A Franklin road whose name has been joked about for years is being renamed for a retired general.
Lovers Lane, located just west of Interstate 65 off of King Street, will be renamed for Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, who retired from his position as leader of the Indiana National Guard last year.
The road will be called Umbarger Lane. The name change will take effect on Jan. 1, Franklin Mayor Joe McGuinness said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe suggestion to change the name of the road came up a while ago, when the city had a group of consultants come up with a plan for development around the city’s I-65 exit, he said.
Lovers Lane may not be the most appealing name to businesses, the consultants told the city.
“Small things like that can enhance the city’s ability to bring in additional businesses,” McGuinness said.
The road’s name also came up as an issue when the Indiana National Guard built an armory along the road. Instead of having an address of Lovers Lane, they added a small off-road, called Minuteman Way, which is the address for the facility, McGuinness said.
So, when McGuinness was thinking of another name for the road, he immediately thought of Umbarger, who was a big driver behind the decision to bring the armory to Franklin, McGuinness said.
“We can rename it, but also honor Umbarger for his service to the state,” McGuinness said.
“If it wasn’t for him, fighting for that armory to be built in Johnson County, it could have been anywhere else.”
Earlier this month, the city board of public works approved the name change beginning in 2017.
That gives businesses along the road time to change their address on their letterheads and other materials and gives the city time to change the signs, McGuinness said.
