A sign for Trump Avenue, a short residential street in Ottawa, has disappeared days after city councillors unanimously agreed that the street should be renamed. The street is part of Ottawa’s Central Park neighbourhood, which was developed in the 1990s. Streets in the area bear names connected to New York City, including that of Donald Trump, the current U.S. president who was, at the time, a famous real estate developer. Since Trump’s time in office, there have been calls to rename the street. A 2021 vote, shortly after his first term, ended in a tie vote, with about a third of households on the street abstaining. Residents opposed to the change noted the cost and inconvenience of having to update official documents with the new street name as one of the reasons for keeping it. On Wednesday, River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington introduced a motion to begin the process of renaming Trump Avenue, saying he would work with residents on the street to determine a new name that would be presented to council next year. On Friday, CTV News confirmed the Trump Avenue sign at the intersection with Whitestone was gone. The signs at the intersections of Trump and Bloomingdale and Trump and Celebration remained on their respective poles, as of Friday afternoon. In a statement to CTV News, the City of Ottawa’s director of traffic services said the city is aware of social media posts indicating that the sign “may be missing,” and is looking into the matter. “Once the city has confirmed the status of the sign, staff will assess the appropriate next steps, including whether a replacement is required,” Krista Tanaka said. “Residents are reminded that street signs are City property, and a critical piece of infrastructure for reporting and responding to emergencies. Street signs should not be removed, damaged or taken.” Ottawa police told CTV News Ottawa they could not find a report about the missing sign. Street signs bearing famous, funny, or rude-sounding names the world over are subject to theft from time to time, with municipalities sometimes taking measures to prevent or deter thieves. For example, signs for Old Town Road in Sicamous, B.C., were stolen following the success of Lil Nas X’s song by the same name. The town responded by selling replica signs. In Yellowknife, street signs for Ragged Ass Road are welded to signposts and replicas are sold to deter thieves. Closer to home, in 2023, the Township of Bonnechere Valley, Ont., received a request to change the name of Harry Dick Road following sign thefts, but the name was ultimately kept the same. The City of Ottawa sells decommissioned street signs for $10 each on a first come, first served basis, subject to availability.
