The names of five Barrie streets were changed by city council Wednesday night before they were much travelled.
In Ward 9’s Mattamy Homes (Lockhart) plan of subdivision, Ridgehill Drive becomes Yorkshire Drive, Belgrave Trail becomes McBride Trail, Rosette Street becomes Suzuki Street, Garnet Avenue becomes Gretzky Avenue, and Ravenview Crescent becomes Redditt Crescent.
“Some of the existing names were a little bit generic in language,” said Ward 9 Coun. Sergio Morales. “Some names are picked because they are veterans, some names are picked because they are significant and I was also told … can you come up with creative names?
“What sometimes happens in Wards 9 and 10, the names just sound pleasant, like Pleasant View Crescent could be a name,” he added.
“Redditt is also a veteran and we’re lacking a little bit of veteran naming in Ward 9. And as well, McBride, as some of us know, Tom McBride passed away earlier this year and his son actually (lived) one subdivision away from this. It was little things like that,” Morales said.
McBride, for example, was a business leader, philanthropist and fundraiser. He was also known for his involvement with MacLaren Art Centre and Georgian College.
“I think it’s important for us and the public to know the meaning behind some of the names and choice of names, because we do have many that come forward around putting forward their family names and looking at their own history and the culture of Barrie,” said Coun. Ann-Marie Kungl.
Barrie’s municipal naming policy establishes the processes and criteria for naming, renaming and dedicating what the city calls municipal assets, such as streets, parks and facilities, including the methods by which the public may provide suggestions and comments.
There’s also a municipal names registry, which is a central repository of all approved names for streets, parks and facilities. It includes qualifying names as suggested by the public and the developers.
“The names that I brought forward as an amendment were already on the pre-approved list,” Morales said. “I wasn’t about to, in our first two meetings, start pulling names out of a hat. (They) are more unique, distinct names that stand out.”
“There is a policy that addresses how names get on the list. There is a registry that’s maintained and staff typically select these names in conjunction with landowners or the developers and the usual process is to consult the ward councillor as part of that process,” said Bala Araniyasundaran, the city’s general manager of infrastructure and growth management.
Other streets named for this area include Fleetwood Street, Vinewood Crescent, Ivory Road, Greer Street, Fenchurch Manor, and Lower Street.
Last March, city council approved rezoning 620 Lockhart Rd., from agricultural to neighbourhood residential, multiple residential mixed use and open space.
Mattamy Homes will build 613 residences there 347 single-detached homes, 172 street townhouses, 66 back-to-back townhouses and 28 part lot/blocks and a future mixed-use block, which could include commercial uses, on 69 acres located on the north side of Lockhart Road, west of Yonge Street.
