Brief: Road Naming
Sheillah NanyongaA road is any way open to the public for the circulation of vehicles which is maintained by the government or an administration.
A road name is the official name to be used for the purpose of locating and addressing. The road name excludes the road type portion (e.g.: Street, Close, etc.)
Road renaming is when a road which already has an official name is to be changed in part or whole.
Duplication refers to the road name itself and does not include the road type. For example, Luwum Street is considered a duplication of Luwum Place.
Kampala City belongs to all its people, and has a long history of human settlement and a rich heritage. The names of roads should reflect our multicultural society which must be easily and equitably recognized. It is essential for Kampala Capital City Authority (hereinafter KCCA) to provide an acceptable policy and process in giving names to its public places, building, roads, facilities and artifacts.
The Process Of Naming And Renaming a Road
Parties interested in proposing a new name or replacement name for a road are required to complete a Road Naming Proposal Form. The interested parties are: The land-owner (whose property’s address fronts the road), or a local reputable committee or organization. Once completed in its entirety the form is to be submitted to KCCA for evaluation.
Submissions which are considered incomplete will be discussed with the applicant and advice provided on creating a more effective application.
Using the Road Naming Proposal Checklist, the proposal will be reviewed by the KCCA to confirm that:
The proposed name is in accordance with Kampala City’s Road Naming guidelines.
KCCA has power to approve the name (i.e. the name relates to an official public or private road under the authority’s powers).
The proposed name/s comply with the Uniqueness, Sources, Propriety, Communication, Spelling and Form outlined below.
If the proposal does not meet all of the above criteria the proposal will not be supported.
The responsible officer will then notify the applicant of the outcome, outlining the reasons for the decision of nonsupport. The applicant will be given the opportunity to provide further information, if appropriate, in support of the application.
In the case of naming of new roads:
It is a requirement that naming submissions contain a brief background of their origin.
Road names shall be approved prior to applying for Survey Plan sealing, the approved road/street name is to be shown on the survey plan.
Information as to the proposed final layout of a road or road system is to be provided by the Applicant. This is to ensure that the road naming extension correctly describes the type of road as listed below
For multi-road developments the use of naming themes is encouraged.
After the subdivision plan is approved, a road naming process should then be followed to name the road(s).
Valid applications will be sent by the responsible officer to PPC for Information.
In the case of road re-naming, the following will be the criteria:
The current name is duplicated in another suburb in Kampala.
Two or more roads have been joined.
A current road is significantly realigned to the extent that a new name would be appropriate.
Two or more roads follow each other and it is not clear where the road changes its name.
The current name has been incorrectly spelt.
The road is commonly known by a different name.
The current name has lost historical significance or has become distasteful.
All affected parties will be notified in writing of the outcome.
It is the duty of the Property Addressing Officer to inform relevant areas of the Authority (i.e. Directorates and working commit tees) and related external agencies (e.g.: National Emergency Services, Postal Authorities, the Electoral Office, Departments of Environment and Resource Management, Emergency Services, Utility providers, Telecom companies etc.) of the new name(s), through the best available method probably print media for wide circulation.
Additional names of historical significance, suggested by the applicants, will be sent to the KCCA Library Supervisor to record on the Unused Names Register, for use in future road naming.
The President of the Republic of Uganda, Cabinet, Parliament of Uganda, Kampala Capital City Authority and Division Councils may by presidential edict or special resolution assign a name or rename an existing road.
When naming and renaming of roads and streets the following guidelines should be observed:
Uniqueness.
Name duplication should be avoided. If possible duplication of names in proximity to adjacent local government areas should also be avoided. Similarity in road names within these areas is also discouraged (e.g. White Street and Whyte Street).
However, roads crossing KCCA boundaries should have a single and unique name.
Sources.
Preferred sources for road names include:
Aboriginal names
local
early explorers, pioneers, settlers and other eminent persons
war/casualty lists
Thematic names
Flora and fauna
Names should be appropriate to the physical, historical or cultural character of the area concerned.
The origin of each name should be clearly stated and subsequently recorded.
Propriety.
Names which are characterized as follows are to be avoided.
Offensive or likely to give offence.
Incongruous – out of place.
Commercial or company.
Un desirable names.
Communication.
Names should be reasonably easy to read, spell and pronounce in order to assist both service providers and the travelling public.
Unduly long names and names composed of three or more words, including the road type, should be avoided. Roads names should be limited to less than 40 characters which include any spaces and the road type.
A given name should only be included with a family name where it is essential to identify an individual or where it is necessary to avoid ambiguity. The use of given names should generally be avoided.
Roads with double destination names should be progressively renamed.
Spelling.
Where it is intended that a road have the same name as a place or feature with an approved geographical name, then particular care should be taken to ensure that the correct spelling is adopted.
Where names have been changed or corrupted by long-established local usage, it is not usually advisable to attempt to restore the original form.
Spelling which is sanctioned by general usage should be adopted.
Generally road names proposed or approved should not contain abbreviations. There is, however, one exception. ST should always be used in place of Saint.
Form
The apostrophe mark ‘must be omitted in the possessive case e.g. Colville’s Road should be Colvilles Road.
The use of hyphens, slashes and other diacritical marks should be avoided if possible.
The use of numbers and roman numerals in a road name should be discouraged, when numbers are applied to a name it should be in alpha rather than numeric form.
No spaces should be embedded in words within the road name, single spaces only are allowed between words and no spaces are allowed to surround hyphens.
The above information is called from kcca.go.ug