736:
36:
27:
555:
359:. Reflecting on their circumstances, Rocher joked that the street should be named "Ragged Ass Road" since they were all "ragged ass broke". " felt he should be able to name it because he owned six of the nine lots on the road and he thought he could name it appropriately", his son recalled later. The men put up a sign that night. The term's use as a place name might not have been original. There was reportedly a Ragged Ass Mine on the lake in earlier years.
543:
1189:
1308:
604:"Residents of Canada's Dingle Bingle Hill Terrace, Cheapside Street, Ragged Ass Road and Bastard Ward consider yourselves warned: There is a small but noteworthy negative effect between a badly named street and the perceived market value of homes or businesses that reside on it ..." Conversely, a well-regarded street name, e.g.
247:
The southern terminus is at Brock Drive, three blocks east of School Draw. From there it follows a north-northeast heading, bending more to the northeast midway along its 150-metre (490 ft) length, then back to its original heading as it reaches its north terminus at
Hamilton Drive. Along with
530:
Lou Rocher died in May 2013 and was remembered around
Yellowknife most prominently for giving Ragged Ass Road its name. Despite that, his family noted, at that time the city still had not installed official street signs with the name. As of 2015, there are city signs at both ends of the road.
595:, where Brennan, like Reichs, lives for part of the year. A few paragraphs before this, Brennan had noted how 50th Avenue's apparent sudden change of name to Franklin Avenue north of downtown Yellowknife was a phenomenon she was used to from Charlotte's streets.
370:
to their posts, and gift shops in the city started selling replicas. During the 1980s, Rocher clashed with
Yellowknife's municipal government over a survey of the area. At one point he even blocked the street off to keep city employees away.
419:
to either cover it up or turn it inside out for the duration of the flight since the airline was "family-friendly". He chose the former option, but when the incident made national news, WestJet apologized. When it did so, it posted to its
244:. The terrain is flat, at approximately 160 metres (520 ft) in elevation, reflecting the proximity of the lake. The neighborhood is at the south end of the city's Old Town, on a peninsula projecting into the lake's Yellowknife Bay.
222:
While widely used, the name was somewhat controversial. It was not officially recognized by the city with signposts until the mid-2010s, after Rocher's death. It has been described as one of the most famous streets in Canada. Singer
239:
Ragged Ass Road is in a residential area midway between the intersection of
Franklin (50th) Avenue, Yellowknife's main street, and School Draw Avenue, its lake shore road, and Yellowknife Bay on the north arm of
211:. Its name started as a joke in 1970 by resident Lou Rocher, who owned much of the property along it at the time, and his friends. At the time the street had been known as "Privy Road" due to the large number of
474:. That's one you'd never see on the Queen City map ... The neighborhood was residential, with browned-out grass hugging up to the road and utility wires hanging low overhead. I smelled fishy water and
317:, only to resume afterwards. At that time most development was on the peninsula, in the area known today as Old Town. The road may have started as a narrow alley where residents cut wood to building the
362:
The name caught on, if not formally. Officially the city still considered the street to have no name, but Rocher made his own signs, replacing them after visiting tourists
403:
mailed a Ragged Ass Road sign back to
Yellowknife's city government after having confiscated it from a homeowner as inappropriate for public display. Eight years later a
795:
466:, a forensic anthropologist like her creator, trails a suspect from downtown Yellowknife to Ragged Ass Road on a cold morning, giving her a chance to describe it:
432:, for two years. Yellowknife city officials made it a point to meet with WestJet officials to come to a common understanding: the T-shirts are a tourist draw.
520:'s Institute of Housing and Mobility, it is claimed that this street is an example of a "poorly named street ... create negative shift in market value."
582:
and only experiences white nights, where the sun dips just below the horizon for a few hours of twilight in the summertime, rather than the full midnight sun.
388:
after the street. The title track of the album described a place "Where the shore fires burn out on a new frontier" and had the chorus "Oh did you find the
355:
One night near the end of 1970, in which he and fellow prospectors had worked hard but found far less, he was drinking with some of them in the family
130:
314:
219:
season yielded little income, convincing residents that they were "ragged ass broke", they decided that that should be the name of the street.
1371:
1073:
955:
639:
399:
The city was not unique in its reluctance to embrace the name despite its popularity. In 2004, a small town in the U.S. state of
1230:
889:
1050:
512:
in the yards or topping the fences ... Every house had at least one outbuilding, a rusted tank, and a mound of firewood.
1221:
1366:
1164:
1008:
960:
1337:
1193:
298:
117:
517:
408:
826:
1297:
906:
1102:
976:
487:
309:
The construction date of Ragged Ass Road is unknown. Yellowknife was significantly settled only after a 1935
1116:
329:
native Lou Rocher settled in the area, it existed and was known unofficially as Privy Road due to the many
289:
of Ragged Ass as "northern hodgepodge".) Addresses are in the range of 3901–3921, following
Yellowknife's
479:
1003:
1376:
35:
933:
1292:
592:
1332:
796:"Ragged Ass Road, Dog Island Film Festival, and Other Interesting Things About Life in Yellowknife"
742:
1199:
705:
1342:
1277:
853:
425:
384:
228:
1214:
858:
681:
677:
294:
1156:
986:
836:
26:
1236:
1017:
440:
204:
103:
746:
352:
on the street. On them he built homes and cabins, often letting people in need live there.
8:
1262:
1152:
286:
1272:
1096:
820:
463:
393:
341:
1051:"Poorly named streets create negative shift in market value, real estate expert finds"
772:
1257:
1252:
1207:
1160:
1145:
885:
524:
458:
453:
448:
363:
277:
1287:
424:
account a photo of a Ragged Ass Road sign that had been on the office wall of its
416:
404:
322:
264:
241:
483:
578:
While the midnight sun is often associated with
Yellowknife, it is south of the
1327:
1267:
501:
429:
272:
1360:
1282:
616:, Canada, can have a measurable positive effect on perceived value and price.
579:
559:
478:
mud and sensed a lake nearby ...The newer homes looked like they'd been
145:
132:
1140:
1117:"N.W.T. licence plate theft riles Vancouver cafe owners - North - CBC News"
999:
911:
605:
547:
509:
456:
in
Yellowknife. She liked the city so much she set part of her next novel,
443:
389:
379:
326:
290:
282:
268:
224:
271:
residences of modern construction and associated outbuildings. Some small
882:
The Times Behind the Signs: The
History Behind Yellowknife's Street Names
711:
494:
436:
356:
345:
216:
200:
99:
16:
Unpaved street in
Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories
1322:
1078:
1013:
498:
523:"Ragged Ass" street sign replicas are sold in the area. Nevertheless,
505:
421:
375:
310:
249:
196:
65:
1229:
490:
shutters and doors ... The older ones resembled cottages at a
349:
348:. He eventually came to live on Privy Road, where he owned several
337:
330:
260:
212:
613:
609:
504:
exteriors painted with murals or images taken from nature. Metal
475:
412:
367:
256:
527:
so frequently that the city has had them welded to their posts.
392:" Down on Ragged Ass Road". It added to the road's allure as a
1188:
491:
321:
that carried freight to and from the growing settlement across
208:
107:
259:
outcrop in the middle of the west side of the street, all the
1083:. Fethiye, Turkey. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008
767:
765:
763:
396:, but the city still demurred from making the name official.
318:
926:
400:
760:
634:
632:
336:
Rocher made his living through several vocations, selling
1307:
907:"Letter from Canada: Yellowknife, gateway to the Arctic"
629:
516:
According to Murtaza Haider, professor and director of
813:
640:"3902 – 3920 Ragged Ass RD, Yellowknife – Postal Code"
956:"WestJet apologizes after Ragged Ass Road shirt flap"
992:
847:
845:
313:. After a few years, development was interrupted by
1144:
1031:
508:and smokestacks. Whirligigs, plastic animals, and
948:
842:
1358:
775:. Yellowknife, NWT: Gallery of the Midnight Sun
446:, a producer of the American television series
1074:"Kebabble: Turkey's costly signs of the times"
898:
199:residential street in the Old Town section of
1215:
700:
698:
415:with a Ragged Ass Road T-shirt was told by a
231:after it, including a song about the street.
823:option at the ACME Mapper link given above.
1222:
1208:
731:
729:
695:
675:
462:, there. In one scene her main character,
793:
787:
671:
669:
667:
665:
663:
661:
659:
657:
57:Poverty experienced by local prospectors
934:"Tom Cochrane – Ragged Ass Road lyrics"
904:
794:Wilkinson, Tandi (September 28, 2012).
726:
1359:
1139:
1037:
982:
852:Hudson, Katherine (October 17, 2012).
851:
832:
1203:
1071:
1065:
1053:. CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc
654:
884:. Yellowknife: Crescent Publishing.
879:
678:"Ragged Ass Road pioneer remembered"
591:A reference to the American city of
905:Malcolm, David (October 18, 2011).
854:"Ragged Ass Road gets a rough ride"
13:
1372:Roads in the Northwest Territories
1133:
1072:Zahir, Fazile (February 4, 2008).
998:
14:
1388:
1181:
1009:Talk of the Nation Science Friday
676:Whitehouse, Simon (May 3, 2013).
40:View north from Brock Drive, 2015
1338:Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road
1306:
1187:
1004:"Meet the Brains Behind 'Bones'"
553:
541:
255:With the exception of one large
34:
25:
1298:Highway 10 (Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk)
1109:
1043:
873:
741:(Map). 1:6,000. Cartography by
598:
585:
572:
518:Toronto Metropolitan University
275:grow among them. (In her novel
480:assembled from mail-order kits
452:, had attended the NorthWords
248:its neighboring streets it is
1:
642:. canadapostalcodes.net. 2015
623:
1012:(Interview). Interviewed by
7:
1278:Highway 6 (Fort Resolution)
534:
215:along it. When a difficult
10:
1393:
525:the signs have been stolen
304:
1315:
1304:
1245:
1155:, Pocket Books. pp.
1101:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
593:Charlotte, North Carolina
285:described the prevailing
234:
182:
177:
169:
161:
124:
113:
95:
87:
79:
71:
61:
53:
45:
33:
24:
1367:Transport in Yellowknife
743:Natural Resources Canada
738:Atlas of Canada Toporama
565:
83:150 m (490 ft)
1343:Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road
1263:Highway 3 (Yellowknife)
486:. Prefab windows. Faux-
441:forensic anthropologist
426:chief executive officer
366:. Eventually they were
252:for its entire length.
1273:Highway 5 (Fort Smith)
859:Northern News Services
710:(Map). Cartography by
682:Northern News Services
514:
470:A sign on a rock said
382:named his third album
293:numbering system. Its
146:62.46063°N 114.35256°W
1258:Highway 2 (Hay River)
1253:Highway 1 (Mackenzie)
1238:Northwest Territories
1018:National Public Radio
468:
263:along the street are
205:Northwest Territories
1346:(permanently closed)
1288:Highway 8 (Dempster)
1268:Highway 4 (Ingraham)
1196:at Wikimedia Commons
1153:Simon & Schuster
1119:. Cbc.ca. 2015-12-22
880:Heal, Tyler (2007).
747:Government of Canada
151:62.46063; -114.35256
1293:Highway 9 (Tłı̨chǫ)
714:. ACME Laboratories
287:architectural style
142: /
75:City of Yellowknife
21:
1232:Roads and highways
964:. October 16, 2012
821:Google Street View
800:The Song I Live By
464:Temperance Brennan
407:man flying out of
394:tourist attraction
342:commercial fishing
281:, American writer
19:
1377:Streets in Canada
1354:
1353:
1283:Highway 7 (Liard)
1192:Media related to
1147:Bones Are Forever
891:978-0-9739420-0-2
773:"Ragged Ass Road"
560:Canada portal
459:Bones Are Forever
454:literary festival
435:The year before,
278:Bones Are Forever
190:
189:
1384:
1310:
1239:
1233:
1224:
1217:
1210:
1201:
1200:
1191:
1177:
1175:
1173:
1150:
1128:
1127:
1125:
1124:
1113:
1107:
1106:
1100:
1092:
1090:
1088:
1069:
1063:
1062:
1060:
1058:
1047:
1041:
1035:
1029:
1028:
1026:
1024:
996:
990:
980:
974:
973:
971:
969:
952:
946:
945:
943:
941:
930:
924:
923:
921:
919:
902:
896:
895:
877:
871:
870:
868:
866:
849:
840:
830:
824:
817:
811:
810:
808:
806:
791:
785:
784:
782:
780:
769:
758:
757:
755:
753:
733:
724:
723:
721:
719:
702:
693:
692:
690:
688:
673:
652:
651:
649:
647:
636:
617:
602:
596:
589:
583:
576:
558:
557:
556:
548:Roads portal
546:
545:
544:
417:flight attendant
405:British Columbia
344:, but primarily
325:. By 1957, when
323:Great Slave Lake
242:Great Slave Lake
157:
156:
154:
153:
152:
147:
143:
140:
139:
138:
135:
38:
29:
22:
18:
1392:
1391:
1387:
1386:
1385:
1383:
1382:
1381:
1357:
1356:
1355:
1350:
1333:Ragged Ass Road
1311:
1302:
1241:
1237:
1231:
1228:
1194:Ragged Ass Road
1184:
1171:
1169:
1167:
1136:
1134:Further reading
1131:
1122:
1120:
1115:
1114:
1110:
1094:
1093:
1086:
1084:
1070:
1066:
1056:
1054:
1049:
1048:
1044:
1036:
1032:
1022:
1020:
997:
993:
981:
977:
967:
965:
954:
953:
949:
939:
937:
932:
931:
927:
917:
915:
903:
899:
892:
878:
874:
864:
862:
850:
843:
831:
827:
818:
814:
804:
802:
792:
788:
778:
776:
771:
770:
761:
751:
749:
735:
734:
727:
717:
715:
704:
703:
696:
686:
684:
674:
655:
645:
643:
638:
637:
630:
626:
621:
620:
603:
599:
590:
586:
577:
573:
568:
554:
552:
542:
540:
537:
484:Aluminum siding
472:Ragged Ass Road
385:Ragged Ass Road
374:In 1995 former
307:
273:deciduous trees
237:
193:Ragged Ass Road
150:
148:
144:
141:
136:
133:
131:
129:
128:
41:
20:Ragged Ass Road
17:
12:
11:
5:
1390:
1380:
1379:
1374:
1369:
1352:
1351:
1349:
1348:
1340:
1335:
1330:
1328:Deh Cho Bridge
1325:
1319:
1317:
1313:
1312:
1305:
1303:
1301:
1300:
1295:
1290:
1285:
1280:
1275:
1270:
1265:
1260:
1255:
1249:
1247:
1243:
1242:
1227:
1226:
1219:
1212:
1204:
1198:
1197:
1183:
1182:External links
1180:
1179:
1178:
1165:
1135:
1132:
1130:
1129:
1108:
1064:
1042:
1030:
991:
975:
947:
925:
897:
890:
872:
841:
825:
812:
786:
759:
725:
694:
653:
627:
625:
622:
619:
618:
597:
584:
570:
569:
567:
564:
563:
562:
550:
536:
533:
510:ceramic gnomes
437:crime novelist
430:Gregg Saretsky
306:
303:
236:
233:
229:his 1995 album
188:
187:
184:
180:
179:
175:
174:
173:Hamilton Drive
171:
170:North end
167:
166:
163:
162:South end
159:
158:
126:
122:
121:
115:
111:
110:
97:
93:
92:
89:
85:
84:
81:
77:
76:
73:
69:
68:
63:
59:
58:
55:
51:
50:
47:
46:Former name(s)
43:
42:
39:
31:
30:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1389:
1378:
1375:
1373:
1370:
1368:
1365:
1364:
1362:
1347:
1344:
1341:
1339:
1336:
1334:
1331:
1329:
1326:
1324:
1321:
1320:
1318:
1314:
1309:
1299:
1296:
1294:
1291:
1289:
1286:
1284:
1281:
1279:
1276:
1274:
1271:
1269:
1266:
1264:
1261:
1259:
1256:
1254:
1251:
1250:
1248:
1244:
1240:
1234:
1225:
1220:
1218:
1213:
1211:
1206:
1205:
1202:
1195:
1190:
1186:
1185:
1172:September 19,
1168:
1166:9781439102442
1162:
1158:
1154:
1149:
1148:
1142:
1141:Reichs, Kathy
1138:
1137:
1118:
1112:
1104:
1098:
1082:
1080:
1075:
1068:
1052:
1046:
1039:
1034:
1023:September 20,
1019:
1015:
1011:
1010:
1005:
1001:
1000:Reichs, Kathy
995:
988:
984:
979:
968:September 19,
963:
962:
957:
951:
940:September 19,
936:. Lyrics Mine
935:
929:
918:September 19,
914:
913:
908:
901:
893:
887:
883:
876:
865:September 19,
861:
860:
855:
848:
846:
838:
834:
829:
822:
816:
801:
797:
790:
779:September 19,
774:
768:
766:
764:
752:September 19,
748:
744:
740:
739:
732:
730:
718:September 19,
713:
709:
708:
701:
699:
683:
679:
672:
670:
668:
666:
664:
662:
660:
658:
646:September 19,
641:
635:
633:
628:
615:
611:
607:
601:
594:
588:
581:
580:Arctic Circle
575:
571:
561:
551:
549:
539:
538:
532:
528:
526:
521:
519:
513:
511:
507:
503:
500:
496:
493:
489:
485:
481:
477:
473:
467:
465:
461:
460:
455:
451:
450:
445:
442:
438:
433:
431:
427:
423:
418:
414:
410:
406:
402:
397:
395:
391:
387:
386:
381:
377:
372:
369:
365:
360:
358:
353:
351:
347:
343:
339:
334:
332:
328:
324:
320:
316:
312:
302:
300:
296:
292:
288:
284:
280:
279:
274:
270:
266:
262:
258:
253:
251:
245:
243:
232:
230:
226:
220:
218:
214:
210:
206:
202:
198:
194:
185:
181:
176:
172:
168:
164:
160:
155:
127:
123:
119:
116:
112:
109:
105:
101:
98:
94:
90:
86:
82:
78:
74:
72:Maintained by
70:
67:
64:
60:
56:
52:
48:
44:
37:
32:
28:
23:
1345:
1170:. Retrieved
1151:. New York:
1146:
1121:. Retrieved
1111:
1085:. Retrieved
1077:
1067:
1055:. Retrieved
1045:
1033:
1021:. Retrieved
1007:
994:
978:
966:. Retrieved
959:
950:
938:. Retrieved
928:
916:. Retrieved
912:The Guardian
910:
900:
881:
875:
863:. Retrieved
857:
828:
815:
803:. Retrieved
799:
789:
777:. Retrieved
750:. Retrieved
737:
716:. Retrieved
706:
685:. Retrieved
644:. Retrieved
606:Bloor Street
600:
587:
574:
529:
522:
515:
471:
469:
457:
447:
444:Kathy Reichs
434:
398:
390:midnight sun
383:
380:Tom Cochrane
378:lead singer
373:
361:
354:
335:
327:Saskatchewan
315:World War II
308:
283:Kathy Reichs
276:
254:
246:
238:
225:Tom Cochrane
221:
192:
191:
1316:Other roads
1087:November 7,
1057:November 5,
1038:Reichs 2013
985:, pp.
983:Reichs 2013
835:, pp.
833:Reichs 2013
805:November 7,
712:Google Maps
707:ACME Mapper
495:summer camp
357:Quonset hut
346:prospecting
295:postal code
217:prospecting
201:Yellowknife
195:is a short
186:Unique name
165:Brock Drive
149: /
137:114°21′09″W
125:Coordinates
114:Postal code
100:Yellowknife
1361:Categories
1323:Canol Road
1123:2016-09-18
1079:Asia Times
1014:Ira Flatow
624:References
506:downspouts
364:stole them
333:along it.
291:grid-based
269:wood frame
134:62°27′38″N
49:Privy Road
1097:cite news
422:Instagram
409:Vancouver
376:Red Rider
331:outhouses
311:gold rush
265:developed
213:outhouses
183:Known for
91:3902–3920
88:Addresses
66:Dirt road
1246:Highways
1143:(2013).
819:Per the
687:March 8,
535:See also
488:colonial
338:firewood
96:Location
54:Namesake
1235:in the
837:168–170
614:Ontario
610:Toronto
499:stained
476:bracken
413:WestJet
305:History
257:bedrock
250:unpaved
197:unpaved
1163:
1159:–170.
1081:Online
888:
492:hippie
368:welded
319:barges
235:Street
227:named
209:Canada
108:Canada
80:Length
566:Notes
502:frame
449:Bones
301:2T4.
267:with
178:Other
1174:2015
1161:ISBN
1103:link
1089:2015
1059:2015
1025:2015
970:2015
942:2015
920:2015
886:ISBN
867:2015
807:2015
781:2015
754:2015
720:2015
689:2015
648:2015
497:. Un
439:and
401:Ohio
350:lots
261:lots
62:Type
1157:168
987:369
961:CBC
608:in
411:on
299:X1A
297:is
120:2T4
118:X1A
1363::
1099:}}
1095:{{
1076:.
1016:.
1006:.
1002:.
958:.
909:.
856:.
844:^
798:.
762:^
745:.
728:^
697:^
680:.
656:^
631:^
612:,
482:.
428:,
340:,
207:,
203:,
106:,
104:NT
102:,
1223:e
1216:t
1209:v
1176:.
1126:.
1105:)
1091:.
1061:.
1040:.
1027:.
989:.
972:.
944:.
922:.
894:.
869:.
839:.
809:.
783:.
756:.
722:.
691:.
650:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.