City Council gives nod to 'Beaver Road,' renaming street after Buc-ee's mascot

When folks want to gas up and get some brisket at Buc-ee's planned Springfield superstore, they will have to travel along Beaver Road. On Monday, City Council unanimously approved renaming the road leading to the gas giant off Interstate 44 after the business' beaver mascot.

Construction is currently underway on the northeast Springfield location, the first built by the popular Texas-based chain in Missouri. Buc-ee's is known for its large stores, branded merchandise and clean bathrooms, a combination that often becomes a draw for out-of-town tourists.

In a proposal supported by Springfield city staff, Buc-ee's sought to rename North Mulroy Road to North Beaver Road to help those out-of-towners find the superstore.

According to staff, the city does not typically change street names to support specific commercial businesses, but "Beaver Road" does not "directly reference a business, they said — pointing to other instances of roads invoking a brand without naming it.

Speaking at council, Buc-ee's representative said that replacing the name "North Mulroy Road" was necessary to avoid confusion for customers exiting I-44.

"Currently, Mulroy is assigned as 'North Mulroy Road' both on the north side and the south side of I-44. This was the reason for the request for the street name change …" Chamberlain said.

"This was an attempt to avoid driver confusion and try to help with the operation of those roundabouts by providing drivers unfamiliar with the area signage that would help direct them into the correct lane as they approach the roundabout so they wouldn't get into weaving movements."

The renaming had been controversial at the Planning and Zoning Commission — members first deadlocked before narrowly voting to recommend the name change. Commissioners voiced concerns that the name could give an unfair advantage to Buc-ee's and that the large store would already be highly visible from the highway.

City Council did not appear to share those reservations.

At the bill's public hearing last year, Councilman Abe McGull called the move a "no-brainer."

Mayor Ken McClure noted that when he was still a vice president at Missouri State, he worked with the city to rename Monroe Street to Bear Boulevard — after the university's mascot.

Councilman Richard Ollis said many developers get to name the roads when they build a new subdivision.

At their first meeting of the year, city council quickly moved to unanimously adopt renaming North Mulroy Road to Beaver Road.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 'Beaver Road' — city renames street after Buc-ee's mascot