Jack Layton naming sweepstakes well underway, with some carping

Two weeks after the death of federal NDP Leader Jack Layton, the movement to name places after the much-admired politician is growing.

The latest to chime in is Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who confirmed at a Labour Day festival the city would honour Layton.

"We'll designate a street or bike route as the first to-do for our naming committee, so he is remembered personally in our city," Robertson, an avid cyclist who bikes to City Hall daily, was reported as saying in the Vancouver Province.

The movement is especially strong in Toronto, where he lived most of his life and represented its citizens on city council and in Parliament.

Proposals submitted to the Toronto Star range from a major downtown square to libraries and parks. Many, like American Robin Rosner of Cleveland, suggest engraving the last words from his now famous farewell letter to Canadians: "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair . . . "

"I am reminded of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, where he is sitting on a park bench. Many people have sat down on the bench next to him," Rosner wrote. "That would be interesting. There could be a grouping of several benches, all in orange."

Twitter was flooded with suggestions, including renaming Riverdale Park, in Layton's riding, or creating a park on the site of a proposed big box store in Leslieville that Layton opposed.

But a lot of suggestions revolve around naming some kind of urban bike lane or recreational cycling path after Layton, a committed cyclist.

In Vancouver, almost a thousand people have signed onto a Facebook page to name the 10th Avenue bike lane, behind the Vancouver General Hospital complex just south of downtown, after Layton and make it a dedicated bike route by banning cars.

"I ride this bike route regularly," posted Catherine Lubinsky. "There are many cancer research and treatment centres that are located around VGH on 10th Ave. Perhaps with this dedication, we'll remember and practice the practices that kept Mr. Layton and many other cancer sufferers vital and well."

But this being Vancouver, there was some predictable grousing along both practical and political lines. Some oppose the idea of closing 10th Ave. to cars because it would complicate an already difficult west-east transit near downtown. But others used the mayor's announcement to take shots at Robertson, who's up for re-election in November, and at the NDP.

Ed Mt Seymour's comment said naming something in Toronto for Layton is fine "but here, not likely. He has not done anything for Vancouver to gain such recognition. He was a politician, not a saint . . . get over it."

As for Robertson: "After the next civic election we can take out the bike lanes and name a deserted ramp after Gregor . . . the 'the Robinson (sic) Ramp' that leads to nowhere (perhaps to an empty bank building)."

Perhaps the wisest observation about the naming frenzy came from the Hudson Gazette, in Layton's Quebec birthplace, where they're considering naming a school after him.

"Renaming public buildings in honour of the latest departed pol is as old as Canada," the paper says in an editorial on its website. "Then ask yourself whether this is what Jack would have wanted."

"Let's not settle for a quick, easy way to commemorate Layton — even if he did say 'It's Hudson High until I die.' "

The best way to immortalize Layton, the paper says, is to ensure his name means something personal for future generations, such as following suggestions to name a bursary or scholarship after him.

(CP Photo)