Oshawa City Council has given the green light for City staff to obtain public input on the potential renaming of the portion of Athol Street between Centre Street South and Ritson Road South to Memorial Cup Drive.

City staff consulted with both Heritage Oshawa and the Oshawa Museum prior to launching the consultation and could not find any historical reference for the name.

Additionally, the consultation does not propose that the street name Athol be eliminated from Oshawa entirely, as should the street between Centre Street South and Ritson Road South be renamed, the section of the street between Ritson Road South and Farewell Street would remain as Athol Street.

Community members are asked to share their feedback on the proposed change here on Connect Oshawa or on paper at Service Oshawa (50 Centre St. S.).

Feedback will be received until 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12 and considered in the development of a report to Development Services Committee.

Home to the Oshawa Generals Hockey Club, hometown hockey heroes and dedicated fans, Oshawa is a true hockey city. The renaming of the street would pay tribute to the Oshawa Generals’ record five Memorial Cup wins and their downtown home, the Tribute Communities Centre, which falls within the area that would become Memorial Cup Drive.

As the only OHL community on the Highway of Heroes, the street renaming would also advance the City of Oshawa’s commitment to recognize the war dead and veterans who served our country and community.

The City is proud of the contributions Canada and Oshawa have made during war and peacekeeping assignments and honours the memory of war dead and war veterans citywide through its Street Naming Policy. To date, the names of 75 war dead and war veterans have been used or assigned for use as street names in new subdivisions in Oshawa.