A motion put forward by MD of Bonnyville coun. Dana Swigart to create a policy addressing public requests to name municipal roads was approved after some discussion during a recent council meeting.
Swigart explained that he had been approached by residents who were interested in potentially naming roads and agreed to bring the matter before council.
The policy would not change the existing number-based3 naming system for roads, and addresses and signage would remain consistent. However, Swigart proposed that sections of roads could be named to honor historical events or impactful community members. He clarified that the MD’s current addressing system, with township and range roads, would remain unchanged to avoid confusion, particularly for first responders.
Coun. Josh Crick asked whether the township road signs at intersections would remain the same, to which Swigart assure that there would be no changes to those signs, as it’s important not to confuse official descriptions with local road names.
Reeve Barry Kalinski emphasized the need for a fair policy that applied to all applications. Swigart suggested that the MD administration look at how other municipalities handle road-naming policies for guidance. Coun. Don Slipchuk raised concerns about the potential cost of new signage, but Swigart explained that id a road section was names, it could be funded by local residents who supported the change, rather than the MD.
Swigart made a motion for administration to draft the policy and present it at a future council meeting, which was unanimously approved by council.
