City of Troy looks to change painful street name 'Project Road'

TROY — A 1950-era subsidized housing development in the city is surrounded by two roads called “project” — one of which might be renamed by fifth graders who attend school nearby.

For decades, two roads that together pass through Griswold Heights, a 390-unit family development run by the Troy Housing Authority, have been called Project Road and Project Street.

There are also 11 short roads in the development, all of which are named Griswold Heights. But the name “Project” has disturbed residents the most, leading to numerous complaints.

“There’s been considerable concern about keeping the name Project Road,” said City Council President Sue Steele. “Feeling it has a negative connotation.”

So she asked the nearby elementary school, Carroll Hill, for help.

The four fifth grade classes studied the history of the area and proposed four names.

One class suggested Griswold Terrace because it goes through Griswold Heights and East Side Terrace Apartments.

“We think this would be a great way to honor and recognize the residents of the area,” those students wrote to City Council, adding that they also liked Park Street and Tree Road.

Another class suggested United Community Road to “serve as a constant reminder of the strength and connection that exists within our community.”

A third class suggested Dorothy Street in honor of Dorothy Lavinia Brown, who grew up in the area, graduated “top of her class” at Troy High School and became the first Black woman member of the American College of Surgeons and the first Black woman elected to the Tennessee Legislature.

“When people drive or walk on Dorothy Street they will be reminded of a powerful African American woman that broke barriers and hopefully they will be inspired just like us,” the students wrote.

But the winning name, in a school vote, was Learning Way, in honor of the elementary school.

A City Council resolution, which passed out of committee and will soon be considered by the full body, called all of the proposals “alternative names that would foster a more positive and welcoming association with the roadways frequently used by students in their daily commute to school.”

Since Learning Way won, that is the name listed for an honorary designation if the council approves it. Officially changing the name, however, takes much longer.

“Down the road, we will work toward permanently and officially renaming it. That’s a much more involved process,” Steele said. “We have to involve 911, we have to reach out to the residents along Project Road for their input. I don’t know how this will all shake out. Whether it will forever be Learning Way or if throughout that process it gets changed, I don’t know.”

She had personally hoped Dorothy Street would win.

“I actually met her in the '90s, when I worked at Vanderheyden Hall,” she said. “She was a resident at the Troy Orphan Asylum, which was the precursor to Vanderheyden Hall, so we brought her back one year to talk to the students. So it was very exciting for me to see the children picked up on the fact that she lived nearby as a child.”