PELHAM — His name is Russell Leonard, and soon that will be his address too.
That's right. The 76-year-old, lifelong Pelham resident lives at the corner of Leonard Drive and Old Bridge Street South, which will officially become Russell Drive on July 1. It's one of 25 sound-alike road names that are being changed to avoid confusion when police and firefighters are dispatched to a 911 call.
"I just chuckle about it, that's all," Leonard said about living at the corner of Russell and Leonard. "No one even believes us when we tell them we live on Leonard Drive. If I go anywhere, they'll say, 'What's your address?' When we say our name, they say, 'Where do you live?' and I say 'Leonard Drive' and they say, 'No, we need to know the address,' and then you have to bring it up again, and they say, 'Oh.'"
After going through that Abbott and Costello routine for a while, most people eventually get it, he said.
Now that he's going to be living at the corner of Russell and Leonard, he's going to have an even more difficult time convincing people he's not pulling their leg. There are probably very few people who can make that claim, he said.
Leonard said people often ask him what kind of connections he has to get streets named after him. But he has none. In fact, both street names came as a surprise to him and his family, Leonard said.
A local developer who bought the land decades ago from his father for the housing subdivision where Leonard lives came up with the name of Leonard Drive for his street, Leonard said, in honor of his father, the late Earl Leonard.
He said retired fire Chief David Fisher recommended Russell Drive for the new name of Old Bridge Street South, which is off Route 38. He didn't know how Fisher came up with the name, and Fisher couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
On Tuesday night, the selectmen approved the official map that shows the name and numbering changes for all 25 streets being renamed. The board's unanimous vote clears the way for behind-the-scenes work to proceed so the July 1 commencement date will be met, Planning Director Jeff Gowan said.
The Highway Safety Committee will collaborate with the Pelham post office on a mailing that will be sent to each affected resident, which will include the resident's new address along with instructions and forms for address changes and posting new house numbers, Gowan said. The package of information will be mailed June 16.
Selectmen held public hearings and approved the name changes in 2003. The names weren't implemented at the time largely because of personnel changes on the Highway Safety Committee, which was behind the name changes, Gowan said. Last year, the selectmen directed the new Highway Safety Committee to get the project back on track, which it did.
Other streets getting new names include Andrew Lane, which will become Boulder Lane; Gumpus Pond Road, which will become Granite Drive; Irene Drive, which will become Patriot Drive; Valley Forge Drive, which will become Monticello Drive; and Valley View Drive, which will become Sky View Drive.
