Sep. 25--The new street signs aren't up yet, but in the virtual world, Portland's 39th Avenue already goes by the name Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

The city's online mapping engine, PortlandMaps, has recognized both names since August 7, which is when the change became official, said Mitch Vanderperren, a corporate GIS solutions architect with the city of Portland.

This isn't new, he said. The city re-programmed the software after the council changed North Portland Boulevard to Rosa Parks Way in 2006. The software has the ability to handle street aliases.

For those who don't know, PortlandMaps is a popular way to find neighborhood census information, property tax details and home sale prices. And in a pinch, it can help you recall the names of your neighbors.

Chavez Boulevard doesn't show up yet on national on-line mapping services such as Google Maps or Mapquest. Kurt Krueger with the Portland Bureau of Transportation said those services update on a slower cycle.

Physical signs will go up in late fall or early winter. Until then, navigators can rely on the on-line world. And it won't be a problem if they can't remember the labor leader's full name either, Vanderperren said.

"We've included variations of Cesar Chavez, so if somebody types it in without the middle initial, they will find it."

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