STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — A street in Steamboat Springs, named after Civil War General Robert E. Lee and also associated with a Mississippi riverboat of the same name, has been changed to Storm Peak Lane.

Steamboat Springs City Council passed the resolution renaming the street at its meeting Tuesday night.

Due to the national conversation surrounding issues of racial injustice, City Council members have received numerous requests to change the name of the street, which is located in the Fairway Meadows subdivision off of Steamboat Boulevard. Residents who lived on the street worked with the city to come up with a new name for their street.

“The national dialogue around diversity, equality and inclusion has touched upon a broad arena of topics for many across the county and Steamboat Springs has been no different,” said Deputy City Manager Tom Leeson, who headed up the project, in a news release. “While this aspect might be small in scope, it shows our continued commitment to change and taking action no matter the scale.”

According to Steamboat Pilot & Today archives, Robert E. Lee Lane was the result of a naming contest organized by LTV-RDI, the owner of Steamboat Resort at the time. A new subdivision had been built in what is now the Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club, and the developers needed five ideas to name the streets. In the end, the streets were named after steamboats that traveled the Mississippi River.

According to the city’s addressing and street naming policy, 51% of property owners must agree to a suggested name change. City officials said that metric was met after two Zoom meetings, an online survey and other correspondence with Robert E. Lee Lane’s 15 home owners. 

The new name takes effect Jan. 1, 2021, to accommodate the upcoming election and give property owners and residents enough time to modify legal documents.

The street will now be known for the peak that climbs to over 10,000 feet on Mount Werner and is located to the east of the subdivision.