Do street names matter to you?
- Thread starter gfh77665
- Start date
There's been a tendency to rename streets which had been named after historical figures who have since fallen out of favour.
Bishop Grandin Blvd, a major E-W artery spanning south Winnipeg, has been renamed Abinojii Mikanah. Although Bishop Grandin was, by all accounts, a good man who did good humanitarian work with Manitoba's indigenous people, he has been associated, fairly or not, with the residential schools in which so much abuse took place.
I am sympathetic to the sentiment, but do struggle with remembering to use the new name.
However, when we lived in NZ for a year, many of the Anglo place-names had been changed (or changed back) to Maori ones. Folks there were fine with it, and had adapted well.
Niakwa Park is a very nice '50s subdivision here in SE Winnipeg. The little bays and the main drag are all named after Indigenous nations - from memory: Comanche, Iroquois, Pawnee, Mohawk, and I'm probably missing a couple. Anyway, the little playground in the area, Papoose Park, has been renamed - cultural appropriation, I think, or perhaps the word is now considered pejorative.
Also in S Winnipeg, the Riverview district includes Churchill Drive, Wavell Ave, Montgomery Ave, and Balfour Ave - British PM, English Field Marshall, English General, and British PM. I wonder whether those will be renamed at some point.
Bishop Grandin Blvd, a major E-W artery spanning south Winnipeg, has been renamed Abinojii Mikanah. Although Bishop Grandin was, by all accounts, a good man who did good humanitarian work with Manitoba's indigenous people, he has been associated, fairly or not, with the residential schools in which so much abuse took place.
I am sympathetic to the sentiment, but do struggle with remembering to use the new name.
However, when we lived in NZ for a year, many of the Anglo place-names had been changed (or changed back) to Maori ones. Folks there were fine with it, and had adapted well.
Niakwa Park is a very nice '50s subdivision here in SE Winnipeg. The little bays and the main drag are all named after Indigenous nations - from memory: Comanche, Iroquois, Pawnee, Mohawk, and I'm probably missing a couple. Anyway, the little playground in the area, Papoose Park, has been renamed - cultural appropriation, I think, or perhaps the word is now considered pejorative.
Also in S Winnipeg, the Riverview district includes Churchill Drive, Wavell Ave, Montgomery Ave, and Balfour Ave - British PM, English Field Marshall, English General, and British PM. I wonder whether those will be renamed at some point.
Old Dewdney Trunk Road in B.C.'s lower mainland (Vancouver metro area) amuses me every time.
Hey, keep to your own lane - don't hog the road!
Many years ago I lived with a family for awhile on Monarch Mews. A friend from another province sent me a drawing of a cat in royal regalia - crown, sceptre, ermine stole, etc.
When I lived in New Jersey there was a Dismal Swamp Road that led to a relatively uninhabited marshy area. A real estate developer bought a tract of land down there and wanted to build garden apartments. He came to the Town Council asking that the name be changed to something that sounded more appealing. I suggested Mosquito Alley.
I missed it, there is an Asics Rd in the shoe neighborhood!I'm resentful they missed Asics.
Street names dont bother me, but state route numbers do. Anyone trying to navigate the endless hell of Sevierville/Gatlinburg area traffic has probably seen this nausea inducing sign at least once. Want to go north? Turn left, or turn right, or theoretically do a U-turn, since south is straight ahead, north would be behind you, right? Well no, if you want to go south, you can either go straight, or turn right, which technically at this intersection turns you north towards I-40, so that doesnt make sense either. The only place on planet earth where north and south are perpendicular, or something, I dont know. I'm glad whoever made this mess of signs wasnt a navigator in a B-17 during WWII.
"Lieutenant, we should be over Germany by now. Are those the city lights of Berlin I see dead ahead?"
"Well, Major, I dont know, it could be Indianapolis, or it might be Moscow. What direction did we turn when we took off out of England? I'm so confused...."
"Lieutenant, we should be over Germany by now. Are those the city lights of Berlin I see dead ahead?"
"Well, Major, I dont know, it could be Indianapolis, or it might be Moscow. What direction did we turn when we took off out of England? I'm so confused...."
That sounds like the Jay Leno headlines where someone posted an ad that they had "Palm Iranian" puppies for sale. My neighborhood and surrounding streets are all named after universities like Harvard, Drake etc. I was told the developer has a say in the street names. I know one upscale expensive neighborhood not too far from me are all gem nanes ie diamond, ruby, sapphire etc.
Street names do not matter to me at all. There are indeed some stupid ones, but it wouldn't carry any weight if I was house shopping.
Apparently the post office doesn't know their own address in Colorado. They had an open house event and put the center that they were expecting people to show. I called the post office and asked if that was the correct address and the guy behind the counter shook his head nope.
Downtown Columbus, OH has a Gay and High intersection.
It matters if it is well known to reduce real estate value. Despite wanting to respect many historical figure, having my property on a street named after one that would reduce my property value is a big no no, just like having a homicide or suicide in the property's past.
I used to live in a rural place with address Rt 2 Box 240, and I have to explained that it is not a mailbox but a real "address".
