Airport names streets for traffic and tribute
Sarah Holland
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 15/00) - Finding your way around the Yellowknife Airport just got a lot easier.
A new road system is in place and seven streets now have carefully chosen names.
"There's a lot of development going on around the airport," said airport manager Tom Cook. "We have three new hangars, diamond-related facilities -- there's a lot of activity."
But Cook admitted all of this activity can amount to a lot of confusion if there are no addresses for business.
"Courier companies, armoured car companies, the fire department, they all need special addresses. Identification was becoming a problem," said Cook.
And so began the street-naming process. The idea was put before Yellowknife City Council and eventually passed as a bylaw.
"There was a lot of support for the idea," said Cook. "(Ex-mayor) Dave Lovell suggested all the names for the streets and gave the background for each name," he added.
Each name reflects the roles aviation and mining have played in the North's history. Five streets are named for pilots, who often flew prospectors and mining parties around, one is named after an aircraft, and one bears a Dogrib name.
Dickins Street is named after Clennell Haggerston (Punch) Dickins, the pilot who landed the first plane in the Yellowknife area.
Bristol Avenue, from where the Bristol Monument is clearly visible, commemorates the Bristol aircraft which was common to the North.
McMillan Street honours Stanley Ransom (Stan) McMillan, who piloted the first plane to land on Yellowknife Bay in 1929.
Berry Street is named after the former president of Yellowknife Airways, Arthur Massey (Matt) Berry. Berry was also a pilot and flew Dr. A.W. (Fred) Jolliffe, and helped build part of the Yellowknife Airport in 1946.
Brintnell Street represents Wilfred Leigh Brintnell, who was president of Mackenzie Air Service in the mid-1930s.
Archibald Street is named after William Munroe (Rae) Archibald, an early pilot and engineer in the Northwest Territories who is considered the "Father of the Yellowknife Gold Fields."
Idaa Road honours the Dogrib language. Idaa means up there, beyond, away. The street sign shows the accented characters, integral to the meaning of the word.
"We talked to people at the Prince of Wales heritage centre and the Dogrib name was suggested. We put it by local aboriginal councils and they agreed with the suggestion," said Cook.
"We wanted to have a real Northern feel to the names," he said.
This naming and restructuring process not only helps traffic flow, it also serves as a tribute to the North's proud history.
