Saskatoon's south bridge could share its name with Mr. Hockey

A bridge in Saskatoon could soon share amonikerwith Mr. Hockey.

On Monday's city council meeting, Coun.Darren Hill plans to bring forward a motion to name the Circle Drive South Bridge after the late Gordie Howe.

"I think it's a great idea," Hill said.

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"I don't know who I could think of more than Gordie Howe, that really epitomizes Saskatoon He wasn't just a sports figure, he was truly committed to whatever community he lived in and he never lost track of where he came from."

But first, Hill needs to be able to bring the motion forward to council.

Because he missed the deadline to put the motion on the agenda for June's council meeting, Hill explained he needs unanimous consent from other members of city council to bring the motion forward at Monday's meeting. If he doesn't get a unanimous vote, he'll have to wait until next month to bring the idea forward.

"I have had conversations with some of my colleagues on council and certainly there are some that are in favour of this," Hill said.

Talk about naming the south river crossing after Mr. Hockey started about a year ago, according to Hill, when the city mulled the idea of having a naming contest for the bridge.

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"However, it really came to a head when Mr. Hockey passed away and a number of people contacted me and suggested we formally name that south bridge, the Gordie Howe Bridge," he said.

Hillposted a note to his Facebook page on Friday asking how the public felt about renaming the bridge after Howe. In his 10 years on council Hill said he's never seen a response quite like what he's seen this weekend.

While some folks commented on Hill's post suggesting the city honours a local soldier who fought for Canada's freedom, Hill said about 90 per cent of people engaging with his post were in favour of the idea.

Monday's city council meeting begins at 1 p.m. CST at city hall.