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The Name Game
Posted 9/24/2012 1:17:00 AM

From time to time there is a movement to re-name a stretch of road after a person or a cause.  Sometimes these ideas are successful; sometimes they get bogged down in committees or alternate suggestions.  As we seek to honor those who have excelled we have Wayne Gretzky Drive and Mark Messier Trail and Tommy Banks Way.  We name parks for people like Emily Murphy and Bill Hawrelak.  We see the names of those who made a difference on various buildings and schools and hospital wings and libraries.  We even re-named Highway 2 for Queen Elizabeth.  Now comes a letter from Terry.  He thinks we should re-name the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers.  He thinks the north should be called Peter Lougheed River in honor of all he did for Alberta and the country, and the south should be called Tommy Douglas River for all that he did to improve our lives.  I like these ideas but there will be other opinions.  What do you think?  And what else has a numerical or bland name that we should re-christen, and for whom?  Let me know what you think.

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Posted By: Bob Layton  

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  1. Richard G posted on 09/24/2012 07:02 AM
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The numbered grid system ain't broke. In most cities you can't get around without a map or navigation aid. Here I know not only what part of the city but exactly where 12345 - 67 Street NW is and on which side of the street it is located.

    With named streets you have to ask where in the city does Hodgkins Disease turn into Hodgkins Lymphoma? (For the political Correctness Police, there is no offence intended to people who have either malady. I used Hodgkins as an example vecause there is an area with a Hodgkins Way, Close, Drive, Crescent, Inlet, Road, Lane and Boulevard.) As good of a guy this Hodgkins was, the names tell me nothing of the location or how to get there, much less what side of the street I am supposed to look on.
    1. Ken posted on 09/24/2012 03:00 PM
      @Richard G So Richard,
      How far East do you have to travel on Jasper Ave (101 Avenue) before you find out that the address you seek is SOUTH of the river?
      Jasper Avenue should have been 1st Avenue and 101 St should have been 1st Street. Then, no matter how the city expanded, you would not run out of numbers for the streets and avenues.
    2. Bob $ posted on 09/25/2012 08:56 AM This comment was edited by a moderator at 10:57 AM on 09/25/2012
      @Richard G Just who the hell has the time to stop their lives and thinks of this kind of crap!

      Bob replies: Obviously, people who care about recognizing others.
  2. Lil posted on 09/24/2012 08:18 AM
    Dear Mr. Layton,

    I can't imagine anything more ridiculous or offensive. Name a major river after the "Father of Dying in Long Line Ups?" Or the person who allowed Trudeau to take away our property rights? In fact, he endorsed the NEP and the Constitution that made our lives worse by allowing intrusive government to run rampant. NO THANKS!
  3. Jim J posted on 09/24/2012 08:58 AM
    My Comments on honouring persons of "repute", I agree with giving honours to individuals from things that had no name to start with.

    I have a real problem with renaming already named items... Roads used to have a logic to them, like Fort road used to go to Fort Saskatchewan, Stony Plain road to Stony Plain, and Calgary Trail to Calgary... Both Sherwood Park & Devon came into existance by the Oil Companies ... Now remaning Rivers that have had those names for well over 100 years, does anyone know what Saskatchewan means? Here is the Origin of Saskatchewan: it comes from the Cree, who called the Saskatchewan River "Kisiskatchewani Sipi," meaning swiftly flowing river.

    So are people in Edmonton going to rename other locations like they have renamed the Edmonton Coloseum, the Capilano Freeway, St Albert trail.

    Where is this renaming going to End?
    What are they going to rename Calgary to?
    Is the name of what is currently called the City of Edmonton for sale, or more properly Rent? Wow about Coke a Cola City? What if one of the Native bands that has lots of Oil revenue decide to buy the rights and Call it the "City of Papaschase" after the Cree band that was here before the HBC came.

    Have a Nice day
  4. Warren Lukinuk posted on 09/24/2012 08:58 AM This comment was edited by a moderator at 09:25 AM on 09/24/2012
    BOB, Re: "Changing Names," and A slap in the face to a ledgend.

    I was born on November 25th, 1983, the day Warren Moon won the CFL's MVP award. I was named after him, and, being immensly proud of my name and namesake, I was tickled pink when former Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith announced in 2001 that "Stadium Way" would become "Warren Moon Way".

    This, however, has failed to materialize. I sent a letter to Mayor Mandel alerting him to egregious error, but he informed me he had "no comment on proposals" by his predesesor. He told me to contact Naming and planning. they did not get back to me at all.


    I think it's time we fixed this immense oversight after all these years, if anything.

    Warren Lukinuk, 11 year season ticket holder

    P.S. I love the idea to change the name of the river to "Peter Laugheed River". It beats haveing TWO "Saskatchewan Rivers" IN ALBERTA. :)
    1. Jim J posted on 09/24/2012 01:14 PM
      @Warren Lukinuk The N. Saskatchewan River starts @ The Sask. Glacier near the Sask river crossing at the Junction of Hiways 11 & the Icefields parkway, the Bow River starts @ the Bow Glacier. the Bow is joined by a few Rivers, the Kananaskis (another Cree word) near Exshaw, the Elbow River in downtown Calgary, The Sheep River before the junctions of The Oldman River & The Bow River to form the South Sask River, then the Red Deer river joins the South Sask, near the border of Ab. & Sask. and the N & S Sask join downstream of both Saskatoon (S Sask) & Prince Albert (N Sask) before going on to drain into Lake Winnipeg, another Cree Indian name meaning "Win", muddy, "nipee", water. and then into The Hudson Bay

      Rivers are usually Named from end to beginning, But if we want to change that, then I guess we can start renaming Rivers all the way downstream. Maybe even change The Hudson Bay to either Peter Lougheed Bay or Tommy Douglas Bay, depending on which river is "Larger".

      Question, would that then require the changing of the name of The Hudson Bay Company. The HBC was responsible for Edmonton being here in the first place...
  5. Lorne Corbett posted on 09/24/2012 09:41 AM
    Hi Bob...Having roadways renamed in honour of people who are deemed to deserve a recognition is a bad idea. The number system is far superior to memorizing a named street. Having a numerical system is safer for emergency responders. Ask any emergency department and they will verify this. The cost of fuel, roadway wear and tear, vehicle collisions, stress/road rage would also be a factor with a roadway name change due to unfamiliarity of such a change.The cost to business to change their address and the confusion to clients that don't reside in Edmonton would also be a factor. I am in favour of recognizing people who have contributed through their efforts either politically,humanitarian etc. Perhaps a dedicated park with statues and a plaque to describe the achievements that led to this honour. Lois Hole could have a statue surrounded by her favourite flowers, a statue of Lougheed could have political and athletic items, Klein could be in the dog park where we pick up the crap he left behind. Just a thought.
  6. Bob $ posted on 09/24/2012 10:41 AM
    What's the rush,...if you were going to do something like that,...why didn't you do it when the man was "alive?"
    There will be plenty of things to name in the future,....maybe even an "ARENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
    Even in spite of the fact that Artie Johnson,..had trouble,...with it....kept calling it "Sasakatchekatchewaniwan"....remember that Bob?
    1. Bob $ posted on 09/25/2012 08:54 AM
      @Bob $ I guess not!
  7. Bill posted on 09/24/2012 11:40 AM
    In regards to your editorial about changing names of some rivers. I've often wondered sometimes as I drive around the city and see some little park on some side road that is named after someone. I wonder just who they were because I've never heard of them. Maybe the city instead of just putting a sign up with the unknown name could also put something there that would tell you about the person and what they did. As it is those city signs just look like fancy headstones.
  8. GFF posted on 09/24/2012 03:00 PM
    I, too, say leave streets/avenues and rivers alone! Capilano Freeway (freeway?), we won't open that bag of worms. A piece of it changed to Gretzski Drive, another hockey player has his name on a chunk of St. Albert Trail. Business have voiced how expensive it is to redo business cards, advertising painted on vehicles, etc. But to no avail! As usual. City council does what ever it damn well pleases regardless of feedback! I live on 71 street, south of Londonderry Mall in the northeast part of Edmonton. My mailing address is .... - 71 St NW! North East Edm is North WEST? Not everyone has a GPS, nor access to a computer. As other have said, if it is not broken, don't fix it! Leave the numbers and present streets alone!!
  9. Derrick posted on 09/24/2012 06:56 PM
    I think it is rediculous that someone would think of spending money on something like this. Why don't people ever suggest that we spend money on health care or the school system. They need more help than anything else in this society. If it already has a name, leave it alone and invest the money where it is needed...
  10. Mike R posted on 09/24/2012 06:59 PM
    I don't think anything should be named after Lougheed. He has enough named after him will he was alive. Beside these rivers is not only part of Alberta.Change can be good but these rivers is Great part of our & others heritage, Let just keep that for our history sake. If you want try change the name of Calgary to Lougheed & seehow that goes.
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