Resident urges Bowling Green to rename ‘Gypsy Lane Road’ because term is a slur for Romani people

Lindsay Jo Durham told council she lives on Fairview Avenue and asked elected officials to consider changing the name of Gypsy Lane Road. Durham said she researched the street name’s history at the Wood County District Public Library and in a local sesquicentennial history compiled in 1983, which noted the street was "named for the gypsies who frequently camped in a large grove near the old Baltimore and Ohio tracks south of the lane." Durham said the term is a slur for Romani people and asked the city to change the name, calling the continuation of the name an oversight and saying the community has evolved beyond such language. No council action on the request was recorded during the meeting; the item was raised during the public comment (lobby visitation) period.

Durham’s remarks were part of the public-comment section of the meeting; no staff report or formal agenda item about street-name changes was scheduled that evening. The clerk or staff did not indicate a next step during the public-comment exchange recorded in the transcript.