All in the name: Edmontonians asked to name a Whyte Ave alleyway

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The City of Edmonton is asking the community to name an unused backstreet off Whyte Avenue – a task they hope will be right up Edmonton’s alley.

For the second time since 2015, the City is revamping the alleyway on the north side of Whyte Avenue, between 104 Street and 105 Street. The underused alley is closed to traffic, and will be revamped with a colourful paint job.

This year’s theme: an alley labyrinth.

Marco Melfie, a city planner with CITYlab, said the newly animated area will be a “playful place or place for rest.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/3428084/all-in-the-name-edmontonians-asked-to-name-a-whyte-ave-alleyway/

 

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News release:

Help choose a name that is Whyte up your alley

May 3, 2017

CITYlab, in conjunction with the Old Strathcona Business Association and the Edmonton Naming Committee, are hosting a Name That Alley competition to choose the name for a pedestrian alleyway on Whyte Avenue. Submit your naming idea and your name could go down in history!

In the Summer of 2015, City Council voted to turn the alleyway on the north side of Whyte Avenue (between 104 Street and 105 Street) into a public plaza. Together, Edmontonians gave the space a fun face lift with a colourful paint job. The alley became a place to stop, linger and engage. It’s been such a success we thought it deserved a name, and are asking Edmontonians to submit their ideas.

The perfect name might reflect a memory you have of the alleyway or the neighbourhood. It could be something that reminds you of the alley, or what you hope it will mean to your community. The name could honour a special Edmontonian or a historical event.

Submitted names will be shortlisted by the Old Strathcona Business Association, and the winning name chosen by the City of Edmonton’s Naming Committee in summer 2017. Submissions will be open until May 18th. More information and submission rules can be found here.

As part of the fun, we are giving the alley a fresh new look. So, weather permitting, come down and check out the a-MAZE-ing new look on Saturday, May 6th.

Media contact:
Adrienne F. Hill
Communications Advisor
Sustainable Development
780-944-1510

http://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/g0u3o--canr6-5kftw914

 

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New name for alleyway goes full steam ahead
June 28, 2017

Thanks to the creativity of Edmontonians, a popular alley on Whyte Avenue has a name that ties into the area’s history. Chosen from 67 entries, Tianna Albrecht and Mario Panizzo’s “Spur Line Alley” was the winner of Name that Alley, a friendly competition that sought citizens’ help to name the spot, located on the north side of Whyte Avenue, between 104 Street and 105 Street. Albrecht explains the name, "A spur line is a branch line off a main railway. And this alley is a branch off Whyte Ave - hence Spur Line."

It’s a fitting moniker for an avenue originally named for a railway man. “The avenue was named for William Whyte who started as a brakeman and station agent and ended up as Superintendent and then Vice-President of CPR's Western Division,” explained Jamie Post, Chair of the Naming Committee. “Whyte oversaw construction of 1000's of kilometres of branch lines, including our High Level Bridge,” said Post.

Originally closed off and transformed into a public plaza by the City in 2015, the alley quickly became a gathering place for Whyte Avenue pedestrians. It is so popular that the City decided that it needed its own name. “It think it's fitting that this was a name picked by citizens-at-large, from names submitted by the community for a community gathering place,” said Post. Future plans for Spur Line Alley are still underwraps, but for now it will remain a colorful rest and gathering spot for weary Edmontonians.

Media contact:
Adrienne F. Hill
Communications Advisor
Sustainable Development
780-944-1510

 

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Edmonton alley’s new name ties Whyte Ave history
An alley next to Whyte Avenue has a new name that recognizes the area’s history.

The City of Edmonton held a competition that asked citizens to name the alley north of Whyte Avenue, between 104 Street and 105 Street.

Tianna Albrecht and Mario Panizzo’s “Spur Line Alley” won the Name that Alley competition.

“A spur line is a branch line off a main railway. And this alley is a branch off Whyte Ave – hence Spur Line,” Albrecht said.

The city said it’s a fitting moniker for an avenue originally named for a railway man.

“The avenue was named for William Whyte who started as a brakeman and station agent and ended up as superintendent and vice-president of CPR’s western division,” Edmonton Naming Committee chair Jamie Post said.

“Whyte oversaw construction of thousands of kilometres of branch lines, including our High Level Bridge.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/3564972/edmonton-alleys-new-name-ties-whyte-ave-history/

Whyte Avenue alley gets a name
A colourful Whyte Avenue alley got a name Wednesday that nods to Edmonton’s railway history.

The alleyway on the north side of Whyte, between 104 Street and 105 Street, will now be known as Spur Line Alley.

The winning name was pitched by Tianna Albrecht and Mario Panizzo, and was picked from 67 submissions to the city’s Name That Alley contest.

"A spur line is a branch line off a main railway. And this alley is a branch off Whyte Ave - hence Spur Line,” Albrecht explained in the submission.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2017/06/28/whyte-avenue-alley-gets-a-name.html

Name That Alley contest christens Spur Line Alley near Whyte Avenue

 

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It’s a Sign! Spur Line Alley
August 25, 2017

The sign to mark the honorary naming of ‘Spur Line Alley’ was installed on Whyte Avenue today. The name was suggested by Edmontonians Tianna Albrecht and Mario Panizzo, whose entry was chosen in the Name the Alley! Competition, which was organized by CITYlab, the Old Strathcona Business Association, and the City of Edmonton’s Naming Committee.

“‘Spur Line’ gives a nod to the railway history in the area and is a bit of a play on words,” said Marco Melfi, Planner with the City of Edmonton. “In railway terms, spurs are a branch off of a railway route and similarly, the alley is a like a spur off Whyte Avenue.”

The Name That Alley! competition invited Edmontonians to give an honorary name to the alley turned pedestrian space on Whyte Avenue between 104 and 105 streets. The Naming Committee reviewed all 67 submissions and revealed the approved name at an event in the Alley in June.

The competition and the alley painting party to launch the competition, invited Edmontonians to participate in the Alley’s transformation to a pedestrian plaza. The honorary name continues that transformation and allows us to identify this plaza is a shared space to bring people together.

For more information:
edmonton.ca/citylab

Media contact:
Adrienne F. Hill
Communications Advisor
Sustainable Development
780-944-1510