Some residents continue to be frustrated with recent changes to several street names in Erin and Hillsburgh, but council has decided more signs is not an option to help with acclimatization.
Last week council discussed a letter from Kate Roesch, who lives on Lions Park Avenue in Erin.
The street, formerly known as Hill Street, was changed to avoid confusion between it and Hill Street in Hillsburgh. It was one of seven street names changed throughout the town when by a new bylaw came into effect on July 12.
But according to Roesch, the transition has not been easy.
She said she has had problems with deliveries from private companies and even Canada Post. And a few weeks ago, she added, there was an accident in Lions park and the ambulance drove right past the street.
“If I sound angry I am,” Roesch said in her letter, noting the whole purpose of changing the street name was for emergencies.
She asked that the town post a sign at Lions Park Avenue that reads “formerly Hill Street,” for a period of at least six months to help people adjust.
“A sign was posted for Highway 124, so why not us?” she said in her letter. “Do the public have any say or do we just have to go along with whatever council says?”
Town planner Sally Stull said a local cul-de-sac with about 11 houses is a very different scenario than a provincial highway that was downloaded and is driven on by thousands of vehicles a day.
Stull told council she discussed the matter with roads superintendent Larry Van Wyck and, “We were under the impression those [old] names were to disappear.”
Councillor Barb Tocher said she sympathizes with Roesch, because she too is having to deal with a street name change. Tocher said it is “very frustrating” when private companies seem unwilling to believe that she has not moved, and she too has had problems with mail delivery.
However, she said she thinks installing “formerly” signs will just keep the confusion going on even longer.
Councillor Ken Chapman disagreed, and said looking back it may have made sense to use “formerly” signs for six months or so.
When asked by councillor Josie Wintersinger, Van Wyck said that would require “40 or more” signs to be installed.
“That’s a big undertaking as well,” Wintersinger replied.
Councillor John Brennan said the town can’t change things now – putting up more signs will just increase confusion. As well, the town can’t take responsibility for the actions of private companies, he added.
Mayor Rod Finnie agreed.
“Whenever you make a change there’s a period of dislocation … but this is an attempt for a long-term transition,” Finnie said.
Erin Fire Chief Steve Goode said the fire department has made the street name changes on its own maps, but he was recently informed the ambulance dispatch in Cambridge did not receive the update, and thus their geographic information system (GIS) shows no changes.
Goode told council he will inform the dispatch centre of the changes as soon as possible. Council passed a resolution to accept Roesch’s request, but not to support it. Chapman was opposed.
