Gaywood Road Signage Problem

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/13669513.htm

Enough already, say the residents of Gaywood Road who are darned tired
of getting their street signs nabbed by pranksters humored by the name.

The fourth custom-made green wooden sign with fancy white letters
disappeared over the holidays. With new signs costing $600 a pop,
neighbors aren't laughing anymore.

Residents on Gaywood Road in Alamo -- and on Gaywood Place in Moraga,
where street signs also have been stolen -- like their street name and
wouldn't have it any other way. They want no such name change and are
bemused by those captivated by the word "gay."

"At first we made a joke out of it, and everybody pitched in to buy a
new sign," said 10-year Alamo resident Linda Buschmeyer. "Then, it
wasn't so funny the second time on. It is kind of a personal insult."

Right now, the close-knit neighborhood of eight households is deciding
what to do next. They may just stencil the street name on two posts.

"It's getting too expensive. We are kind of done with this game," said
14-year Alamo resident Anne Herzog.

Residents living on Gaywood Road are responsible for the street signs
because they live on a private road in an unincorporated area. And
street signs are mandatory for public safety identification purposes.

"Right now, we have to tell the UPS driver to look for the white fire
hydrant. That is the landmark," Buschmeyer said.

It started three years ago, when the first hand-crafted sign
disappeared on Christmas break and the second one on spring break.
Pranksters not only filched the signs, but also pulled out the post on
which they were mounted.

Buschmeyer said a mail carrier found the second sign hanging out of a
pickup truck with a chain attached while on his rounds. The young
vandals were identified, and the family had to pay for a new sign. The
old one was returned cracked and splintered.

Sign No. 3 lasted for three years, then it disappeared in early
January. The old cracked sign was put up in its place, and it too
disappeared this month.

Gaywood Place in Moraga has seen similar sign-napping, said resident
Ron Francis.

"Our sign disappeared a while back and we were thinking of calling the
town," Francis said. "Then we noticed last week there was a new sign
put up."

The Town of Moraga is responsible for replacing signs on its streets.

A much bigger flap took place 15 years ago on Gay Court in Alamo. A
group of residents petitioned the county to have the street name
changed to High Eagle Road. On a Sunday that May, things got ugly with
confrontations between a gay rights group that turned out to protest
and some neighbors. The Board of Supervisors approved the change, but
not without reservations.

If Alamo's Gaywood sign turns up, it could be returned to the sheriff's
substation in Alamo Plaza.

---

Heh.

Dave Hogan

"Dave in SD" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> A much bigger flap took place 15 years ago on Gay Court in Alamo. A
> group of residents petitioned the county to have the street name
> changed to High Eagle Road. On a Sunday that May, things got ugly with
> confrontations between a gay rights group that turned out to protest
> and some neighbors. The Board of Supervisors approved the change, but
> not without reservations.

Is it anti-gay to want to change the name of a street from Gay Court?

I wouldn't want to live on Caucasian Way. Or Negro Lane. Or Hetero Hill.

Give me a nice, pleasant tree name any day of the week.

brink

On Sat, 21 Jan 2006, brink wrote:

> Is it anti-gay to want to change the name of a street from Gay Court?

'Course not. It's reasonable and proper. There are really only two good
ways to name streets:


1) Chop down trees and name streets after them (Oak St., Elm Pl., Beech
Ct., Alder Ln., etc.)

2) Exterminate people and name streets after them (Arapaho Rd., Iroquois
Ave., Cherokee Ln., Sioux St., etc.)

In article ich.edu>,
Daniel J. Stern > wrote:
>On Sat, 21 Jan 2006, brink wrote:
>
>> Is it anti-gay to want to change the name of a street from Gay Court?
>
>'Course not. It's reasonable and proper. There are really only two good
>ways to name streets:
>
>
>1) Chop down trees and name streets after them (Oak St., Elm Pl., Beech
>Ct., Alder Ln., etc.)

Hey, the elms weren't chopped down. They lined the streets until
disease got them, hopping from tree to neatly-planted tree. (see also
"chestnut")
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

Dave in SD wrote:
> http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/13669513.htm
>
> A much bigger flap took place 15 years ago on Gay Court in Alamo. A
> group of residents petitioned the county to have the street name
> changed to High Eagle Road. On a Sunday that May, things got ugly with
> confrontations between a gay rights group that turned out to protest
> and some neighbors. The Board of Supervisors approved the change, but
> not without reservations.

In Madison, WI, Gay Avenue was changed to Alvarez Avenue at the request
of residents who didn't like the connotation. It's a short one-block,
dead-end street. It was actually named after the farmer who once owned
the land and changed to the WI football coach.

Bob S

Bob S wrote:
> Dave in SD wrote:
>> http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/13669513.htm
>>
>> A much bigger flap took place 15 years ago on Gay Court in Alamo. A
>> group of residents petitioned the county to have the street name
>> changed to High Eagle Road. On a Sunday that May, things got ugly with
>> confrontations between a gay rights group that turned out to protest
>> and some neighbors. The Board of Supervisors approved the change, but
>> not without reservations.
>
> In Madison, WI, Gay Avenue was changed to Alvarez Avenue

Great, now some guitar player will steal it.

> at the request
> of residents who didn't like the connotation. It's a short one-block,
> dead-end street. It was actually named after the farmer who once owned
> the land and changed to the WI football coach.


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