Toronto The Bentway (was Under Gardiner) | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto

What should be the permanent name for the park under the Gardiner?

  • The Artery

    Votes: 12 6.5%

  • The Bentway

    Votes: 77 41.8%

  • Under Gardiner

    Votes: 52 28.3%

  • None of the above

    Votes: 43 23.4%
  • Total voters
    184
interchange42 said:
I'm perfectly fine with Under Gardiner. I have zero problems with the connection that name makes, and in fact I think it's important, like a "reclaim the name" type campaign.
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Ditto. It's a great name -- it makes its location clear, it's a (bit of a) pun, and has more playfulness to it than any of the other options.

I swear, if they have another contest, I'm voting for "Boaty McBoatface".
 
Josh said:
I feel like naming it after a first nations word is going down the path of cultural appropriation & tokenism - especially when so many first nations communities are in crisis right now. Perhaps once Canada lifts it's indigenous populations out of such dire straits we can consider naming our multi-million dollar hipster parks after their words.
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You could easily argue the opposite, that giving it an indigenous name is honoring first nations people who once lived there and helps raise awareness of their issues.
 
I also like Under Gardiner and casually hope that they pit that against the winner of the naming competition in one last vote on account of the irregularities, but I doubt that's in the cards. No doubt this has been badly bungled, which is a shame both because the project itself is great and because it's just plain weird to bungle a naming competition (Boaty McBoatface aside).

My guess is that Under Gardiner would beat out any of the naming competition finalists if a final vote was down to between the two.
 
P23 said:
You could easily argue the opposite, that giving it an indigenous name is honoring first nations people who once lived there and helps raise awareness of their issues.
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Some white guy opening a Ojibway dictionary and picking out a few words isn't honouring anyone.

The larger point I was making was one of hypocrisy. This country will spend billions on an Olympics games, and claim indigenous identities as ones this country respects and values. We'll name random streets and parks after indigenous words and claim we're raising 'awareness'. And while we're spending untold amounts of money celebrating indigenous history and identity - we're letting their women get murdered, their children commit suicide, and their communities exist in third world conditions.
 
Josh said:
Some white guy opening a Ojibway dictionary and picking out a few words isn't honouring anyone.

The larger point I was making was one of hypocrisy. This country will spend billions on an Olympics games, and claim indigenous identities as ones this country respects and values. We'll name random streets and parks after indigenous words and claim we're raising 'awareness'. And while we're spending untold amounts of money celebrating indigenous history and identity - we're letting their women get murdered, their children commit suicide, and their communities exist in third world conditions.
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Yes I am white. But no, I wasn't trying to be deep or 'raise awareness'. I was simply throwing out some unconventional names that could be more interesting than Bentway or Artery. I couldn't care less that names like Toronto or Canada are paying homage to indigenous First Nations people. What I do like is that they're different, unique, and make us stand out more than the previous York or British North America.
 
Some city councillors seem intent on killing the naming contest when it goes to council for approval. Not only is it clear that most people hate the proposed names but 3500 votes are hardly representative of a city of 2.6 Million. Considering that even those few votes might have been the result of vote tampering, I think it'll be pretty easy for City Council to ignore it as no more than an online popularity contest and either propose a new name themselves or keep "Under Gardiner".
 
interchange42 said:
I'm perfectly fine with Under Gardiner. I have zero problems with the connection that name makes, and in fact I think it's important, like a "reclaim the name" type campaign. The park itself should be designed to celebrate the fact that it is in fact under the Gardiner, and anyone who can't handle that, well, sorry, but boohoo, get over it, if the idea doesn't appeal during process, fine, but once it's done, go down and check it out. If they never do, the name The Bentway was not going to be the magic moniker that would have convinced them otherwise.

42
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Another thing I appreciate about the name Under Gardiner is the fact that it will honour the Gardiner forever, even long after that portion comes down. I think most here agree that the Gardiner needs to come down, but once it's gone I think it would be nice to honour the mistake that was made.

Plus it would be funny to have a linear park named after the man responsible for the Gardiner.
 
This part ain't nevah coming down. You'd have to replace it with a tunnel, and there's no money for that. We can't even afford the things we do need. With the public realm improved through this section, and with the park theoretically designed to make the best use of the space under the highway, why would we continue to plan its demise through here?

42

PS: Yes, Gardiner himself probably would not have been impressed that there was a park being built under the highway named after him, but he grew up in a time when it made sense to people to say things like "I'll tell you what the Don Valley was. It was a place to murder little boys, that's what it was." when explaining how it was better to pave it.
 
Josh said:
I feel like naming it after a first nations word is going down the path of cultural appropriation & tokenism - especially when so many first nations communities are in crisis right now. Perhaps once Canada lifts it's indigenous populations out of such dire straits we can consider naming our multi-million dollar hipster parks after their words.
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You mean like the name Toronto?
 
Josh said:
Some white guy opening a Ojibway dictionary and picking out a few words isn't honouring anyone.

The larger point I was making was one of hypocrisy. This country will spend billions on an Olympics games, and claim indigenous identities as ones this country respects and values. We'll name random streets and parks after indigenous words and claim we're raising 'awareness'. And while we're spending untold amounts of money celebrating indigenous history and identity - we're letting their women get murdered, their children commit suicide, and their communities exist in third world conditions.
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Towered said:
You mean like the name Toronto?
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I think a case can be made for both - but yeah, I tend to lean against using First Nations names unless there is a strong grassroots case for it. Throwing one in a competition for "local colour" isn't it.

interchange42 said:
PS: Yes, Gardiner himself probably would not have been impressed that there was a park being built under the highway named after him, but he grew up in a time when it made sense to people to say things like "I'll tell you what the Don Valley was. It was a place to murder little boys, that's what it was." when explaining how it was better to pave it.
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Considering we are ripping chunks out of his namesake, turning parts of it into parks and what not, it's great payback.

AoD
 
interchange42 said:
This part ain't nevah coming down. You'd have to replace it with a tunnel, and there's no money for that. We can't even afford the things we do need. With the public realm improved through this section, and with the park theoretically designed to make the best use of the space under the highway, why would we continue to plan its demise through here?

42
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Never say never. Even with the current repairs, it isn't expected to last more than a century. The decision will be revisited again and again until it is gone.
 
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