Placer County officials vote to change racist Lake Tahoe street name

After nearly 100 years, a North Lake Tahoe street name will be changed after residents expressed concern over the “offensive connotations” of the name.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the proposal Tuesday to change a Kings Beach road name from “Coon Street” to “Raccoon Street.”

“Due to offensive connotations of the word ‘Coon,’ the County desires to change the road name to ‘Raccoon,’ the unabbreviated version of the name of the animal after which this road was named,” the staff report said.

Coon Street intersects Highway 28 near the heart of Kings Beach, a popular tourist destination on the shores of Lake Tahoe. The street was named in 1926 after a raccoon, keeping in the theme of the neighborhood where the north to south streets are named for animals and the east to west streets are named for fish.

Coon Street currently intersects with Salmon, Trout and Rainbow Avenues, and runs parallel to Fox and Bear Streets.

But as one Kings Beach resident, Nicole Stirling, pointed out in public comment, “Coon Street” is the only street name that is shortened from the original animal name. And local residents initiated two petitions that garnered over 500 signatures in favor of changing the street name to Raccoon Street.

The changes were largely supported by residents of the Tahoe region, with one resident of Coon Street opposed to the new name due to the inconvenience of having to change their address on personal records.

The name change will cost the county $3,900 in labor and materials to replace 28 signs, according to a presentation to the board of supervisors. Caltrans has already spent $800 to replace the signs along Highway 28.

“There are hundreds of thousands of visitors that see that sign, those many signs, and will feel more welcome in our community” said Stirling. “And we’re very excited to have this move forward.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Placer County officials vote to change racist Lake Tahoe street name."