Reconsider Park Avenue name change, DeSousa told

Repeating earlier statements, DeSousa said he would conduct his own informal poll between now and the vote as a way to gage what people here feel about the subject.

The pulse at the borough meeting, however, was decidedly against the name change. Costas Sevapsidis asked the mayor to "think twice" when it comes time to vote on the issue, while Andreas Dimakopoulos admitted to being "stunned" that DeSousa agreed, along with the rest of the city's executive committee, to recommend the idea to council in the first place.

Other residents offered up some of their own suggestions. "Tell your boss, Mr. Tremblay, that he doesn't own Montreal," one particularly irate Côte-Vertu resident told DeSousa. "Why doesn't he change a street name in Outremont [where he lives] so that he can look at it and be happy all the time."

Resident Bob Smith suggested the family consider curbing the trend to name streets after deceased politicians. "Perhaps the Bourassa family, if they wish, could start a foundation or maybe an endowment for a library or the wing of a hospital. People who wish to contribute to it, could, people who don't wish to contribute to it, don't," he said.

City councillors Patricia Bittar and Laval Demers, who have come out if favour of changing the name of Park Avenue, say they will also informally consult their constituents prior to making a final decision. The leader of the city's official opposition has asked that the question be taken off council's agenda altogether.

Boileau pointed out that Biron, a long-time resident of the area, has served the sector well over the years. The suggestion elicited a surprise reaction from Biron. Public spaces in Saint-Laurent are normally named after local movers and shakers who have passed on.