With 7,500 registered street signs in Ottawa and hundreds more added every year, city officials are looking beyond traditional parameters for names that encompass all of Canada and a changed demographic.
A new city policy emphasizes greater flexibility in street-name selection. Vetting and approving nomenclature was becoming increasingly difficult, according to the report, due to a previous by-law. Names will no longer be restricted to reflect “local identity” of the region but rather the history and identity of Canada as a whole.
“Presently the bylaw has certain criteria embedded in it,” says Arlene Grégoire, the city’s building code services director. “It says (street names) must make reference to local geography, heroes and history – this is very restrictive because the city, being the capital, should reflect Canadiana.”
Two bylaws currently regulate city and highway road signage. This amendment proposes to consolidate these two laws, which will thereby simplify and broaden the selection of street name themes for both types of roads.
This move also signals the fluctuation of demographics. Ottawa is home to a “diverse population where over 70 languages are spoken and host to a sizeable international community with over 125 diplomatic missions,” says the report. “It is appropriate to begin to include names that mirror the new face of Ottawa.”
“We want to open to the possibility of multicultural names,” says Grégoire, “because right now we wouldn’t be able to permit it.”
Tying the past to the present through sign nomenclature comes down to representation and engagement, says Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.
“It’s a balance,” says Dewar. “You don’t want to have certain people or groups represented over others.
“This could be an exciting opportunity to update how we see ourselves through the signs we drive or walk on everyday,” he says. “The key is to do it right in the beginning and to use a thoughtful process in bringing people together to establish what those names and changes mean.”
Beaconville-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney agrees.“Clearly there are only so many names you can have before you run out of ideas,” says Tierney, “and the way to fix that problem is to consolidate everything together. We’re going to see some streets and subdivisions that really reflect the total culture of Canada, not just old Bytown or Ottawa.”