Update on the Bowness Road Name Change
In a previous issue, we provided you with the results of the Bowness Road Renaming Survey. The intent of the name change is part of the strategy to strengthen and rebrand our community. Essentially over 80% of the residents living along Bowness Road want to see this change. The businesses along Montgomery’s portion of Bowness Road NW are less enthusiastic with about 20% supporting the initiative.
The application costs to pursue the full renaming are approximately $1500 per registered address. This comes to over $30,000 and would be paid by the MCA. The MCA would also be responsible for the cost of all the signage changes (approximately $15,000 for the 10 intersections in Montgomery).
The application would then go to Council, who may or may not support it. The application fee is non-refundable. A second option is for MCA to apply for a Secondary Roadway Naming. The substantially lower application fee is $1,500. This option does not change the legal name of the road, and there is no inconvenience or impact on residents and businesses. The big advantage is that it still gives the community an opportunity for rebranding.
The name is limited to 14 characters and spaces so “Montgomery Way” is our selection. This fits in with branding slogans such as, “Shop the Montgomery Way” or “Explore the Montgomery Way”, etc.
MCA would have to cover the cost of the road signage changes, so we are pursuing this with the Main Streets team. The new signage would show both names of the road: Bowness Road N.W. and Montgomery Way N.W. In other words, we are giving Bowness Road an ‘alias’.
If you have any comments, positive or negative, regarding this issue please send them to [email protected]. Is this a good way to move forward? We’d love to hear what you think.
