Colfax plan commission recommends new street names

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX —  Instead of three Park Drives in Colfax, the Colfax Plan Commission is recommending that the names of two of the Park Drives be changed to Short Street and to Fairview Drive or Fairview Circle.

Members of the Colfax Plan Commission addressed the dilemma of three streets having the same name at the November 5 meeting.

Scott Gunnufson, chair of the plan commission, recommended changing the name of the street by the Cedar Cooperative Car Wash from Park Drive to Short Street.

Several plan commission members wondered about naming the small section of street as a continuation of Bremer Avenue.

Bremer Avenue is located across state Highway 40 from the car wash, but it is not a straight shot across Highway 40 to the street in question, Gunnufson noted.

The Colfax Plan Commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend that the village board name the street by the Cedar Country Cooperative Car Wash Short Street.

Park Drive

Colfax also has a street named Park Drive on the west side of the Colfax Fairgrounds.

The other Park Drive runs north and south from the railroad tracks to the City View Villa Court and past the new Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center.

The two Park Drives in two different areas of town create confusion for delivery drivers, such as UPS or Sears, noted Mike Buchner, village trustee and a member of the plan commission.

On several different occasions, people not familiar with Colfax have stopped at the Colfax Messenger office as well to inquire about the location of an address on Park Drive.

In one case, the person was looking for an address by the fairgrounds but had been driving up and down the Park Drive on the south side of the railroad tracks.

In the other case, the person was looking for an address on the Park Drive south of the railroad tracks but was only aware of the Park Drive by the fairgrounds.

Gary Stene, plan commission member, suggested Fair Drive or Fairview Drive as the name for the Park Drive by the fairgrounds.

Plan commission members agreed that they liked the name Fairview.

Members of the plan commission also wondered whether the street should only include the section running north and south on the west side of the fairgrounds or if the entire drive around the fairgrounds coming back out onto Railroad Avenue should be called Fairview.

Jackie Ponto, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, said she would check the village’s current maps to see if the road around the fairgrounds is listed as a street and would check whether having an additional length of street would be a benefit for the village in seeking grants for road projects.

Plan commission members agreed that if the street is only going to include the short section on the west side of the fairgrounds, it should be called Fairview Drive, but that if the street were going to include the entire road going around the fairgrounds and coming back out to Railroad Avenue, it should be called Fairview Circle.

The Colfax Plan Commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend that the Colfax Village Board name the street either Fairview Drive or Fairview Circle, depending upon whether the village board includes only the existing paved street or the entire drive around the fairgrounds.

In addition to Gunnufson, Buchner and Stene, the plan commission includes village trustee Beverly Schauer and citizen members Dave Hovre, Jason Johnson and Nancy Hainstock.

Hainstock was absent from the November 5 meeting.