Short street by Cedar Rapids police station to be named Valor Way SW

The little stretch of city street that runs north from Diagonal Drive SW, near the west side of the Eighth Avenue bridge, to the back side of the police station is poised to get a new name.

H Avenue SW will become Valor Way SW if the city's police chief, fire chief and parks and recreation director get their way.

The City Council's Development Committee approved the idea this week, and the City Council is expected to do the same in the weeks ahead.

This spot along Diagonal Drive SW has been converted into a park that is connected by a trail to the city's new riverfront McGrath Amphitheatre just to the north.

The park will be dedicated as Bret Sunner Memorial Park on May 15 to honor Sumner, a former Cedar Rapids police officer who was shot and killed at age 25 while answering a disturbance call on June 8, 1984.

A park in honor of Sunner had been located on property where the amphitheater now sits.

The name change of H Avenue SW to Valor Way SW "is a fitting descriptor and means of paying homage to fallen police officers and firefighters in Cedar Rapids," a city staff report to the City Council states.