Proposed renaming of Dundas Street

[afransen]

Maybe not - even the French had been doing this sort of thing:

https://www.france24.com/en/20130405-france-vichy-petain-belrain-verdun

Like I have said, this sort of thing is nothing new - it is part of making history. The only real issue here the level of disruption and cost - not because of some special worth. Quite frankly, we should be giving more prominence to our own locals (like how about giving Fredrick Banting something more prominent) instead of some buddy of our colonial overlord (who ironically had a street of far less prominence). How about a street for say Vera Peters, a local doctor that challenged conventional wisdom around breast cancer and help changed lives for millions of women? We should be naming our most prominent streets and public spaces after our own individuals of merit, instead of tucking them out to some no name cul-de-sac out in the burbs - if that.

AoD

I'd buy into this if it came from a place of 'hey, let's honour this person'. That is definitely not the conversation we're having.

 

[afransen]

The slippery slope whataboutism is just that.

Sooner or later, others may change too. But it doesn't change the fact that enough people wanted *Dundas* changed in this moment. Obviously enough that City Council took it seriously. Any idea that (democratically, I might add) comes to the fore and is taken up seriously at council has political and social validity. You may not like it, but calling people "professionally offended" shows a preexistent anti-progress bias.

Learning and growth are the name of the game here. Evolve.

Enough people? Put it to a referendum. I suspect it is a tiny, noisy minority. The vast majority care not.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I'd buy into this if it came from a place of 'hey, let's honour this person'. That is definitely not the conversation we're having.

Let me play this another way though - I am not sure why buy-in if necessary if it is a non-issue from a purely nomenclature sense in the first place (minus cost and practical considerations). If the vast majority doesn't care, this should be a non-issue, other than purely as an issue of cost and disruption.

AoD

 

[W. K. Lis]

Let's rename Dundas Street, "John Tory Street". And then rename it every four or eight years with each new mayor that comes along.

 

[zang]

Enough people? Put it to a referendum. I suspect it is a tiny, noisy minority. The vast majority care not.

It’s 14,000 more than any petition I know of to keep it as it is.

 

[DSC]

While I am certainly not in favour of renaming things to suit changed tastes, it may be worth remembering that Dundas Street was originally the "road to Dundas" (just as Kingston Road was 'the road to Kingston"). Dundas (the town) was formerly called "Coote's Paradise" so MAYBE a suitable and historic name for the street might be Coote's Paradise Street?

 

[PinkLucy]

What good or bad did Coote get up to?

 

[11th]

I associate the name Dundas with the street in Toronto (and Ontario) which itself has important historical and cultural importance to me as a Torontonian and Ontarian.

I don't know who Lord Dundas is and I couldn't care if the street that I grew up associating downtown Toronto with was initially named after him.

Renaming the street today however, feels like a removal of Toronto history given how important the street has been to our understanding of Toronto's physical, social, and cultural development.

If this is such a pressing issue to resolve however, my compromise suggestion would be to rededicate the street to another person named Dundas with a more palatable set of political beliefs. I am sure someone could be found, one likely doesn't even need to look far given that Lord Dundas was a title not a person.

Agree. I'd think most people who oppose to renaming do so not because they want to honour Henry Dundas. To them it's more akin to the SkyDome rename debacle.
"Dundas West" in Toronto is The Junction, Little Portugal, Chinatown, Eaton Centre.

 

[afransen]

It’s 14,000 more than any petition I know of to keep it as it is.

I'd want to at least seem some polling to indicate people were actually supportive of the change. I'm not partial to letting small, noisy groups dictate government policy. Renaming one of Toronto's major streets is a big deal.

 

[Northern Light]

Star columnist Vinay Menon has a take on all this I can get behind.

Vinay Menon: Is renaming Dundas Street and Yonge-Dundas Square really the best use of our limited resources?

The cost to rename, which does not include what businesses will pay to rebrand, is estimated between $5.1 million and $6.3 million. Instead of creating years of municipal make-work under the guise of equity and social justice, why not funnel that money into affordable housing or training...

www.thestar.com

While it is paywalled at present, Outline will work.

 

[M II A II R II K]

Dundas West could become Bloor Junction for both the TTC and GO

 

[ShonTron]

Dundas West could become Bloor Junction for both the TTC and GO

I like that name! It already incorporates “Bloor Station” – an existing GO/UP name, it’s at a major transit junction, with all modes in one place, and it reflects the area, though it is not The Junction, it’s close by to it and the Junction Triangle.

 

[W. K. Lis]

They could always rename Yonge Street to Young Street, and Dundas Street to Old Street.

 

[DSC]

They could always rename Yonge Street to Young Street, and Dundas Street to Old Street.

Or, better still, they could concentrate their energies and our money on things that might actually improve people's lives! Explain names YES, change names NO.

 

[lenaitch]

I like that name! It already incorporates “Bloor Station” – an existing GO/UP name, it’s at a major transit junction, with all modes in one place, and it reflects the area, though it is not The Junction, it’s close by to it and the Junction Triangle.

Until somebody digs up some nefarious from Joseph Bloor's past. Given his image, perhaps scaring children.