You’ve lost that highway feeling.

If York Region conducted its affairs through karaoke ballads, perhaps they might dedicate a take on the Righteous Brothers classic to their asphalt sweetheart, Highway 7.

The highway, which slices through the heart of Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham, just isn’t what it used to be. When the province downloaded the highway to the municipality in 1998, the name was kept to avoid confusion, but it looked less and less like a highway and more like an urban thoroughfare with each passing year. The speed was lowered in places and more traffic lights were added.

Now, more changes are coming that make the highway moniker even more outdated. York Region and Metrolinx are in the process of building a grand vision with transitways, bicycle lanes and highrise development. The region is widening the road, adding a dedicated bus lane from Warden Ave. to Yonge St. by 2014, with an additional 15 kilometres by 2020.

“Highway 7 will not be the road that people use to travel through the region. It’s the place that people will go,” said Steven Kemp, director of traffic management with York Region. “We’re really trying to promote public transit use, cycling, pedestrian activity, and trying to encourage development that is more like a ‘Main Street’ kind of feel.”

Since the word “highway” doesn’t jibe with “pedestrian activity,” officials are asking citizens to suggest a new name, via Facebook and Twitter.

Social media can be a snarky place, and some citizens have responded in kind, with suggestions like “Gridlock Way,” “Frustration Avenue,” and the simple but pointed “Traffic.”

Emiliano Introcaso, who lives in Thornhill, suggested York Region Link since the road links Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

“It is not really a highway to me, it’s a big road,” said Introcaso. “It’s going to be built with all these new condos where Jane St. is … it’s a good thing.”

And of course, there are some who believe the change will cost too much money.

“I think Highway is easier. If we change the name of it, so many things have to change,” said Sanny Yiu, manager of Tiffany restaurant on Highway 7. “It will cost businesspeople lots of money.”

Kemp said 175 addresses will have to be changed and the total cost to replace municipal signage would be $250,000, but that could be minimized by changing the signs at the end of their life cycles. He says the time to change the addresses is now, before intensification brings more people.

Leaving Highway 7 alone is also an option. The public consultation will be included in a report, and the final decision will rest with York Region Council sometime in 2012.

Add your voice: Tweet @YorkRegionGovt or visit www.facebook.com/YorkRegion

A highway by any other name

Some suggestions offered online so far:

Bottleneck Boulevard

York Avenue

York Parkway

Concord Thruway

Avenue 7

Metropolitan Boulevard

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15th Avenue

Harmony Road

Berton Boulevard (author/historian Pierre Berton lived in Kleinburg)