The Riverbank City Council has authorized the renaming of Crawford Road in the western end of the city, the action coming at its meeting on Tuesday, March 23.

The change was necessary to coordinate with the renaming of Crawford in the Crossroads West subdivisions. It is necessary there because the road will be diverted to the north near the western edge of the new construction.

Agencies that have to approve street names in new developments were requiring the change to accommodate a requirement by adjacent landowners on Crawford who will remain in the county that the street be cut off to eliminate what they expect to be significantly higher traffic once the developments are completed.

Crawford Road will be cut off right at the western edge of Crossroads West, and the newly named Westgate Drive will potentially veer off to the north, eventually continuing on to Coffee Road when development continues there.

That odd little ‘diverter’ island in the middle of the intersection of Crawford and Oakdale roads is there for the same reason.

Traffic studies as the main Crossroads development was being designed indicated a massive amount of traffic would use Crawford Road to the west to connect to Coffee Road. The landowners demanded a diversion of some kind.