Councillor names shoddy lanes after mayor, peers
Winnipeg City Coun. Harvey Smith pulls lane-naming stunt to get lanes in his area fixed
Need directions to Sam Katz Lane? Ever hear of Fielding Lane?
Winnipeg city councillor Harvey Smith says he has named some of the worst back lanes in the West End after members of the city's executive policy committee, including mayor Sam Katz and councillor Scott Fielding.
Winnipeg's West End is now also home to Wyatt Lane, Browaty Lane, Mayes Lane, and Pagtakhan Lane after Russ Wyatt, Jeff Browaty, Brian Mayes, and Mike Pagtakhan.
Smith also named a lane after Dan Vandal, but misspelled it, calling it "Vandel Lane."
He is hoping the stunt, which he describes as an invitation to the members of EPC, will help draw attention to what he calls their "deplorable" condition.
"I want them to come out and visit their back lane and I want them to take a roller coaster ride down my back lanes and see how bad they are."
Smith said he's spent $1600 of his councillor allowance to put up the signs naming the lanes.
"The idea of neglecting them year after year is not the answer," he said. "I mean people move out of the neighbourhood because their street, their back lane, their parks are not being maintained. And this is one example that I want to illustrate and get some action on."