Woodstock City Council Changing the Name of Prince Andrew Crescent

Friday, 2 October 2020 at 12:20

With everything going on in the Royal Family, it might not be a good time to have a street named after Prince Andrew in Woodstock.

WOODSTOCK - Woodstock City Council dodged a much larger discussion when it came to changing a name of a street in a new subdivision.

Councillor Sandra Talbot said her reason for supporting the change was because of confusion for EMS. So, there will not be a Prince Andrew Crescent in the northeast end of the city, but St. Andrews Road will remain in the southwest corner. None of council raised the staff comment in the report that due to recent news the name Prince Andrew might not be suitable. The name will be changed to Silverwood at the new subdivision on the north shore of Pittock.

Mayor Trevor Birtch commented that this is an issue that is larger than merely a street name in Woodstock. He acknowledged the danger of appearing to base their decision on innuendo, unproven accusations, allegations and rumours. He also recognized the bigger need of having to address and deal with societal wrongs.

"One of the reasons staff brought it forward was because of the discussions taking place and Prince Andrew having his royal duties stripped from him. I think this is a time where we are going to have to look at all of the street names. We had a report recently, that outlines different themes and we might need to take a closer look at some of the names on the list. I see neighbouring municipalities like London are looking at those names to ensure the community values are upheld."

He hopes highlighting the name of a Royal will lead to more discussion and education around the issue of sexual abuse. Prince Andrew has been stripped of his royal duties by his mother, the Queen.

The City of London recently passed a bylaw that calls for a review of how streets in the Forest City are named.

(Article submitted by Heart FM volunteer and retired reporter Brian Donlevy)