Proposed renaming of Dundas Street

[AlbertC]

A friend who works at UofT in the applications and admissions team says:

"our students are easily confused as it is, this is not helping"

Because you know it's going to be shortened to "Toronto University" which will sit only a few blocks from "University of Toronto"
Even with acronyms, people will get TMU and UMT confused.

Speaking of acronyms there's also UTM (U of T Mississauga).

 

[MisterF]

Originality.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ryerson-toronto-metropolitan-university-1.6431360

It has a real Greendale Human Beings vibe. How big was the committee that designed this mule of a name?

 

[JasonParis]

Metropolitan Square (for Dundas Square) and Metropolitan Road for Dundas St could be OK actually.

The only issue I see is confusion with Metro Hall and David Pecaut Square.

 

[afransen]

It has a real Greendale Human Beings vibe. How big was the committee that designed this mule of a name?

This is what came to mind for me, too. They should adopt Greendale's crest

too.

 

[Lennox970]

So, the latest in the Dundas saga is that it has all been, more or less, a hoax perpetrated by activists?

Toronto City Council needs to save itself from embarrassment and scrap the whole idea of renaming Dundas Street. The decision was based on discredited research and biased handling of the issue from the beginning by city staff with an activist agenda. Specific Council direction on public consultation was ignored and key parts of the projects were assigned to an underqualified consultant who openly admitted her bias on social media.

Opinion: Dundas Street renaming turning into an embarrassment

Toronto City Council needs to save itself from embarrassment and scrap the whole idea of renaming Dundas Street. The decision was based on discredited research and biased handling of the issue from the beginning by city staff with an activist agenda. Specific Council direction on public...

bayobserver.ca

 

[Towered]

Can we kill this whole idea already?

 

[Lennox970]

Can we kill this whole idea already?

Good idea. But how can bad ideas (and bad history) gain so much traction?

Decide in haste, repent at leisure.

 

[SubHuman]

As I've said before, the north-south part of it should be renamed Roncesvalles, up to about where it crosses Annette or Keele, simply because it's confusing with there being two different Bloor-Dundas intersections in different parts of the city, and the soon-be-linked TTC and GO/UPX stations could also use a single new name that decreases this confusion. I suppose the street numbers could even stay the same, if that would avoid some expense.
The rest of Dundas street, downtown and where it keeps going into Mississauga, can say the same if that's what people want.

 

[Transportfan]

Opinion: Dundas Street renaming turning into an embarrassment

Toronto City Council needs to save itself from embarrassment and scrap the whole idea of renaming Dundas Street. The decision was based on discredited research and biased handling of the issue from the beginning by city staff with an activist agenda. Specific Council direction on public...

bayobserver.ca

I took that picture of the street sign years ago.

 

[jje1000]

So, the latest in the Dundas saga is that it has all been, more or less, a hoax perpetrated by activists?

Opinion: Dundas Street renaming turning into an embarrassment

Toronto City Council needs to save itself from embarrassment and scrap the whole idea of renaming Dundas Street. The decision was based on discredited research and biased handling of the issue from the beginning by city staff with an activist agenda. Specific Council direction on public...

bayobserver.ca

Pretty much, and any mayoral candidate worth their salt should be lining up and promising to revisit it (aka kill it quietly).

 

[W. K. Lis]

Can see them renaming Dundas Square (Yonge-Dundas Square). It is a "place holder" name in my eyes.

 

[DSC]

Can see them renaming Dundas Square (Yonge-Dundas Square). It is a "place holder" name in my eyes.

While it MAY be a good idea to change street names to reflect current thinking, it is a costly thing to do - for the City and those with addresses on these streets. BOTH factors need to be taken into account and it is surely better to use scarce civic $$ to repair the street rather than rename it?

One way other places deal with 'historic names' is to erect information plaques rather than changing street names. A few plaques along Dundas and in Yonge-Dundas Square explaining who Dundas was and why we now never call anything after him would, in my opinion, be a much better way to deal with this. Yes, a compromise but ....

 

[rdaner]

I thought that this issue was dead and buried?

 

[picard102]

One way other places deal with 'historic names' is to erect information plaques rather than changing street names. A few plaques along Dundas and in Yonge-Dundas Square explaining who Dundas was and why we now never call anything after him would, in my opinion, be a much better way to deal with this. Yes, a compromise but ....

Or we just do nothing instead. The vast majority of people have no idea who a street is named after unless they are living or lived in the last 50 years.
Certainly no one cared about Dundas St. until activists jumped on flawed research.

 

[ShonTron]

I’ve been more or less ambivalent about renaming Dundas Street, given that east of Ossington, it is not even the original name nor part of the historical route. Neither George Yonge nor Henry Dundas had anything to do with this place, but they got themselves known as major streets. But given the expense, I’m not that supportive of it, especially if the renaming itself is mere performative.

That said, I’m up for renaming public spaces like the library branches whose names include Dundas. Even the square if we can figure out a good name for it.