Matty Maroun might want to suggest “A Bridge Too Far” but MPP Brian Masse (NDP — Windsor West) is proposing that the Canadian and American public be given the chance to name the new Detroit River bridge.
Masse said Tuesday he has written to Minister of Transport Denis Lebel, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder urging them to create a “bi-national process that engages the public to come up with a name for the new crossing.”
“The DRIC days are over,” Masse said at a Tuesday news conference. “We’ve contacted officials on both sides of the border and there seems to be some interest in the idea.”
He said the new bridge is coming to fruition following years of work, struggle and support from people in communities in Canada and the U.S. Masse added the recent November election results, with the Michigan electorate voting down Proposal 6 to put construction to a referendum, and the “over-arching consensus we’ve achieved here” shows how important completion of the project has become to citizens in both countries.
“I believe that to acknowledge those contributions the public should be at the forefront of developing a name for this infrastructure that will play such a critical role in our future prosperity,” he said.
Masse said the bridge promises to become a symbol of the “partnership between Canada and the United States” and will be a tool for the economic growth of both nations.
One model that might be followed, Masse said, is a process in Scotland to name a new bridge crossing the River Forth. In that country an advisory panel, made up of community representatives, was named to gather and assess suggestions submitted by the public. A short list was decided upon and those names were put to a vote to select the most popular. So far, 6,000 submissions have been received.
Masse said that here, a mechanism would have to be found to take into acc0unt the population differences on both sides of the border to ensure fairness.
He said that “feelers” have already been put out and two of the more popular suggestions thus far have been the “Freedom” or “Veterans” Bridge.
“This will be an identifiable structure not just for ourselves but for the whole world,” he said.
