Newport renames 90‑foot stretch of Central Avenue to Ovation Way to fix GIS and wayfinding

The City of Newport commission approved Commissioner's Order No. 3 to change the name of a short section of Central Avenue (just north of West 3rd Street) to Ovation Way.

Brian, a city staff member working with Planning and Development Services, told the commission the roughly 90‑foot segment is already signed and commonly used as part of Ovation Way and that online mapping services such as Google and Waze sometimes route drivers inconsistently because the city GIS still listed the segment as Central Avenue. "This is really related to the essentially, the 90 plus feet section between West 3rd Street and the ramp up to Ovation Way," Brian said, explaining the change is a GIS clean‑up and would not transfer ownership of the right of way to the developer, Corporax.

Staff said the request came from Planning and Development Services, which manages Northern Kentucky's GIS, and that the change aligns municipal data with existing signage and mapping. Commissioners thanked staff for the map that clarified the small scope of the change; staff reiterated that the right of way remains city property and the action only corrects wayfinding and mapping records.

The commission approved the order by roll call with all recorded votes in favor. No public comment was recorded on the item.