Street names tell stories. Stories about the history of a place, its important families, the people that lived there. A street name quietly informs our sense of the past and of what is important here.

With so much development and change on the way in the County, new street names — where they come from, and who gets to choose them — are an important topic.

That’s why the joint report brought forward at February 13th’s Council meeting is of real interest.

The report, by the Corporate and Legislative Services and Recreation and Community Facilities Departments, proposed a new reserve list of commemorative street names as well as revisions to the street naming policy. 

The initiative was led by the Street Naming Task Team and featured a great deal of input from the public. 260 suggestions were submitted, and 160 selected. Combined with the existing list of names from the Cenotaph, the County now has a list of 227 street names for every occasion.

Unfortunately, “Soggy Bottom” did not make the list.

The Greater Than Youth Collective ran a street naming “hackathon” to come up with contributions.

“The team’s objective was to diversify street names in Prince Edward County. Moving beyond the Cenotaph names to reflect our broader community culture and heritage,” said Chief Clerk Catalina Blumenberg.

Names for new streets have traditionally been taken from the list of residents who gave their lives on the Cenotaph war memorial in the Picton town square.

The names on the list the team proposed were sorted into categories: cenotaph names; County residents who served in the Canadian Armed forces, or who lost their lives in public service; local individuals or families who have made a significant contribution to County life; commemorating local Indigenous persons, organizations, places, events or culture; historical significance at a regional, provincial or national level; and local native wildlife, flora, fauna or natural features.

The list of names provides options for new streets as well as any streets that may be renamed. 

Councillors said they appreciated the inclusion of names honouring youth in PEC who were lost too soon. 

In terms of including Indigenous names, members of the task team advised that paid consultation with Indigenous groups would be the best way forward. 

The list of names is provided to developers, who are tasked with naming the street within new developments. 

The new list approved, Council moved to put the Street Naming Task Team on hiatus. It will be reconstituted if needed.