Toronto Sherbourne Common, Canada's Sugar Beach, and the Water's Edge Promenade | ?m | ?s | Waterfront Toronto | Teeple Architects

The shortlist of new names for Sherbourne park is out. You can vote for your choice(s) at the torontoist site here.

Here is the shortlist:

  • Ridout Park
    "Named after the Ridout family, whose ancestral home (in Sherborne, England) Sherbourne Street was named after."
  • Kanadario Park
    "'Kanadario' is from the Iroquoian word meaning 'sparkling water,' a great way to describe the water channel. 'Kanadario' may also be the origin of the name 'Ontario.'"
  • Blue Edge Park
    "The Blue Edge is not just a physical description of the waterfront but also the competitive edge the waterfront gives Toronto in building a city that is sustainable, inclusive, diverse, interesting, and beautiful."
  • Merchant's Wharf Park
    "The park's name pays homage to the old pier that once stood at the foot of Sherbourne Street (then called Caroline Street)."
  • Bayfront Village Green
    "Chosen for the park's location in the middle of the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, and to reflect the elegance of the park and its sustainability aspects."
  • Waterside Park
    "Given the park plan, the urban planning around the park, and the proximity of the park to the lake, it seemed ideal to include a reference to water in the name."
  • Tkaronto Park
    "Many believe that 'Toronto' comes from the Iroquoian 'tkaronto,' which means 'where there are trees standing in the water.' The park's shock of green, when viewed from the lake, will look like trees standing in the water. The storm water management system lying under the park adds a modern and utilitarian facet to the interaction of water and trees."
  • Sherbourne Commons
    "A green space, a public venue representing the ancient citizen entitlement where the greens-open park-like spaces-belong to the people without regulatory restriction or proprietary requirement."
 
I like Waterside Park. Simple. Descriptive. Flows off the tongue. 'Going to Waterside Park. Wanna come along? Sure.'
 
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[*]Ridout Park
Why name two things after the Ridout family? They've already got their ancestral home commemorated here. Give me a reason to care about them.

[*]Kanadario Park
Could work, not bad. Second place.

[*]Blue Edge Park
Uh, yechhh. Sounds like everything there will be decorated literally.

[*] Merchant's Wharf Park
Sounds cool to me. First place.

[*] Bayfront Village Green
Very planner-y. Erin Mills. Snooze.

[*] Waterside Park
Utterly generic and totally forgettable. Sets it apart from no other waterfront/side park. Boo.

[*] Tkaronto Park
Unpronounceable. Who needs a park of which everyone asks 'how do you say that?'

[*] Sherbourne Commons
Well, at least it would be easily locatable. Third Place.

42
 
I hate to be a complainer, but these choices don't do much for me.

I see they've steered clear of any politics or controversy by choosing not to name it after any past politicians or famous people, the Ridout family excepted: but I've never heard of them and they're not even Canadian.

Blue Edge, Market Wharf, Bayfront Village Green and Sherbourne Commons all sound like the names of subdivisions or shopping mall complexes. They have an air of committee decision and are totally forgettable. Besides, "Merchant's Wharf Park" sounds odd... is it a wharf or a park?

Kanadario and Tkaronto, with no disrespect to their supposed native origins, sound a tad too good to be true. And both are awkward to spell and to pronounce.

While I agree with interchange that "Waterside Park" is bland and forgettable, I'm sad to say I'd probably choose it over the rest. "Sherbourne Commons" is my second pick, as it means that I could probably just keep calling it "Sherbourne Park".
 
A pretty uninspiring choice of names. I would prefer something aboriginal sounding but the names offered just don't work. What about something simple like Hurontario Park or Iroquois Shore Park. Something that is at least identifiable and meaningful in some way.
 
interchange42 said:
[*] Tkaronto Park
Unpronounceable. Who needs a park of which everyone asks 'how do you say that?'
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It'd be interesting to see how an accepted pronunciation would develop over time. It might even become a local shibboleth. Imagine the following:

"Which direction to Tik-ar-on-to Park?"
"You mean Takarana Park? You're not from around here are you?"
 
BTW anyone looking to get photos of this park, go to the second floor eating area of the Loblaws across the road for some great views and photo opportunities.
 
CityPainter said:
Blue Edge, Market Wharf, Bayfront Village Green and Sherbourne Commons all sound like the names of subdivisions or shopping mall complexes. They have an air of committee decision and are totally forgettable. Besides, "Merchant's Wharf Park" sounds odd... is it a wharf or a park?
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Considering you mistook the name of the new condo south of the St. Lawrence Market for one of the considered names for the park, you may have proved your point. :) Although I think it's a great name for the condo, I thought of it when I read Merchant's Wharf Park. So maybe it's overkill to keep referencing the old wharfs or perhaps it's a nice touch of consistency to the area. I don't agree that it becomes a question of whether it is a wharf or a park. In the case of Market Wharf, it's clearly a condo building referencing the old wharf that was once there just as this would clearly be a park referencing history as well.

CityPainter said:
While I agree with interchange that "Waterside Park" is bland and forgettable, I'm sad to say I'd probably choose it over the rest. "Sherbourne Commons" is my second pick, as it means that I could probably just keep calling it "Sherbourne Park".
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I do agree with you here... in fact, why don't they just continue to call it Sherbourne Park... I'll probably end up saying the same about Sugar Beach.
 
Kind of underwhelming.

  • Ridout Park
    Snore.
  • Kanadario Park
    Has a nice ring. Second place.
  • Blue Edge Park
    Horrible. This name would get a first-year marketing student a C-.
  • Merchant's Wharf Park
    Even worse. Sounds like the name you'd give a tourist-focused shopping plaza. Let's stop by Merchant's Wharf and get some Canada T-shirts!
  • Bayfront Village Green
    Sounds like an Oakville suburban development. Snore.
  • Waterside Park
    It's a park, and it's beside water! Get it? Get it? See how clever?
  • Tkaronto Park
    I actually kind of like this. I like that it's a bit cryptic. I like the historical aspect. And I like lesouris' idea that it could become a local Shibboleth. First place.
  • Sherbourne Commons
    Sounds okay, I guess, but it's not a commons. "Without regulatory restriction" doesn't apply to city parks, as far as I can tell.
 
I agree, the choices all seem rather uninspired. Out of 500 or whatever large number of entries received, these were the ones they chose? Surely there was something better in the lot of entries.
 
Please don't make it sound like some generic subdivision, either name it after the place, ie Sherbourne, or use an aboriginal name. The former shoreline of Lake Ontario is named named Iroquois, so it's kinda fitting that a new park reflects some of that antiquity.
 
I have an idea for a really great name for the park that would explain its location and have a nice ring to it...

...Sherbourne Park :). I love it!
 
PinkLucy said:
I agree, the choices all seem rather uninspired. Out of 500 or whatever large number of entries received, these were the ones they chose? Surely there was something better in the lot of entries.
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Did they release all the entries? Doing so might have inspired a lobby effort for a certain name, which won't happen with most of the finalists they've chosen. Tkaronto is decent, though. It seems unusual and cryptic yet obviously rooted in the city. It sounds like a different take on Toronto, which I hope the masterplanned eastern waterfront will inspire, in a good way.
 
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