Municipal Street Naming

Pioneer Lane street sign.

The Township of Puslinch’s Municipal Street Naming Policy outlines the process and criteria for naming new streets and for renaming existing streets.

This webpage intends to provide high level information and an application form for the Township’s Municipal Street Naming Policy. All requestors are encouraged to read the complete Municipal Street Naming Policy prior to submitting a request.

Street Naming and Renaming Categories & Suitability and Appropriateness

Street Naming and Renaming Categories

When a requestor is developing a proposal to name or rename a street the following categories shall be used:

  • Honouring those who have given their life in public services;
  • Honouring individuals for community services or local, national or internation historical reasons;
  • Names that promote pride in the Township, acknowledge local heritage and history, unique features and geography that meeting one of the following criteria:
    • Commemorates local history, places, events culture;
    • Strengthens neighbourhood identity to reflect that character or the area;
    • Recognizes native wildlife, flora, fauna, natural features; and
    • Recognizes communities that contribute to the public life of the Township.
  • Groups of names that represent specific themes and meet one of the criteria listed above are encouraged in new developments (subdivisions and condominiums) as they provide consistency and are easily recognizable for emergency services.

Suitability and Appropriateness of Street Names

Where possible, street names should be easily pronounced and recognize using conventional spelling to avoid difficulties in emergency situations. Street names should be spelled the way they are pronounced. The Township recognizes this may not be possible for street names honouring individuals:

The following is not permitted:

  • Discriminatory or derogatory names or names that foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, colour, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or other social factors;
  • Names with any sexual overtones, intentional humour, parody, or slang;
  • Names that have a commonly acknowledged alternate negative or offensive meaning;
  • Names that are deliberately intended to advertise existing businesses, industries or other commercial ventures;
  • Names spelled differently but sounding alike (e.g. Night Street and Knight Street) or having the potential for similar pronunciation;
  • Names that are identical or similar to any existing street names within the County of Wellington;
  • Cardinal directions within the name of a street (e.g. West Front Street);
  • Former or discontinued street names;
  • Names with hyphens, apostrophes or dashes are discouraged and will only be considered on a case-by-case basis provided other criteria have been met;
  • Streets named after individuals should be a posthumous honour. Streets named after living individuals are discouraged since there could be future circumstances that may lead to an inappropriate use for that name. Although this is discouraged, Council may consider applications to honour living individuals through the naming of a street. In this situation, written consent from the individual is required;
  • Street names are generally limited to one word unless additional identification is necessary to provide recognition;
  • Street names should be limited, where possible, to a maximum of 15 characters with spaces and suffix included, and shall not exceed 20 characters in total to ensure that the name fits on the Township standard street sign.

Naming a New Street

Those wishing to submit an application to name a new street in the Township of Puslinch are encouraged to review Section 7 Procedure to Assign a Name to a New Street.

Application Requirements

  • A Complete Application
  • Written Rational for the proposed street name(s) including the relevance and significance of the proposed name(s) and reference to the applicable Naming Standards
  • Consent of the named party or named party representative if the proposed street name is in recognition of an individual (if applicable).

Application Review

Township staff will review the request to ensure conformity with the Municipal Street Naming Policy. This review may include a review by a third party with expertise in the subject matter and all costs associated with this review shall be paid by the requester.

An example of a where a third party review may be required would be if a request came to name or rename a street after native wildlife with local significance, a review by an ecologist may be requested to verify the information provided in the application submission.

Renaming an existing street

Request to rename a street that may be compliant with naming standards

An application to rename a street that may be compliant with the Township’s naming standards can only be initiated by a registered property owner on the street proposed to be renamed.

Renaming Street applications will not be considered under the following circumstances:

  • If the street has been renamed in the last 10 years
  • If Council has denied a request during the same Council Term
  • If staff has deemed an application to be non-compliant with the Municipal Street Naming Policy

Any requestor interested in submitting an application to rename a street that is believed to comply with the Township’s naming standards is encouraged to review Section 8 Procedure to Rename an Existing Street that Complies with the Naming Standards of the Township’s Municipal Street Naming Policy.

Application Requirements

  • A complete application
  • All applicable fees to be paid by the requestor as per the policy and to be confirmed by staff
  • Written rational for the proposed street name(s) including the relevance and significance of the proposed name(s) and reference to the applicable Naming Standards
  • Consent of the named party or named party representative if the proposed street name is in recognition of an individual (if applicable)

Application Review

Township staff will review the request to ensure conformity with the Municipal Street Naming Policy. This review may include a review by a third party with expertise in the subject matter and all costs associated with this review shall be paid by the requester. The comprehensive application review will take place prior to initiating the public consultation process.

An example of a where a third party review may be required would be if a request came to name or rename a street after native wildlife with local significance, a review by an ecologist may be requested to verify the information provided in the application submission.

Public Consultation Process

All street renaming requests shall be subject to public consultation as follows:

  • A notice shall be placed on the Township’s website at two weeks in prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street
  • A notice shall be published in the local newspaper at least once, a minimum of two weeks prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street
  • The notice shall be mailed to all residents of the street proposed to be renamed at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street
  • The public is invited to submit comments on the proposed renaming that will be incorporated into a staff report presented to Council at the scheduled meeting to consider the renaming of the street
  • The notice shall include the option to opt into the aid distribution; the confirmation to opt into the aid distribution must be provided to the Township in writing within 30 days of the date of the notice

Request to rename a street that may not be compliant with naming standards

An application to rename a street that may not comply with the Township’s naming standards can be initiated by any registered property owner within the Township or by the Township itself. Any requestor interested in submitting an application to rename a street that does not comply with the naming standards is encouraged to review review Section 9 Procedure to Rename an Existing Street that does not Comply with the Naming Standards of the Township’s Municipal Street Naming Policy.

Application Requirements

  • A complete application
  • All applicable fees to be paid by the requestor as per the policy and to be confirmed by staff
  • Written Rational for the proposed street name(s) including the relevance and significance of the proposed name(s) and reference to the applicable Naming Standards
  • Consent of the named party or named party representative if the proposed street name is in recognition of an individual (if applicable)

Application Review

Township staff will review the request to ensure conformity with the Municipal Street Naming Policy. This review may include a review by a third party with expertise in the subject matter and all costs associated with this review shall be paid by the requester. The comprehensive application review will take place prior to initiating the public consultation process.

An example of a where a third party review may be required would be if a request came to name or rename a street after native wildlife with local significance, a review by an ecologist may be requested to verify the information provided in the application submission.

Public Consultation Process

All street renaming requests shall be subject to public consultation as follows:

  • A notice shall be placed on the Township’s website at two weeks in prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street
  • A notice shall be published in the local newspaper at least once, a minimum of two weeks prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street.
  • The notice shall be mailed to all residents of the street proposed to be renamed at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which Council considers the renaming of the street
  • The public is invited to submit comments on the proposed renaming that will be incorporated into a staff report presented to Council at the scheduled meeting to consider the renaming of the street
  • The notice shall include the option to opt into the aid distribution; the confirmation to opt into the aid distribution must be provided to the Township in writing within 30 days of the date of the notice

Applicable roads under the Municipal Street Naming Policy

Aberfoyle Mill CrAnn StAsh AveAspen Ln
Back StBartels LnBasswood RdBeiber Rd
Birch St Birch TrlBoreham DrBoyce Dr
Bridle PathBuckthorn DrBullfrog DrBush Ln
Butler AveCalfass RdCarriage LnCarter Rd
Cassin CtCatherine CtCedar CrCedar Trl
Cedarbrush CrChurch StClergy LnClub Ln
Cockburn StConcession 1Concession 11Concession 2
Concession 4Concession 7Cook’s Mill RdCross St
Currie DrDaymond DrDeer View RdgDogwood Rd
Eagle LnElizabeth PlEllis Rd Elm St
Elm TrlFarham RdFielding LnFlynn Ave
Forestell RdFox Run DrGarden PkwyGilmour Rd
Golden Pond RdHammersley RdHemlock CrHeritage Lake Dr
Hume RdJasper HtsKerr CrLaing Ct
Laird Rd WLake Av Lakeshore DrLakeside Dr
Lambeth LnLeslie Rd WLodge RdMacPherson’s Ln
Main StMaltby Rd EMaple Leaf LnMaple St
Maple TrlMason DrMcClintock DrMcCormicks Ln
McLean Rd EMcLean Rd WMillcreek RdNicholas Beaver Rd
Niska RdOak DrOchs StOld Brock Rd
Old Ruby LnOlympia AvePark RdPavilion Rd
Pine LnPine RdPioneer Grove RdPioneer Trl
Popular RdReid CtRhodes RdRoszell Rd
Sandy Shores BlvdSeifert CtSettlers CtSideroad 10 N
Sideroad 10 S Sideroad 12 N Sideroad 20 NSideroad 20 S
Sideroad 25 N Sideroad 25 SSmall Rd Smith Rd
Spruce AveSumac StSwastika TrlTamarack Ln
Tawse PlTelfer Glen StTownline RdTravelled Rd
Trillium Beach DrVictoria Rd SVictoria StVisser Dr
Walnut WayWatson Rd SWater StWillow St
Winer CrWiner RdWhitcombe Way

Street Naming and Renaming Request Form

PDF Name a New Street Application
PDF Rename a Street Application

Personal information on this form is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act and will be used to determine the eligibility of a request. The information is used for the purpose of processing this application and is maintained in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Questions regarding the collection of this information may be directed to the Township Clerk’s office.

The Township of Puslinch is committed to providing accessible formats and communication supports for people with a disability. If another format would work better for you, please contact the Township Clerk’s office for assistance.

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