Motion to rename bridge in honour of iconic Winnipeg-born band

Members of Bachman Turner Overdrive accept their Juno after being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the Juno Awards in Winnipeg, Sunday, March 30, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

A motion wants the city to take care of business and rename a local bridge in honour of an iconic band born and raised in Winnipeg.

The motion submitted by Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) to the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee calls for the Disraeli Bridge to be renamed Bachman Turner Overdrive Bridge for a five-year period.

The name change is aimed at paying tribute to Randy Bachman and the band’s legacy, while encouraging tourism and fostering pride in the city’s cultural heritage.

Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman sings a song with his Gretsch guitar, which was once stolen, after he was reunited with it during the Lost and Found Guitar Exchange Ceremony, Friday, July 1, 2022, at Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. Bachman's long-held dream came true Friday when he was reunited in Tokyo with a beloved guitar nearly a half-century after it was stolen from a Toronto hotel. Bachman, 78, a former member of The Guess Who, received the guitar from a Japanese musician who had bought it at a Tokyo store in 2014 without knowing its history. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Funding for the application would come from the Mynarski ward’s allowance – the neighbourhood where Bachman grew up, while the cost of the new name toppers would be split by allowances from both the Mynarki and St. Norbert Seine River wards.

The motion also calls for an official ceremony or event to celebrate the renaming of the bridge and Bachman’s contributions.

The motion will be considered at a community committee meeting on May 28.

Should the committee let it ride, it would then require full council approval.