Phoenix City Council Votes To Change 'Offensive' Street Names

PHOENIX — The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to rename two streets whose names are deemed offensive amid a push for inclusivity after a summer of civil unrest.

Robert E. Lee Street and Squaw Peak Drive in Phoenix will be renamed following a June 18 tweet from Mayor Kate Gallego calling to start the process.

"Working with my fellow council-members we’ve moved to initiate the process for changing the offensive Phoenix street names of Robert E. Lee St. and Squaw Peak Dr.," she tweeted. "We will work with neighbors and city staff to start this process on July 1."

Robert E. Lee was a commander in the Confederate Army. There has been a nationwide push to remove Confederate monuments following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The term "squaw" is considered by many to be derogatory toward Native American women. "Squaw Peak" was renamed "Piestewa Peak" in 2003 to honor Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, who was killed in Iraq — the first Native American woman to die in combat.

A 2017 attempt by then-Mayor Greg Stanton to rename the streets was voted down. That same year, the council passed a law that allowed it to rename streets without community input.

The city council will approve replacement names for the streets at an upcoming meeting. People who own property on the streets will be given the first chance to vote on new names before the council votes.

A plan to reimburse residents and businesses affected by the street name change was also approved at the Wednesday meeting. The city has estimated it will cost $3,800 to replace the street signs and about $28,000 to reimburse residents.

The address change will happen on or earlier than Jan. 11, 2021, the council said.