Should Hamilton rename part of Burlington Street after Nikola Tesla?

The city of Hamilton is looking at erecting a large statue of Nikola Tesla at Bayfront Park, and renaming part of Burlington Street after the inventor. And advocates insist the inventor's tie to Hamilton is strong enough to merit it.

Swayed by a volunteer group aimed at promoting Teslas legacy, the citys general issues committee asked staff to find out whats involved in renaming the stretch of Burlington Street from the QEW to just east of Ottawa Street the Nikola Tesla Expressway.

Theyre also pondering accepting a statue of the inventor for Bayfront Park. The Nikola Tesla Educational Corporation, which is based in Hamilton and the GTA, says itll fundraise to pay for the statue.

Tesla is widely seen as abrilliant engineer and futurist. He'sresponsible for, among other inventions, the alternating current electrical system, and his theories contributed to the development of everything from modern radios to X-rays.

He's relevant to Hamilton, said Vic Djurdjevic of Oakville, a former resident of Hamilton. Hes relevant enough to name a major stretch of road after him.

The electric city was as a result of Nikola Teslas invention, saidDjurdjevic, president of the Tesla Educational Corporation.

Hamilton particularly its industrial area has benefited from Teslas genius, he said.

Itwas the first city in Canada to benefit from Tesla's alternating current system, he said, and that source of cheap power is what drew industries to Hamilton.

Tesla is so relevant to Hamilton, Djurdjevic said, that itll inspire more jobs, productivity and inventiveness. He foresees the new north-endhigh school at Scott Park named after Tesla, and a local scholarship.

These initiatives will be the lightning rod to spread awareness of Nikola Tesla and his vision.

Councillors seemed to agree. Coun. Bob Morrow of Ward 3 said he supported the idea very strongly.

Coun. Maria Pearson of Ward 10 in lower Stoney Creek said it comes at no cost to the city, and brings education to young people.

The Tesla Educational Corporation can use the same design as a Tesla statue in Palo Alto, Calif. and it will only cost about $70,000 to erect in Hamilton, Djurdjevic said.

It would cost $85,000 to erect a statue with a new design.

The idea has a fan in Nikola Vulajic, an east Hamilton resident with a Tesla tattoo on his calf.

Im just super pumped, he said.

As for what it has to do with Hamilton, Vulajic said the city has a large Serbian population.

Hes less certain about the argument that Hamilton has benefited more from Teslas inventions than other cities.

If we talk like that, then we should have statues on every street corner.