STREET NAMES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 80, 1 October 1924, Page 7

STREET NAMES

10 THI EDITOR.

Sir, —The Mayor rightly stated at the meeting with the deputation last night that the city is agitated from one end to the other over the method that has been adopted of renaming many of the streets. But the protests he has received are nothing to what may be expected if .the matter is not rectified with credit to' tha city, and his prediction that members of the council wul hear of it at the next election is only voicing the feelings of the community, especially any who nave just pride in the Empire City.

The amazing thing is that the obviously correct statement of tho Mayor regarding the matter found such, little support, and it .behoves every citizen with any pride in their city to get right behind the Mayor and insist on the renaming being carried out in a way worthy of tha importance of the circumstance. It does not need an expert in public affairs to be quite satisfied, as the Mayor atated, " that but for the agitation the alterations would have gone through.'1 Of course they would, and no arguments to the contrary will convince the public otherwise. The only other obviously correct comment was that by Councillor Aston, that "the complaints were aimed at the outrageous names proposed rather than at the mere fact that changes were to be made." Therein lies the whole complaint, arid what puzzles most folk is the method of «elect&g new names. Perhaps you could enlighten the public what precedence there is, if any, for the Fire Brigade Superintendent being the selector, let alone the final censor, as appears to be the case, on a matter of this kind. Probably the whole city would unite in praise of the ability of the superintendent in his particular department, but few, if any, would commend him as a judge of street names, for the 'obvious reason that he, like anyone else, would be unduly influenced by considerations that would make his job more efficient. Naturally, he is not to be' blamed for making the best job of it from his point of view, but the city certainly will be to blame if they allow him to usurp what is obviously not his function, in handling a, matter of such importance to the city, from many points of view. Neither will citizens overlook those councillors who fail to appreciate the importance of seeing that street names are something more than firs indicators.

Xhe other surprising thing is the lack of inquiry as to the real need of considering street names from the fire-alarm point of view. It would be interesting nay, surely it is impsrative, to have a return showing the number or percentage fire ™ llfi *»» telephones during a year. .The city has gone to great expense installing an extensive fire-alarm system, and one has the idea thai most tires are notified from these alarms; if not, what is the use of them? Also, how do the cities get on wher« streets are numbered instead of named? Are numbers less confusing.—l am, etc., CIVIC PRIDE.

26th September.

TO TBI BDITOII,

Sir,—WhJe the street re-naming controversy is m progress I would sugg-st that the names Kent terrace and Cambridge terrace be shelved and that the whole street from Courtenay place to the iiasm Reserve be named Victoria avenue or Royal avenue. Either name would be appropriate and give dignity to what is destined to be a very important business thoroughfare.—! am, etc.,

D.J.F.

29th September.