TLTI gets rid of offensive lane name
Canoe Lane is now the official name for a Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands lane that was previously given an offensive name.
This was unanimously voted on during Monday’s council meeting in Lansdowne.
In 2021, township staff mailed notification to all property owners abutting Squaw Point Lane to inform them that the township was initiating consideration of a name change because the existing lane name is an offensive, derogatory term and is not in compliance with the township’s civic address bylaw.
Staff worked with the property owners and the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville GIS Services Division to advance this matter. Following three circulations to consider lane names, the following names were selected for consideration by the property owners on the lane - Canoe Lane, Fern Lane and Foxtail Lane. Staff recirculated the proposed names to the property owners and asked that they advise staff of their preferred choice.
The proposed new road names were reviewed against the 911 database and with the master Street Address Guide (SAG) from Bell911 for UCLG to ensure there were no duplicate or similar sounding names. The Counties also review with road names in adjacent municipalities within the 911 service area to determine if there are any duplicate or similar sounding road names which may cause confusion for emergency dispatch and responders. The Counties have confirmed that Canoe Lane is an acceptable lane name.
(Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.)
Keith Dempsey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brockville Recorder and Times
