Agenda Item Y Pa e # IIRbII

Report to: Chair and Members, Planning Committee, October 18, 2010

From: Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, Chair On behalf of the Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse

Subject: National Angel Street Project

Recommendation:

a) That on the recommendation of the Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse, the National Angel Street Project be endorsed by Council; and

b) That Planning Committee direct staff to give notice about the proposed name change and immediately arrange a public meeting to quickly hear from the public to enable the Project to move ahead in November, as part of a month long provincial awareness campaign to end woman abuse.

Background:

The Angel Street Project launched in Iqualuit, in 2007 as a positive national initiative to bring hope and shine light on a devastating reality many women and families face -the issue of domestic violence and woman abuse. oomestic Violence is a central issue that impacts communities across our Nation. As a proactive measure in raising awareness of this issue. lqualuit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik presented the Angel Street Project at the 2009 Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Conference in Whistler, BC.

The Angel Street Project's mission is to have every community across the country identify an 'Angel Street', as a beacon of hope and awareness related to honouring all those who have died or suffered at the hands of others -through the issues of domestic violence and woman abuse. By doing so, the Project is designed to educate and address these issues one community at a time.

The goals of the Angel Street Project are: 1) To bring education, awareness and positive change for those who face violence 2) To remind women there is hope and a place for them to find safety 3) To never forget those who have lost their lives due to violence

To date, communities already onboard are , New Brunswick; Kamloops, British Columbia; Regina, Saskatchewan; , Northwest Territories (NVVT) and Skeetchestn First Nation in British Columbia. The Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse encourages the City of London to be the first Ontario city to register an Angel Street in support of these important goals.

Current Steps toward naming a London Angel Street

Upon learning of the Angel Street Project at FCM, Mayor DeCicco-Best presented the proposal to the Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse. As a result, the Task Force members unanimously supported pursuing steps to name an Angel Street in London, and asked the Mayor to make an inquiry of City Administration regarding the process required to identify and name an Angel Street in The Forest City. The Mayor took action to liaise with staff along the following steps:

'Angel' was submitted to Development Planning staff for pre-screening and a positive response was obtained for the name, as there is no duplication of an existing street.

Certain criteria were considered in identifying a potential 'Angel' Street in London, including 1) a prominent downtown location; 2) close proximity to either the Peace Garden or the Women's Monument honouring several women who died at the hands of a gunman at I'kole Polytechnique; and 3) a street with no actual addressees on it to ensure the re- naming process does not result in unnecessary costs for any citizens or businesses.

Through the process, Development Planning staff reviewed several street options meeting the criteria, but all were deemed to be unacceptable -with the exception of a short leg of Kent Street - between Richmond and Clarence adjacent to Victoria Park (see accompanying graphic), which staff are proposing be re-named Angel Street.

The Task Force strongly supports this staff-recommended location as an ideal venue for London's Angel Street. Being centrally located in the downtown district and just steps from the Women's Monument in Victoria Park -which honours those women who died in the Montreal Massacre at I'ecole Polytechnique more than two decades ago -Angel Street has great potential to serve as a beacon of hope and awareness for all Londoners, as well as visitors to The Forest City.

Angel Street Project Budget

The administrative cost of implementing the recommended name change is as follows: $171.20 - initial application $1783.20 + taxes - completion of process once Council accepts the application to proceed $550.00 + taxes - production of two new sign blades for installation at each end of 'Angel' Street

Please note this recommendation carries no financial cost to the City of London, as the related administrative costs will be covered by contributions made by various member organizations within the Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse, as a special one-time community project.

Sincerely,

Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, Chair On behalf of the Mayor's Task Force to End Woman Abuse 519-661-2500 Ext. 4920 [email protected] Agenda Item W pa 8 # n?i

LOCATION MAP Legend SUBJECTSITE FOR THE POSSIBLE Kent Street between Clarence ASSESSMENT PARCELS STREET RENAMING 0 FILE NO OF KENT STREET ~ BUILDINGS (BETWEEN ROADS CLARENCE STREET MAP PREPARED: AND l- 201 0/09/02 RICHMOND STREET) Topgraphislnhlim Date:AuPu~2010 SCALE: TO ANGEL STREET