City Council votes to keep Sandra Bland Parkway

PRAIRIE VIEW (FOX 26) - After a somewhat messy council meeting, Prairie View city leaders have decided to keep the name Sandra Bland Parkway, after changing it from University Drive in August.

Council members wanted to revisit the name change in this month's session after residents complained about not having the chance for public input.

In Tuesday's meeting, city council members initially said they did not want to vote this month on whether to keep the Sandra Bland Parkway name, but at the end, they took a vote anyway and decided to keep it.

Several members of the Prairie View community came forth to argue their case.

One man said, "I affirm the street renaming the naming of the park and I affirm Sandra Bland's life."

Many advocated that Sandra Bland has become a symbol and that having a street immortalize her name will remind people, both in law enforcement and within the community, to be better.

But others, many who have lived in Prairie View their entire lives, strongly disagree. They said there were other devoted community members who deserved a street name more than Bland.

"I believe the actions of Sandra Bland do not represent the actual people that live in Prairie View and do not warrant a boulevard name change," said one Prairie View female resident.

The meeting itself was unruly and tense at times. After initially decided to wait until the next session to vote, the council abruptly took a vote at the end of the public input and decided the Sandra Bland Parkway name will stay.