Council to decide on 23rd Street NW name change

By Collin Gallant on November 9, 2018.

Medicine Hat News

A name change to a major northside route is being considered as a way to honour a local service club.

In 2015, the city approved “Rotary Centennial Drive” for the list of of names available when new streets are built after the club proposed it as a way to note its 100th anniversary this year.

It was to be considered for use in a future phase of the Ranchlands subdivision — the protocol being to use “R” names for consistency’s sake.

However, planners suggested at a committee Wednesday that renaming 23rd Street NW would be an appropriate way to accomplish the feat during this calendar year.

“We’ve been working at it for a few years and it would be nice to push is through this year,” said Chris Perret, president of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat.

That group celebrated the anniversary of its founding in June and has planned a series of other celebrations, donations and projects, as well.

Perret adds “23rd isn’t a huge route right now, but it will be in the future.”

The change will go to city council for approval Nov. 19.

City policy is to generally avoid renaming roads, but planners don’t expect a new major route to be built for at least five years, and the schedule of new subdivisions with roadway is highly variable.

Administrators say the public would be more welcoming of adding a name to a numbered street, rather than renaming one.

Beyond a limited number of sign changes, only administrative work is required, they told the Development and infrastructure committee on Wednesday.

The change would involve the section of the major route between Division Avenue, west to Box Springs Road. The roadway east of Division Avenue would remain as Parkview Drive.

There are no private addresses that face onto the road, meaning that no existing homes of businesses would be affected.

Only a cellphone tower, gas and power metering stations and a storage yard would be affected, and planners say that would cause little confusion for mail delivery or emergency crews.