MILPITAS — Milpitas may become the first city in Silicon Valley to rename a street after President Barack Obama.
The City Council will take up the issue tonight after Councilmen Anthony Phan and Bob Nuñez suggested the city consider changing Dixon Landing Roads name to honor the 44th president, and to send a message to the broader region about the growing city.
“I think its about what President Obama represents, and how his values, his virtues are reflected in Milpitas as it is today as a city and a community,” Phan said Tuesday when reached by phone.
“When I think of Obama I think of hope and change, and when it comes to Milpitas, I am very excited of all the opportunities that are coming to Milpitas and where it will be as a city in Silicon Valley moving forward.”.
But its not just about the name, its about the location.
“Dixon Landing Road is essentially the entry point into Santa Clara County,” Phan said of the highly visible road which passes over Interstate 880.
“I think that renaming it as President Obama, it supposed to frame Silicon Valley as an optimistic land of opportunities, if you will.”
Nuñez added that he thinks the name change could add cachet to the city, and show businesses, international travelers, and the average resident that the city is thinking about issues beyond its borders.
Both Phan and Nuñez, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, said the name change shouldnt be taken as a partisan initiative.
The decision may not be finalized tonight, but the council will likely signal whether theres enough broad support for the change.
Nuñez said hed like Milpitas “to be first” to make the change in Silicon Valley, if possible, as similar efforts stemming from as far back as 2017 in San Jose have yet to become a reality.
Both councilmen said its unclear how much of the road would be renamed. After its crossing with Milpitas Boulevard to the east, Dixon Landing Road becomes Dixon Road, which continues into the working-class Sunnyhills neighborhood, one of the nations first integrated communities.
Phan said if possible hed like to see the change in effect along the entire road, as Obama got his pRead More – Source
