Local street signs can steer you through traffic and town legends, if you know where to look.
Ryan Reynolds Way is under construction in Orléans, but its first street sign is up, cementing local “street cred” for the Canadian actor.
Reynolds, who spent part of his childhood in Vanier, has shown love for Ottawa over the years, funding the Ottawa Food Bank and joining public health campaigns as “Bruce the intern.” Those ties now come with a bit of asphalt in the east end.
The new stretch of pavement, between Brian Coburn Boulevard and Mer Bleue Road, joins a long list of streets in Ottawa where asphalt meets celebrity cachet.
Canada’s capital has a habit of paying homage to famous figures by immortalizing them on street signs. Terry Fox Drive in Kanata celebrates the iconic Canadian athlete and cancer research activist, while Jeanne-d’Arc Boulevard in Queenswood Village honours the legendary French military leader.
Some road names don’t even reference real people, such as Notting Gate’s Mulder Avenue and Scully Way, which were inspired by the iconic X-Files duo.
Still, not just anyone can get a designated street in Ottawa. City guidelines require that all proposed street names be “reviewed for compliance with general and public safety and wayfinding-related criteria which focus on minimizing confusion, particularly in emergency situations.”
The rules insist new signs reflect local history, Canadian heritage or the city’s cultural roots. That means no “Big Daddy Gagnon Lane” (an actual city example), but “Jean-Paul Gagnon Street” might pass the test. No initials or combined names like “Robert Mary Jones” are allowed either. Each name must be unique and not easily confused with existing ones—so “Deighton” isn’t allowed if there’s already a “Dayton.”
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The city also has a blacklist of overused words to avoid confusion and repetition, which means “Maple,” “King,” “Queen,” and “River” can’t feature. If a street is to be named after an individual, the proposed moniker must first receive approval through the city’s commemorative naming process.
Names already approved and awaiting their spot on a signpost include Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Dr. John F. Puddicombe, who delivered the first and only North American-born princess—Netherlands’ royal Margaret Francisca—at Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1942.
Here are the stories behind some of Ottawa’s more unusual street names.
Alanis Private
Alanis Morissette’s ties to Ottawa have seen quieter days since her key-to-the-city moment in 1996. But the “Ironic” singer has a modest stretch near South Keys Shopping Centre that bears her name. It’s also a short distance from the area in Hunt Club where the Morissette family used to live.
Bonnie Crescent and Clyde Avenue
Like its American outlaw namesakes, this west-end corner is no stranger to crime. Clyde Avenue has a history of homicides and hit-and-runs, though no bank heists. The intersection is also near one of Ottawa’s hotspots for car theft, which adds a layer of irony to the names.
Bronson Avenue
This Ottawa roadway signals industry, not infamy, despite its notorious-sounding name. Erskine Henry Bronson, a New Yorker turned Ottawan, made his father’s lumber venture into a major business empire, branching out from local logs to California redwoods and powering up with the Ottawa Electric Company.
Cleopatra Drive and Caesar Avenue
A reminder that all roads may lead to Rome, but some pass through Merivale first.
Dean Martin Crescent and Paul Anka Drive
This South End intersection sits at the corner of crooner legacy and hometown pride. Named in the early 1970s, Paul Anka Drive celebrates the local boy who made it big on the international stage. The singer reached global fame as a teenager with hits like “Diana” in 1957, making him one of the youngest pop sensations of his time.
Electric Street
Named after the Ottawa Electric Railway, this New Edinburgh street keeps the city’s transit history alive. In 1966, part of the street was merged with Ivy Street to form Ivy Crescent, giving the area a bit of a rewire.
Goth Avenue
This street in Blossom Park might make you think of black lipstick and brooding, but it actually honours farmers John and Grace Goth, who worked the surrounding land from 1927 until it was subdivided in the 1950s. Coincidentally, their farm was considered for a cemetery expansion in 1946.
Hamlet Road and Othello Avenue
To be, or not to be stuck in traffic—that’s rarely a question at this intersection. But the drama-free zone does conveniently face the Elmvale Acres Public Library, making it the perfect spot for some literary enlightenment.
Hog’s Back Road
This road draws its name from a natural feature that predates the city’s famous Rideau Canal construction. In 1827, civil engineer John MacTaggart described a challenging part of the local river as “the Hog’s Back,” a ridge of rocks notorious among raftsmen for catching timber rafts as they navigated downstream. The name stuck, characterizing both the ridge and the road that later followed the river’s contour.
Mulder Avenue and Scully Way
Nothing to see here but paranormal street signs. A subdivision planner chose the names in 2001, during The X-Files’ peak popularity. He stumbled on “Scully” in a list of approved names from the old City of Cumberland and decided “Mulder” was a perfect companion. In 2013, hundreds of Ottawa residents gathered at the intersection to celebrate the fictional FBI agents and the hit show’s 20th anniversary.
Ryan Reynolds Way
The Canadian actor, who briefly called Ottawa’s Vanier neighbourhood home during his youth, hasn’t forgotten his old stomping grounds. Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively made headlines with a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That gesture, among others, spurred then-Mayor Jim Watson to formalize a street dedication in February 2022.
Shatner Gate
Before William Shatner rocketed to fame as the captain of the USS Enterprise, his acting roots were firmly planted in Canada, starting in Montreal, moving through Ottawa, and then stretching to California. Recognizing the early steps before his intergalactic leap, a street in Katimavik-Hazeldean was named after him in the early 1980s.
Thunder Road
This street near the Greenbelt shares its name with Bruce Springsteen’s hit 1975 song. According to an Ottawa Citizen concert review the same year, Thunder Road got thunderous applause from local crowds, or rather “the wildest raves in a night of continuous ovations.” The article went on to say, “Much later, after dancing atop the piano with his guitar, Springsteen was finally carried from the stage by his band and an absolutely incredible performance was finally brought to a close.”
Trump Avenue
Although this street, like many others in the Central Park area, draws its name from New York City landmarks, it has been a divisive topic among residents. In 2021, a proposal to change the street name sparked a vote as contentious as any election, splitting residents down the middle: 21 in favour and 21 against, with the rest abstaining, keeping the name intact.
Winterfell Private and King’s Landing Private
A 20-minute drive is all it takes to get from the Stark stronghold in Ottawa’s east end to the most royal street downtown. These Game of Thrones-themed roads let fans travel between iconic settings of the popular fantasy series in less time than it takes to watch an episode.
Winterspring Ridge, Ashenvale Way, Silvermoon Crescent and Stormwind Avenue
World of Warcraft gamers will feel right at home in the Orléans subdivision that reads like a live-action map of Azeroth. A developer subtly incorporated the fantasy-inspired names into an otherwise ordinary neighbourhood — don’t mind the orcs next door.
