ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601220091
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SAM G. RILEY
THE CONTROVERSY over Roanoke's new pedestrian bridge continues. A letter to the editor from Hoskins Sclater (Dec. 27, ``Costly new bridge should be razed'') suggested razing the thing, which prompted a letter from Leonard J. Currie (Jan. 13, ``Could the bridge become Roanoke's Eiffel Tower?'').
Currie, a truly fine architect, not only defended the bridge but also suggested it might become the city's symbol in the same way the initially unpopular Eiffel Tower survived to become the symbol of Paris.
Well, maybe, Currie, especially if we jacked up one end and set the bridge upright.
But seriously, I believe the controversy could be solved with the greatest of ease. The solution lies in giving the bridge the right kind of name. I made this suggestion a couple of months ago on WVTF radio. Since nothing has been done to put the issue to rest, allow me to elaborate here.
So, just how do you name a bridge?
The Roanoke Times posed this question to its readers, and has received many suggestions, a few of which have been published in the newspaper.
Forgive me, please, but those suggested names didn't show creativity sufficient to solve the problem. They sounded so solemn, dull and ordinary.
Standard operating procedure in bridge-naming is to dub the thing after a public official or a local wealthy person, preferably one who has been a civic benefactor.
But follow the usual procedure, and what do you get? "The Noel Taylor Pedestrian Walkway." Now, you would have to look long and hard to find a nicer man to name the bridge after. But as a bridge name, it's pretty standard stuff. It's, well ... pedestrian.
How about "The Warner Dalhouse Crystal Promenade"? No. Sounds too elitist. Maybe in Palm Springs or Beverly Hills, but not in Roanoke, for goodness sake.
The bridge was built to encourage out-of-towners staying at Hotel Roanoke to visit the Roanoke City Market and, not so incidentally, to drop a little cash while doing so. So how about calling the bridge "The David Bowers Cashway"? No, still sounds stuffy and predictable.
Why not, instead, go for a really different bridge name? Something short and informal. Something fun that the city's ordinary citizens would really like. Something that would silence the critics.
Why not take a cue from the town of Avon, Colo.? In 1991, the town held a contest to name its new $7.5 million, 150-foot bridge across the Eagle River. Now there's a forward-thinking community for you. No standard politician, founding father or wealthy person's name for its bridge. No sir.
After due consideration, the town gave its bridge a friendly, likable, everyday kind of name. It named it Bob.
Bob the bridge. For anyone who admires the elegance of simplicity, this name was an inspired choice.
Bob. What an all-American idea. Plain, unassuming, easy to remember. Bob. A bridge for everyone. No la-de-da homage to the town's upper crust. Just Bob.
I found out about Bob the bridge from Susan Trausch, a columnist with the Boston Globe. Her column discussed how Bob the bridge put Avon on the map. T-shirts were printed up and sold, reading "I crossed Bob" or "I'm going to Avon to meet Bob."
People liked the informality of it. They thought it was fun having a bridge that had only a first name. Even little children could be on a first-name basis with it. Also, everyone could remember the bridge's name. A name like "The Bern Ewert Covered Pedestrian Crosswalk" would soon fade from public awareness, but Bob? We'd always remember that.
OK. Bob is already taken. My first thought was to name Roanoke's bridge Jimmy after former President Jimmy Carter. Remember his determined informality? When he took office, he told the nation to "Just call me Jimm-uh. Everbody calls me Jimm-uh. Even mah daughter Am-uh calls me Jimm-uh."
Then it occurred to me that Roanoke's bridge is too pretty to be named Jimmy. We ought to give it a woman's name. Nothing fancy like Alexis or Alexandra. Nothing overly girlish, such as Muffy, Buffy or Fluffy. Then it hit me. The ideal woman's name for a bridge.
Let's call it Bridget.
Sam G. Riley is professor of communication studies at Virginia Tech.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 linesby CNB