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Commission approves naming of new road after well-known native islander

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An agreement to name a new Hilton Head Island road after a respected native islander is a sign the town and native islander community are mending relations, officials said.

The Planning Commission on Wednesday approved naming a new local access road across the Squire Pope Road intersection with William Hilton Parkway "Chamberlin Drive."

The name is in honor of Chamberlin Robinson, a native islander born in 1875 who lived near the new road and worked at the former Honey Horn plantation.

Constructed as part of the Squire Pope Road improvement project, the road connects Kirby Lane and Viola Drive and allowed the town to close curb cuts to improve traffic flow by keeping drivers from turning off the park. Several houses are on Viola and Kirby, but none of the residents will have to change their addresses.

The town asked the Stoney/Squire Pope Property Owners Association to provide a list of suggested names for the road. The association and the town were at odds earlier this year when the town wanted to rename the old section of Wild Horse Road -- a name native islanders said held cultural importance for the community. The town eventually relented and agreed to name the section "Old Wild Horse Road," but some residents were upset at the way the process was handled.

For this new road, the town made a much better effort to engage the community, association president Curtis Barnwell said.

"I have to give them a lot of credit. They came in the community even before they started doing it," he said. "They reached out to us."

The town is also considering extending the new road out to Humane Way, providing a connection to Spanish Wells Road that could ease traffic on the highway and provide access to Fairfield Square, said town traffic and transportation engineer Darrin Shoemaker.

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