Got a great suggestion for a neighbourhood name? Post it here!

What do you call our neighbourhood? How do others in the city refer to it? What is your preference for an "official" neighbourhood name, and why? This is the spot to leave your answers to these and any other questions that come to mind about names for our community. Check back regularly to see if others have posted opinions about your suggestions, and feel free to post your thoughts about theirs. Whether you’re new to the neighbourhood, a seasoned resident, or somewhere in between, your ideas count.

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Voting complete! Results on Tuesday.

Thanks to the many residents in our neighbourhood who participated in this project over the past year, and especially those who cast a ballot in the final round of voting.

Voting is now finished, and we are tallying up the final results. The winner will be announced on Tuesday March 16th. Check back here soon!

Comments now closed - please vote!

Comments are now closed, and today is the final day to vote online until midnight, or at Yasi's Place (299 Wallace @ Campbell) until 3:00p.m.

You can also vote in-person when today's parade comes past your home!

Check back on this website on Tuesday, March 16th when the final results are announced!

naming our neighbourhood

how about petticoat junction? seriously i thought that we were closer to the old junction railway station than what is now called the junction. how about junction central.

naming our neighbourhood

i thought that we were closer to the actual junction railway station than what is now called the junction. should we be called junction central?

5 reasons to vote for Black Oak Triangle

Here are my top 5 reasons to choose Black Oak Triangle:

You can say Black Oak Triangle without words. It's so easy to draw a triangle, even very young children can do a good job. It's fun to draw an oak leaf because there is no really wrong way to do it. When you look at the leaves of an oak tree, they are all slightly different, yet each is recognizable as an oak leaf.

The Black Oak tree itself is a creative and resilient tree. If there are no other trees of the same species nearby, it can produce offspring with Red Oaks and Pin Oaks. A young Black Oak tree can sprout new stems and recover from a fire.

The ecosystem found here is called a Black Oak Savannah. Our ecosystem is something we all share, so everyone is included in the name Black Oak. Today there is an initiative to reestablish many of the native plant species that are part of of the Black Oak system.

Our geography is defined by rail lines on three sides, creating a triangle within. Look for the shape of the triangle in railway bridges, rooftops and other structures where strength is needed.

"Triangle" has a rich and storied history in the area. Let's honour the strength of our neighbourhood activists, past present and future by making Triangle part of our name.

There are few black oaks

There are few black oaks around so it doesn't make sense.

Rain or Shine

Fuzzy Boundaries and the Baturyn Concert Marching Band won't be deterred by a gloomy weekend forecast or rainy weather. Sunday's musical parade will happen, rain or shine. Hope you can join us beginning at 1 p.m.

Why is the neighborhood called Silverthorn on Google maps?

Just curious why google maps has labelled our area as Silverthorn. If this is traditionally the name of the area why are we changing it?

Even Google can be wrong

Shows you cant believe what you see on the internet. : ) I hope that as part of the press wrap up we can ask the media to call Google for us. Lord knows we have emailed them enough already. Silverthorn is an area up on St. Clair.

Definitely not Silverthorn

That's a recent Google maps mistake. Silverthorn is north/west of us in the Keele and Eglinton area:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverthorn,_Toronto

silverthorn a thorn in our side

Funny how often this question surfaces. And how it underscores the need to get a name that sticks!

making it stick

One way we could make our new name stick is to tag our photos with the neighbourhood when we upload them. The newer cameras include GPS coordinates that can be read by search engines such as Google. There are probably other things we can do to "teach" Google to deliver the right name.

getting back to pro's and con's...

I'm grateful for the wisdom expressed in the Pro's and Con's posting. Personally, I'm kind of wondering what this whole process was about if we just end up keeping Junction Triangle/South Junction Triangle. I thought that we were supposed to try to distinguish ourselves from the Junction... Anyway, I will support the results of this democratic process, but am disheartened that people seem inclined to stick with the familiar name that seems to make us a kind of annex to the Junction proper.
Personally, I liked the alliteration of Cooper's Crossing, but that one didn't make it. I think I might vote for Black Oak Triangle, but I agree that it does seem to take a page from suburban subdivisions named after nature that is nowhere in sight. However, I think this name carries with it the obligation to plant more black oaks in the neighbourhood to avoid said poseur-ness, which is a good thing. I am planning to do some planting this year, so if we get that moniker, I will definitely be inclined in that direction.
I like the island, or maybe, what the heck, black oak island, or rail island, alas I think it is too late to get any of those names into the pool.
Just my two cents. Two days of voting left.

The Junction moniker

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are new to the area. We moved to the Merchant Lane townhomes in July 2009.

This comment is likely too late in the game but I dislike any name with the word "Junction" in it. I think we are so far from the actual, official "Junction" that we need a different and distinct name. "Junction Triangle" is just going to confuse people with the actual Junction and is pretty uncreative.

I think the rail theme is cool as it is part of the neighbourhood's special history...so I like "Rail District" or "Railpath". It sounds funky and is very distinctive...like "the Distillery Dstrict" etc..

Anyway, that's my two cents. We'll see what the votes say I guess.

If a name with the word "junction" in it wins, what happens next? Is that final or is there more to the process?

Any Moniker

Hello Amanda. Thanks for your message. Hope you like your new home. You folks have a great little corner of the neighbourhood down there on Merchant Lane.

The formal part of the naming project ends on Tuesday with the announcement of the selected name. In the first round of voting almost 80% of the participants said they would accept the outcome of the process even if their name was not chosen by the majority. We hope that will be the case this time as well.

The process is non-binding and no one will be required to use the chosen name. We hope the name will snowball if 400 or 500 people start using it. When others begin hearing it and more people start adopting it, then we think the name will have a chance to stick.

In the end, the chosen name is less important than just getting a name that binds the neighbourhood together. I live on Perth, you live on Merchant Lane, We live in _________!

getting back to pro's and con's... II

I agree with the author's comment 'I thought that we were supposed to try to distinguish ourselves from the Junction...' I think we should consider removing the word junction from all of the listed names... Just another fuzzy resident's opinion... Thanks!

BTW - The Triangle sounds nice... :-)

Pros & Cons

Loving this conversation. Thanks for posting.

What's interesting to me is that the word "Junction" is the mostly hotly-debated part of this whole naming process.

From the beginning, there have been people who have insisted that this neighbourhood, was, is, and always shall be called "Junction Triangle". We also had people insist that this neighbourhood was ALWAYS called "The Junction". And of course, many people that completely disagree with both of these camps, suggesting that we're not part of The Junction at all and we should have a unique identity.

These arguments come from people who have lived here a long time, and people who are new to the 'hood. The same arguments also come from residents within this area, and outsiders. So it's a pretty mixed-bag of opinions, and the results of the first vote show some incredible diversity.

It will be interesting to see the final outcome. But at least we'll have come to a decision, with everyone being given a chance to make that decision.

Pros & Cons...?

I am of the opinion that there are only Pros no Cons, since the Fuzzy organizers have accomplished something. Creating more discussion in our 'Hood' for something positive in a very very long time, perhaps ever. Place aside the community gatherings to resolve a local problem, this may have connected more people daily / weekly and opened channels for further interaction.

I voted, and MAYBE I choose The Wedge, I like it as a descriptive neighbourhood name because it is very unique, edgey, symbolic & stands out.
My original choice was SoJu but this did not make the final round, I liked it for all of the same reasons The Wedge was in my top 3, but I find SoJu befits the area in some cases even more, because if I recall it was term South Junction in shorten form, which makes perfect sense to me. It preserves the older original name yet emerges as a new current name without using the hot contested J word (which we have every right to using, but can choose another)

So needless to say, I am committed to the process, I have voted & hope others will vote for their own name choice, this is the only way we will know the opinions of the people - it's well worth the time

cheers

South Junction is IT

Why South Junction or better yet abbreviated to SoJu is the best name, I pulled this from the net on another city local neighbourhood name that was abbreviated and became well recognized

SoHo; history...

It depends where you are. New York's SoHo simply means SOuth HOuston. London's however comes from Soho being an old grazing area for farm animals and it could also be for South Holborn like the New York name copied.

It is catchy, punchy, descriptive, historical & geographically accurate

For me, it's South Junction, for anyone who cares to know....

 

SoJu is an alcoholic drink from Korea

I don't know if we want the neighborhood name to be the same as that of an alcoholic beverage.

SoJu vs Soju

The pronunciation is different between SoJu and Soju. Technically Korean I will go out on a limb and state that the Japanese versions are better.

new comers

We are moving to the neighbourhood mid April and cannot wait!

I like the names Rail Path, Rail District and Rail Town. Although "The Wedge" sounds cool and edgy, it does remind me of a wedgie and therefore maybe implies that the neighbourhood is an unpleasant experience! : )

I am very excited to be moving to neighbourhood that has people committed to increasing the community vibe and so with much participation.

Thanks

Charlotte

Welcome!!

Welcome to the neighbourhood Charlotte - hopefully you enjoy living here as much as the rest of us do. We hope this initiative will bring all of the community together (both old and new) to celebrate where we live and make it a better place!! Hope to see you in the hood soon!

Boo Radley's Adds Voting to the Menu

For anyone who would like to ponder the Top Ten Names on the ballot over a "cold pop" can now do it at Boo Radley's. Michael and Shelley are now sporting a Fuzzy Boundaries ballot box (and ballots) at the bar until they close on Saturday night. You can find Boo's at 1482 Dupont Street on the Northwest corner of Campbell and Dupont.

too bad the list hadn't included...

Wallace Crossing, Track Town, Trestle Town or The Void. Logging in too late, I wasn't too happy with the long list, now not very happy with the short list.

Thanks for the process, at least it isn't a BIA deciding what to call it.

BIA are not by default a bad

BIA are not by default a bad thing. Local businesses are involved and supporting the FB process.

Music in the Streets

On Sunday, March 14, beginning at 1 p.m., Fuzzy Boundaries will be bringing music to the streets of our neighbourhood to encourage people to vote before the polls close (online until midnight) and celebrate the end of the naming project.
There are three ways to enjoy the music of the Baturyn Concert Marching Band. A musical parade will be passing by a majority of the houses in the neighbourhood (route map: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3469062). You can see the band go by twice at Perth Park. Or, you can take a walk through the neighbourhood with us as the band plays on.
More details will follow (and a better map when our over-worked web guy gets a moment), but we hope that you will tell your friends about this special event in our neighbourhood.

Everyone Loves a Parade

With a week to go in voting in the second (and final) round of the Fuzzy Boundaries naming project, we just wanted to let you know we are working on something special. The details will follow over the next couple of days.

In the meantime, thank you to the hundreds of people who have participated so far and voted to select a neighbourhood name. We have received loads of positive feedback and comments from residents all over the neighbourhood as we have canvassed door-to-door and posted lawn signs in many places. The growing involvement of so many people makes the project worth the effort.

Learning about the names

I am partial to any of the names that do not say Junction. Life gets complicated when we snatch other people's area names. And technically we are east of the Junction. I agree with folks who want us to choose a name that is unique and different; kind of like the eclectic bunch of us who live here. Happy with the selection of names people have put forward.

And boys, we need to halt the petty bickering and bravado gesturing - We really need more women at the helm of these discussions.

I like learning about the names people like and why. Lets keep that conversation moving forward.

A very exciting project!

Like It .....

Like It .....

thanks for this!

I'm with you re moving forward. I too would love to hear how people are making their decisions and why. Everyone in our house has voted now. We each picked the same top name but our second and third choices differed. I found when I was going door to door telling people about the project, they agreed the top ten names made a good topic of discussion for around the dinner table.

The Island

I was at Yasi's today talking to a friend from outside the area about the naming project. My friend who is from Germany told me she calls the area inside the rail triangle the island because there is a neighbourhood in Berlin surrounded by railroad tracks that has that name. I searched online and found this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_Insel When I worked with my friend later today at Campbell Park she confirmed Rote Insel is the neighbourhood she had in mind, but interestingly, she didn't know it was called Rote Insel (Red Island). She only knew it as die Insel (the island).

the island

I like it! Wish it had come up before the first vote!!

Rhode Island

I just got an email from my friend who told me about the Berlin neighbourhood called Red island. In the German version of the Wikipedia article, it says that Rhode Island gets its name from the Dutch words Roodt Eylandt which means Red Island. Unfortunately this is disputed. Other people say the state was named after the Island of Rhodes but I like the Red Island theory better.

door to door

I thought it was great when we went door to door how much positive feedback there was. Lots of friendly faces and lots of people who said they'd voted already. I finally cast my vote today. Looking forward to seeing how my favourites fare.

Doors and Smiles

That was my experience too. People were positive and many have said they already voted.

People were all friendly

People were all friendly and interested on Perth and on Symington. I met 39 year residents who loved the concept. There is a reason why there are signs on almost every single street in the area.

Kevin, can you tell everyone WHAT IF, residents chose JunctionTr

Kevin, Can you tell me and I guess others, what will happen if the Junction Triangle is chosen for the hood name. Will this whole process have been a waste of time for you in particular and will this make it hard for you to tell family and friends as to where you live. It took 6 yrs for you to speak up about how fuzzy it was not knowing where this community was in a map. Will you then need a GPS to find out where your live if we go back to square one to where you started,over one year ago???

Project Outcome

Jack, just before I answer your question, I think it important to get it on the record that your complaints about this community project by residents were also rejected by the City of Toronto's Integrity Commissioner. Not sure why you have failed to mention that your filing against the project was rejected as having "insufficient rationale to proceed with further investigation." I know that in your quest for the truth and fairness, you would want to let everyone know that the Commissioner saw nothing wrong with the Fuzzy Boundaries naming project.

As to the outcome of this process, whatever name is chosen by the residents is the name I will be accepting. No one in the Fuzzy Boundaries organizing committee is about to disavow a process designed to let residents decide what they want to call the neighbourhood. We have worked hard to make this project as open and inclusive as possible and in the end, we think that objective has been met.

No

Obviously you didn't work hard enough to make the project as open as possible. If so, the residents in the Junction would have known about it!

Really?

Is this true? If so, that was very dirty thing to do. I've lost all respect for this naming process and the people involved in it; Kevin!

Faced with facts Jack changes the subject, again

Jack you are sounding like a conspiracy buff.

Why dont you answer the question ? How come you don't mention that the integrity Commissioner had no problems with the FB Community initiative ? Why dont you publish the response you got? Or the fact that every other community group and organization supports it too including Churches, business and the Library. I guess you can still complain to the United Nations.

As usual when faced with yet another truth you run off in another direction with another outlandish claim.

Frankly I think the community is bored of this parade of red herrings and bored with you. After over a year its the same 2 or 3 people with the same arguments that have been proven wrong over and over. Too bad you don't use your energy working with community members to make FB better. Its always easier to complain than to do.

Personally I will lobby for a full moderated website in the future so people who want to do things in the community don't have to suffer endless unwarranted attacks. Many people have told me they dont come here because of it.

The Wedge

I am not sure I would be happy to live in a neighbourhood named for a popular school yard torture tactic.

Appropriate Name?

If you use the word "Junction" in your naming process it will just re-enforce the fact that you're all WANNA BE Junctioneers!

The Village of West Toronto

The Village of West Toronto Junction was founded in 1884, and then morphed into the Town of West Toronto Junction in 1889, and then became the City of West Toronto in 1908. It's obvious that Junctioneers have a long history of being wannabe Torontonians. ;-)

I strongly Agree!!!

After using the name Junction for more than 100 years I feel we owe the residents some repect and choose a name that solely reflects us. Some residents of the Junction have voiced their own oposition to us using the name "Junction Whatever". Some residents who may have heard the name Junction Triangle are oposed to another name but it has only been in use on a smaller scale for a couple of decades. Think about how the residents of the Junction feel about their name, they have had it much longer than that. We need to select the name that would distinguish us, not keep us as we currently are, a lost community. Please select a name that would totally identify us as an important community!!

Katie

Thanks Katie for taking us

Thanks Katie for taking us long time Junction residents into consideration. I hope that the group decides on a name that identifies it's individuality.

Things Change, even in The Junction

25 years ago people didn't want to say they lived in The Junction because of the crime and industry. They said they were High Park. Funny how times change.I know I was living there.

From what I can recall ; You live East of the tracks?

I was living here 25 years ago Scott and I have no recollection of this. Nor does any of my family. (Family members are a generation older than me) Never has anyone I know ever referred to the Junction as High Park.

On a different note, why would you want to use a derivative of the "Junction?" There's still crime and industry! Lots of crack heads, prostitution and other crimes. We know this because we have done our best to work with authorities to reduce it. Hmmm, were you at any of the meetings that took place in the Junction? Umm don't think so. Were any of your immediate neighbours affected by the terror that was caused by the individuals who resided on Quebec Avenue? No. Simply because the crimes occurred in the Junction. (Watch the special that aired on W5; Nightmare on Quebec Avenue.) We were.

Why don't you people approach the residents in Pelham Park Gardens and ask them for their opinions? Ask them if you can use the name Pelham Park Gardens in your naming process. Nobody would dare to do so. There is no way you could take the name away from the residents residing there. (Despite the fact that it is Metro Housing) Not to mention that I don't believe any of you would have the nerve to even walk into the community.

Vic - Stop talking about the 1800's. You weren't around back then and you probably didn't have family that lived in the neighbourhood back then either.

On a different note; Railtown seems like it a name of an area located somewhere in Detroit. Certainly not fond of that, even as a Junctioneer neighbour.

Thank you. Others are speaking out

You Wrote:
"Not to mention that I don't believe any of you would have the nerve to even walk into the community"

Yes I have been in Pelham Park Garden before and meet the 12 year old and his family, the 12 yr old boy Terrance Bascombe that got shot a few years. I done a toy drive with the councillor and the 12 div. I wanted to say thank you for speaking out. It's good to hear others share concerns about the taging and other issues as you mentioned, other then Virginia and I. I believe the last couple of posting were spot on. The tagging on the property on 229 wallace make's the community look ugly. Even though the owner gave permission he should of considered the neighbours.