LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A portion of a Freeway running through the northern suburb of Los Angeles, California, will be named after former U.S. President Barack Obama, officials said Tuesday.
The state Legislature of the western U.S. state gave final approval Tuesday to a resolution naming the portion of the 134 Freeway between the 2 Freeway and the 210 Freeway the "President Barack H. Obama Freeway," according to Anthony Portantino, a Democratic member of the California State Senate.
The resolution was passed with bipartisan support in the Assembly and the State Senate of California.
"I am so proud to have authored this proposal to forever appreciate and commemorate President Obama's tremendous legacy, statesmanship and direct connection to Southern California," said Portantino in a statement.
"It is so important that California highlights the dignity of President Obama," said Portantino who represents locals from the area of the freeway.
Obama attended Occidental College from 1979 to 1981 and lived in Pasadena during his sophomore year, where he traveled the 134 Freeway from his apartment to the campus, City News Service reported.
"It is also quite appropriate and symbolic that the California Legislature would pass this resolution for a president filled with compassion on the same day we witness another president turn his back on 800,000 children," Portantino added.
Earler in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump phased out a program called DACA, that had protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. Trump's action has sparked increasing controversy in the American society.
Los Angeles City Council also approved a proposal on June 28 to rename a 5-kilometer stretch of road in Southwest Los Angeles from "Rodeo Road" to "Obama Boulevard."
Los Angeles already has a number of streets named after former presidents, including Washington Boulevard, Adams Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard.
