with Vice President King either.
Quote from: kkt on January 23, 2016, 08:42:08 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 23, 2016, 06:23:01 PM
MLK Way in Seattle was already mentioned, but I would like to point out that King County was originally named for William R King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce. The county decided in the mid-80s to rename the county after MLK (why, I have no idea -- this area has zero connection with MLK).
This area has zero connection with Vice President King either.
He was VP when the county was created. Everywhere in the country had a connection with King/Pierce for a short while, Pierce alone thereafter.
I would like to correct my original comment, however. The namesake was changed in 2005.
Newark, NJ, which renamed High Street as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd had its guide signs on I-280 say "King Blvd." for a short while after NJDOT built the EB off ramp. It was then changed to reflect his whole name in some form. I am guessing that Al Sharpton was riding in the back of his fancy limo, and looked out the window and thought that just King Blvd. was being disrespectful to the great man and demanded it be changed at once.
..
Quote from: jakeroot on January 23, 2016, 09:01:01 PM
Quote from: kkt on January 23, 2016, 08:42:08 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 23, 2016, 06:23:01 PM
MLK Way in Seattle was already mentioned, but I would like to point out that King County was originally named for William R King, Vice President under Franklin Pierce. The county decided in the mid-80s to rename the county after MLK (why, I have no idea -- this area has zero connection with MLK).
This area has zero connection with Vice President King either.
He was VP when the county was created. Everywhere in the country had a connection with King/Pierce for a short while, Pierce alone thereafter.
I would like to correct my original comment, however. The namesake was changed in 2005.
Your original statement was correct. The county decided to change the name(sake) in the 1980s. 2005 is the date it was written into state law. Whether or not that was totally necessary is somewhat trivial, I suppose it was to serve the purpose of amending the original county charter.
(In other words, the county changed the name in the 80s. The state changed the name in 2005. Which one you use as the official date is probably up to you and doesn't matter much.)
Oklahoma City's M.L. King Ave. is a rename of the section of Eastern Ave. between Wilshire Ave. in the north and Reno Ave. in the south. The southern part of it is in a pretty bad neighborhood, but it gets better the farther north it goes, and its northern end is in a fairly rural part of northeast Oklahoma City.
MLK Jr. Drive in Jackson does run through a lower-income area, but not particularly violent.
Quote from: pumpkineater2 on January 18, 2016, 10:30:33 PM
This morning, I noticed that at the intersection of 99th& maryland avenues in Glendale, AZ a white on blue street blade bearing the words "Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd." had been installed on the light mast, so there were two names posted for this one road (maryland ave.). Though the regular white on green sign with the usual name remained, so no doubt that the name change is temporary.
White on Blue blade or streetlight marker signs are usually used to celebrate a person (live or passed on). They may be temporary or permanent
Tulsa's MLK Blvd. Is the former N. Cincinnati Ave. between Archer St. & 66th St. North. City Councilor Jack Henderson tried for years to get it changed, and the city finally did it within the past couple of years to shut him up. I guess the MLK Expressway (I-244) and MLK Memorial Overpass on Cincinnati Ave. downtown weren't enough.
Cleveland's MLK Blvd. was originally Liberty Boulevard between I-90 and University Circle and is pretty much a parkway through Rockefeller Park. South of the circle, it took over East Boulevard. which wound through various neighboorhoods (like Outer Drive in Detroit). With the exception around University Circle, MLK pretty much runs smack through poor urban neighborhoods.
Akron's MLK Blvd. consists of what was Perkins Avenue (SR-59) from SR-8/North Expressway to the northern terminus of the Akron Innerbelt. The Innerbelt (SR-59) itself was named the MLK Freeway from old Perkins St. to I-76/I-77. The freeway portion divides the older, urban neighborhoods and Downtown Akron while the Boulevard divides the northern area of downtown with the Cuyahoga River Valley.
With the partial teardown of the underused Innerbelt from Exchange St. to Perkins, I do not know if the new roadways replacing the Innerbelt will be named/renamed MLK something.
In 1983, Santa Barbara Avenue in Los Angeles was renamed after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The way it hangs on signs is different, depending on the type of sign:
Since the name change was in 1983, of course, it doesn't even appear on any "shotgun" or black blade style signs.
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, see : http://militantangeleno.blogspot.com/2011/03/signs-of-times.html )
Blue Blade Sign:
Normally it follows: Wilshire Bl
2300 W
For MLK it looks like
Martin King Jr Blvd
Luther
2300 W
with the Martin and Luther in smaller print, one on top of the other. On all signs of this type, the address number is on a separate smaller attached blade.
Trapezoid signs:
Normally: Wilshire Bl
2300 W
MLK: Martin Luther King Jr
2300 W Bl
So to account for the long name, they had to make changes to the way the signs normally look.
At traffic lights, there are the famous blue signs hanging from the mast arm. In the case of MLK, it always just says: King Bl. No mention of his first or middle name at all.
LA has to make all sorts of accommodations for very long street names. The signs for San Fernando Mission Blvd are just downright ugly.
(And they can't rename the street to Mission, because there are other Mission streets leading to the San Gabriel Mission, which is much closer to Downtown LA.)
Brooksville, Florida's MLK Blvd is pretty run down, especially close to FL 50A. Although there's a biker bar at the intersection with South Main Street that looks like a hangout for biker gangs, some which have been known to include white supremacists.
I could be wrong about that, but I don't know.
Not a big city, but here in Jeffersonvile, there are three cul-de-sacs named Martin Cir, Luther Cir and King Cir, and they are located right by the largest public housing building in the city.
South Bend currently designates a three-block section of Chapin Street as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. It's just been proposed to extend it along some significant routes for about 4.5 miles. http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/politics/should-streets-be-renamed-martin-luther-king-drive-in-south/article_dd9c608d-1282-50ab-b519-c054d7f8a2d2.html (http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/politics/should-streets-be-renamed-martin-luther-king-drive-in-south/article_dd9c608d-1282-50ab-b519-c054d7f8a2d2.html)
I made a map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.6817685,-86.2479894/41.6416059,-86.2971162/@41.6683743,-86.2839491,13.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-86.2601114!2d41.6798526!3s0x881132ca73631c93:0x46a2ba5ada9f9bdf!1m0!3e0 (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.6817685,-86.2479894/41.6416059,-86.2971162/@41.6683743,-86.2839491,13.75z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-86.2601114!2d41.6798526!3s0x881132ca73631c93:0x46a2ba5ada9f9bdf!1m0!3e0) The Google route takes a slight jog near the northern end because a short stretch of Marion is currently open only to emergency vehicles. That will change when the city replaces the current Michigan-Marion-Main alignment with a roundabout.
I'm in favor of the change because the current designation of just 3 blocks as MLK Drive is a joke.
Here in Greenville, I-30 is named the "Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway" inside the city limits.
Also. several years ago, Little Rock renamed High St to "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr."
Quote from: freebrickproductions on January 19, 2016, 12:52:18 PM
Here in Huntsville, we don't have a street named after him (as far as I'm aware), but we do have an elementary school named after him.
I just remembered that here in Huntsville, AL that the road connecting Research Park Boulevard and Bob Wade Lane is called Martin Luther King Jr. Highway.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.8051319,-86.6539768,14z/data=!3m1!1e3
In Eugene and Springfield Oregon, we had roads relatively (last 12 or so years) renamed for Dr. King.
A road travels between the two cities (originally named Centennial Boulevard), originating in Eugene off of Coburg Rd, travelling east, passing a few auto dealerships, as well as the University of Oregon's football stadium and other athletic complexes. After passing student housing, it crosses over I-5 into Springfield, where it is mostly a residential thoroughfare.
Controversially, the towns couldn't both agree to rename the same street (Eugene's impact was smaller since fewer buildings lie on Centennial, whereas a lot of people would have to change addresses and the like in Springfield). Therefore, Eugene renamed Centennial Blvd. to MLK Jr. Blvd.
Springfield chose not to do the same, instead dedicating a newly upgraded road to him a few years later, when a new hospital was opened in North Springfield (now the biggest medical center in the area) A new roundabout was built at the North end of Pioneer Parkway, and the road was continued north as Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The only addresses on the Parkway appear to be a few doctor's offices, as the road itself is a 4-lane thoroughfare without development.