Plantation Road dates from the 1970s and runs through a part of Austin that was once a freedmen settlement known as Kincheonville. Originally settled in the years after the Civil War by the formerly enslaved Thomas and Mary Kincheon, Kincheonville was a farming community of about 300 acres and home to Black, Hispanic, and Anglo residents.

The City Council resolution initiating this process referred to a 2018 memo from Austin Equity and Inclusion that designated Plantation Road as a high priority among City assets that could potentially be renamed. The resolution noted that "remediating symbols of the Confederacy and slavery creates new opportunities to commemorate today's values and the legacy of those we honor in our community's public spaces."

One possibility for a renamed Plantation Road is to honor Tommie Lee Wyatt, a founder and the longtime publisher of The Villager, a newspaper dedicated to reporting on and telling the stories of "African-Americans of all ages and occupations, in and out of the Austin area."

Austin Transportation & Public Works will conduct reviews and notify required agencies to ensure any proposed change meets safety, navigational, and operational standards. In some instances, a public hearing may be required before a vote of the City Council to approve the change. If approved, residents on the affected street will receive notifications of the street name change.

We are gathering community feedback to help inform this process for the potential renaming of Plantation Road. Your input is an important part of understanding community sentiment. Please answer the following questions and provide any comments you'd like considered during this process. The survey will be open through April 17.