Decades of service to the community was recognized Tuesday as the Seattle City Council’s transportation committee voted its approval of a new honorary designation of a portion of 19th Ave running from the edge of Capitol Hill into the Central District as Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney Ave. The designation won’t mean a change of names for 19th Ave but it will be accompanied by the addition of special street signs marking the honorary avenue.

Connecting E Union to E Madison and McKinney’s Mt. Zion Baptist Church, the quarter-mile stretch will honor the longtime pastor who left the pulpit in 1998 after 40 years leading the congregation. As he approaches his 90th birthday, the neighborhood around the church and the stretch of 19th Ave that will feature street signs honoring the reverend continues to change with increasing redevelopment.

“The City of Seattle is fortunate to be home to outstanding community and religious leaders who have done much to shape the conscience of Seattle,” the resolution for the designation reads. The full document is below.

The designation will be voted on by the full Council next week. We’ll check in on the timeframe for when the new signs will go up along the stretch of 19th.