Fort Simpson is starting work to rename village streets and assign addresses after emergency responders reported difficulty figuring out where callers live.
Village councillors voted on Monday to work with consultants on a project that will rename streets and assign addresses on Fort Simpson’s island.
In an update to council earlier this month, Tyler Pilling, director of protective services for the village, described two fires that took place in September.
“We were driving all around trying to find it. They told us one address, it was a different address. That was kind-of common with both of those fires,” Pilling told council.
“We were told one address and we started going towards it. We got another call saying no, it’s actually at the other end of town – so a lot of confusion about where people were, which has kind-of been a problem as of late.”
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Mayor Les Wright explained that people typically don’t know or use the numbered street names currently assigned on much of the village’s island.
“We say, ‘next to Tom’s place’ or something like that,” Wright told Cabin Radio.
He estimates the project will be complete in the next six months or so, and will involve consultation on new street names with community members, the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation and the Fort Simpson Métis.
Wright said some streets could be named after families who have lived in the area, but final decisions will be made by the public.
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At a meeting last week, council discussed tactics for informing community members about their new addresses, including through local schools and door-to-door education.
The project is expected to cost $13,600, in addition to the cost of having new street signs made. That money would come from territorial Community Public Infrastructure funding, not from the village’s operating budget, senior administrative officer Andre Larabie told council.
The cost includes notifying Canada Post of the changes, as well as other services like Google Maps, Larabie said.
