Street names in Ontario towns

[spider]

I understand most towns having a Main, Station, Front or Bridge street but why do most towns have a"Division Street"?

 

[Tewder]

Funny, but none of the street names you mention strike me as particularly common in Ontario. King, Queen, Simcoe, on the other hand...

 

[spider]

Funny, but none of the street names you mention strike me as particularly common in Ontario. King, Queen, Simcoe, on the other hand...

Kingston, Welland, Trent Hills, Cobourg, Brantford, Picton, Big Bay, Trenton, Cramahae, Kingsville,
Oshawa, Bowmanville, Colborne, Hamilton, Halton Hills, Hastings, Acton and Arnprior among many others have a Division Street but why?
King, Queen and Simcoe are quite obvious in their derivation but why Division?

 

[JasonParis]

As Toronto is a capital city, I've often found it a bit odd that none of our major streets are named after other cities in the province? It would have been a nice touch.

 

[vic]

As Toronto is a capital city, I've often found it a bit odd that none of our major streets are named after other cities in the province? It would have been a nice touch.

Well, maybe it's not a "major" street, but it's certainly well-known now.

 

[JasonParis]

Well played vic. Well played.

 

[vic]

Back with a serious answer. Here's Cobourg's reason for having a Division Street:

Division Street in 1919 - the dividing line between east and west for house numbering. It was a major street connecting the pier on Lake Ontario to highway #2 and connecting up with highway #45.

http://www.cobourghistory.ca/histories/short-histories/15-streets-of-cobourg

Maybe the same "dividing line between east and west" holds true for other towns. Could be verified by looking at addresses.

-Vic

 

[Copper1212]

^ Yes. Being from Cobourg I've always thought it was neat Division Street is literally the dividing line between east and west in the town. Beyond street names it is used for the power grid also. During power outages for instance you'll see one half of the town on and the other half off starting at Division Street.

 

[spider]

Vic and Copper1212.
Thank you for your perfectly rational answers to my question.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Everyone: Speaking of street names in Ontario towns - these two stand out in my memory:

Aylmer and Dalhousie...LI MIKE

 

[kbdid]

Division St in Kingsville divides E/W. In Toronto we have at least two named after other cities - Dundas and Kingston...

 

[doady]

There also Front St in Port Credit. Port Credit and Streetsville both have a Queen St so there's TWO Queen Sts in Mississauga...

Other common street names in GTA/Hamilton/Oshawa (besides Toronto):

Church St
Streetsville, Brampton, Churchville (obviously), Oakville, Ancaster, Bowmanville, Newmarket, Maple, Richmond Hill, Markham, Georgetown, Acton, Waterdown, Aurora, Schomberg, Holland Landing, Bradford, Newcastle, Beaverton, Sunderland, Uxbridge

John St
Brampton, Cooksville, Burlington, Port Credit, Waterdown, Whitby, Oshawa, Milton, Orangeville, Acton, Hamilton, Kleinburg, Bradford, Georgetown, King City, Beaverton, Port Perry

James St
Hamilton, Burlington, Dundas, Waterdown, Milton, Georgetown, Streetsville, Bradford, Newcastle, King City, Beaverton, Uxbridge

Wellington St
Brampton, Hamilton, Dundas, Bowmanville, Aurora, Orangeville, Waterdown, Newmarket, Nobleton, Beaverton

Mill St
Streetsville, Brampton, Waterdown, Pickering Village, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Dundas, Waterdown, Milton, Georgetown, Acton, Bolton, Stouffeville, Newcastle, Beaverton, Uxbridge

Elizabeth St
Port Credit, Brampton, Grimsby, Burlington, Whitby, Markham, Pickering Village, Thornhill, Milton, Orangeville, Beaverton

Victoria St
Milton, Georgetown, Churchville, Waterdown, Streetsville, Dundas, Stouffeville, Aurora, Uxbridge, Port Perry

Elgin St
Whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville, Acton, Burlington, Waterdown, Dundas, Hamilton, Georgetown, Port Perry

 

[Student]

In cities and towns of post-soviet countries you will always find something like The Lenin Square, Lenin Street, Gagarin St, Central Street, Youth St, Soviet St.

I guess popular street names in every country depend on its history and traditions. In Canada, for example, it is always about Queen, King, Eelizabeth, Victoria, also Church and various Saint people. Let's see what streets in Toronto are related to Royalty: Queen St W, Queen St E, North Queen St, King St W, King St E, King St, etc.

 

[junctionist]

Actually, Soviet names have largely disappeared. Russia changed to a democracy and lessened the emphasis on communist history (though still proud of their achievements in that time). Many post-Soviet nations never wanted anything to do with the Soviet Union in the first place--they changed the names right after the fall of the Soviet Union and toppled the monuments.

 

[Student]

Actually, Soviet names have largely disappeared. Russia changed to a democracy and lessened the emphasis on communist history (though still proud of their achievements in that time). Many post-Soviet nations never wanted anything to do with the Soviet Union in the first place--they changed the names right after the fall of the Soviet Union and toppled the monuments.

It's true but many Soviet names are steel there. Those that I mentioned in the previous post - they are everywhere, thousands them. It is the same as Canada and Monarchy - Monarchy is not here anymore, but the street names are.