The esplanade behind the Orillia Legion will soon be renamed in honour of those who have served Canada.
At its Monday meeting, city council approved changing the laneway’s name to Veterans Way, following a request from the Army Navy Air Force Veterans in Canada Unit 400 earlier this year.
The change arrives largely through the efforts of Len Thorne, a 13-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy. Thorne spent the last two years pushing for a street to be named in honour of Canada’s veterans, and he said it “feels great” to see his efforts come to fruition.
In February, Thorne gave a presentation to city council asking for the name change, which was met with applause from city council.
“The number of people (who) have made the ultimate sacrifice in World War One and World War Two, I think it's only right,” he told OrilliaMatters. “Every other hamlet and town and city across this country – shore to shore to shore – have got a Veterans Drive, Veterans Way, or something.
“I’m very proud of my city council and fellow veterans," said Thorne.
In their report to council, city staff recommended against the name change.
The esplanade is technically a parking lot and does not meet the criteria to be considered a street, explained Jeff Duggan, the city's senior planner. However, members of council supported the change.
“I don't think changing the name from the esplanade to … Veterans Way changes the order of the earth in any way significantly. I think it's something we probably should allow,” said Mayor Don McIsaac.
“We wouldn't be able to formally designate it as a highway or change the name through our city policy because it's simply not a road, but certainly, to change the street sign name, absolutely can be done,” Duggan said.
When asked by city staff to allocate a funding source for the signs, McIsaac, along with councillors Whitney Smith and Ralph Cipolla, volunteered to personally split the costs for the sign and installation, which Duggan estimated will be “under a thousand dollars.”
