The head of the Mount Vernon Avenue District Improvement Association has a new idea to improve the area.

Dump the name Mount Vernon Avenue.

Melvin Steward, longtime leader of the Near East Side business group, told Columbus City Council members last night that a name change would erase the street's violent reputation and give the area a fresh start.

He presented officials with a list of churches, civic groups, neighborhood associations, business owners and residents who support his effort to rename the street after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

He said people outside the Near East Side avoid businesses they see listed on Mount Vernon Avenue.

The idea, like another effort to adopt the historic name of Bronzeville for the entire neighborhood, doesn't enjoy unanimous support, though.

Barry Edney, chairman of the Community Leadership Council for Justice, said the city should keep the Mount Vernon name. The street is one of the main thoroughfares through a neighborhood built by black residents during the days of segregation.

Public Service Director Mark Kelsey said the city has a protocol for street-name changes that includes gathering input from residents and businesses.

Then-City Councilman Ben Espy proposed renaming Long Street after King in 1984, but the idea was rejected because business owners didn't want the expense of address changes, and black leaders didn't want to lose that street's history.

Today, a small stretch of road connecting Spring Street and Mount Vernon Avenue bears King's name.

Steward envisions a bigger tribute to King in a neighborhood where parks, plazas and even a parking lot bear the names of civil-rights heroes and local leaders.

Edney, however, has suggested renaming St. Clair Avenue, which runs north through the Near East Side along I-71.

rvitale@dispatch.com