Media Releases

Street undergoes name change

It’s official, Copp Lane is now Ernie Lane.

Town crews installed the new street name sign early on Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, seven months after the family of the late Ernie Mills, a local craftsman and tradesman who contributed greatly to the town, requested the name change.

The request was initially made in January. At the time, the family asked that Copp Lane be changed to E.J. Mills Lane.

That request was rejected by Amherst town council in order to avoid duplication as the town already had two streets with the name Mill in them.

The town then approached the family to see if Ernie Lane would be acceptable. They indicated it was.

With the OK from the family, the Amherst town council then approved the name change in February. At the time, council noted there was only one home on the street that would be affected by the name change and it belonged to the Mills family.

The town’s street naming policy requires the town to give all residents and property owners on a street a six-month notice of a street name change, which meant the earliest the new street sign could go up was six months after it was approved. That date was Aug. 31, 2020.

The name change does not affect Copp Avenue, which remains the name of a town street.