'Painful' Ottawa street name changes done by 2017, councillors told

Sunnyside Drive in Stittsville became a continuation of Brightside Avenue in March, to avoid confusion with SunnysideAvenue in Old Ottawa South. But Stittsville'sBell Street,Meadowland Drive and Elm Crescent are still waiting for their new names.

City staff have been working on the problem ofsimilar-sounding or duplicated street names in Ottawa sinceamalgamation in 2001 because they can lead to confusion for emergency vehicles and mail delivery.

Staff told councillorsTuesday the processshould be complete by March 2017.

• City proposes faster system to change similar street names

"That process has been a relatively painful process. It's taking more timethan originallyexpected to change address names," said acting manager of planning and growth management, Michael Mizzi.

"It's something thatcommunities hold dear."

For years,public consultationover changing street names was so acrimonious and time-consuming that the process became bogged down, sothe city only managed to rename one or two streets per year.

17 names changed in 2015

Under a new, streamlinedconsultation method, residents suggest new street names online, and changes don't require the approval of committee or council. Staff managed to change 17 street names in 2015, with two-thirds of the city's 23 wards still to go.

Staff have a list of 80 streets that have been identified as problematic, but where residents haven't yet been notified a name change could be coming.

There's no question it is a very long process.- Frank Bidin, City of Ottawa

"We are proceeding as quickly as we can," said FrankBidin, the city's chief building official."There's no question it is a very long process."

Coun. Rick Chiarelli, who witnessed outrage in his ward five years ago over the renaming of Robertson Road in Bells Corners,commended Bidin and his stafffor their"intestinal fortitude" indealing with the file.

Coun. Jan Harder also recalled the "extreme backlash" over renaming streetsshortly after amalgamation, when efforts focused on exact duplicates.

In her Barrhaven ward, where there are currently two intersections where Jockvale Road meets Strandherd Drive, one stretch of Jockvalewill soon be renamed in honour ofHlne Campbell, a young woman who received a double-lung transplant and becamean advocate for organ donation.