Etobicoke streets will not be named after late Toronto mayor Rob Ford

Etobicoke residents will not be seeing a street named after the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford after all, due to a request from the family.

The City of Toronto had released a list of 10 names, including Ford’s, for three new streets as part of the Six Points Interchange Reconfiguration back in August 2019.

They announced the names that had been selected Wednesday in a city staff report, and Ford’s was not one of them.

The Six Points intersection reconstruction is underway to develop Etobicoke Centre as a transit-oriented community that will have improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.

Ford’s name was initially submitted by the public and a representative from the family had signed a consent form for approval to be included, according to the city.

The public were invited to rate each name suggestion until September — a total of 25,888 genuine responses were received.

However, during the voting period, the Ford family requested the late mayor’s name be removed from final consideration. Out of respect for the family, his name was taken out of the running.

Ford had served three terms as the councillor for Ward 2, and served as Toronto’s 64^th mayor.

Ford died in 2016 following an 18-month battle with cancer.

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As a result, the three names that have been chosen are ‘Adobigok Pathway,’ ‘Biindagen Trail,’ and ‘Jerry Howarth Drive.’ The first two names are Ojibwe and the latter references longtime Etobicoke resident Jerry Howarth, who was the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays for 36 years.

The city said the remaining five shortlisted names “will be provided to CreateTO for consideration in naming future streets as part of the Etobicoke Centre redevelopment.”

The final decision of the street names will be made by the Etobicoke York Community Council next month.

—With files from Aisha Malik