The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to name a street for former President Barack Obama.

The motion approved 14-0 calls for the city engineer to begin the process of renaming 3½ miles (5.6 kilometers) of Rodeo Road as Obama Boulevard.

Council President Herb Wesson proposed the new Obama Boulevard, which will be in his district. He says the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Some of the people that have concerns would just like to have a longer street. It's not about the length of the street, it's about the significance of the street," he told KPCC. "This was where then-Senator Obama kicked off his California campaign for president."

He recalled that Obama arrived in a minivan "like a soccer dad" and drew a diverse crowd numbering in the thousands back in 2007.

Obama Boulevard will run east and west just below the Metro Expo Line. It's near other major boulevards also named after presidents like Washington, Adams and Jefferson.



But it won't be renamed right away. It could take a few months while various city departments make preparations for the change, and a chance to weigh in is given to property owners.

Wesson is the first African-American to hold the position of Los Angeles City Council president.

Rodeo Road is unrelated to Beverly Hills' famous Rodeo Drive luxury shopping district.