A new street in Etobicoke could be named after the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and the city is asking residents to express their interest in the possibility of the potential street name.
The City of Toronto has released a shortlist of 10 names for three new potential streets as part of the Six Points Interchange Reconfiguration.
The Six Points intersection reconstruction is underway to develop Etobicoke Centre as a transit-oriented community that will have improved pedestrian and cycling facilities.
Toronto residents can rank their top choices for the new street names on an online public ranking released by the city.
“Like all ten names on the shortlist, the Rob Ford name was directly submitted by the public. In accordance with the City’s Street Naming Policy, the Rob Ford name was submitted with a signed consent form from a representative of the Ford family,” a spokesperson from the City of Toronto told Global News.
“The name complies with the City’s Street Naming Policy and through the process followed by the vetting committee described above, it was among the high scoring names along with nine others and was included on the shortlist of ten names.”
The shortlist notes that Ford served three terms as the councillor for Ward 2, and that he also served as Toronto’s 64th mayor.
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Ford was elected mayor in 2019 and re-elected as a councillor in 2014. He died in 2016 following an 18-month battle with cancer.
The other potential street names include the Indigenous name ‘Adobigok,’ which means ‘where the alders grow’ and is also what the Mississauga First Nation called the Etobicoke Creek. ‘Biindagen,’ which means ‘enter’ or ‘welcome’ in Ojibwe is another option.
Another potential street name is ‘Diversity,’ which the city said represents the community and touches on Toronto’s ‘Diversity Our Strength’ motto.
The 10 shortlisted names were selected by city staff from 600 submissions after the public was asked to submit potential street name ideas in 2018.
The final decision of the street names is up to the Etobicoke York Community Council, which will make a decision after they receive a recommendation from a panel of city officials after the public ranking is closed.
The city said that at least one Indigenous name will be recommended. The ranking system is available until Sept. 2.
The official street names will be revealed in the fall 2019.