The Quick Answer
Ray M. Gibbon was mayor of St. Albert from 1968 to 1974, and interim mayor for about seven months in 1989. He died in 1999. Council named Ray Gibbon Drive after him in 2004, and the first phase of the road opened on October 4, 2007, with his widow Eileen in the lead car.
I'm John Carle, a REALTOR with Homes & Gardens Real Estate Limited, and I've been selling homes in St. Albert since 1999. If you live on the west side, you probably drive Ray Gibbon Drive most days. Here's the man behind the name.
On this page
Who was Ray Gibbon?
Ray Gibbon was a Navy veteran. Margaret Plain, who served on council with him, remembered him as "a spit-and-polish ex-Navy guy" with shoes that always shone. After the 1964 town election, he led a citizens' group that challenged the vote in court. In February 1965 a judge ruled the election invalid, and Gibbon went on to win the mayor's chair in 1968.
What did he do as mayor?
Former mayor Richard Plain credited Gibbon with overseeing the first Sturgeon hospital and the green belt that now holds Anthony Henday Drive. Gibbon also served on the executive of what was then the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. Plain beat him in the 1974 election, arguing the city was growing too fast.
After that, Gibbon spent ten years on the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce board and was its president in 1983. He came back as an alderman in 1984 and stepped in as interim mayor in 1989 when Dick Fowler resigned to run provincially.
How did Ray Gibbon Drive come about?
Slowly. A western bypass was debated in St. Albert for decades, with council votes, a 1980 plebiscite and petitions. The route that became Ray Gibbon Drive was released in 2001, council approved the name in 2004, and phase one opened in 2007. It has been widened and extended in stages since.
Key takeaways
- Ray Gibbon was mayor from 1968 to 1974, and interim mayor in 1989.
- He oversaw the first Sturgeon hospital and the green belt that now holds the Henday.
- Ray Gibbon Drive was named in 2004 and its first phase opened in 2007.
Ray Gibbon Drive changed how people get around the west end. If you're weighing a home near it, I can tell you which streets hear the road and which don't.
Just Call John. 780-937-7534
Sources
- City of St. Albert, A History of Street Names in St. Albert (2018): https://stalbert.ca/site/assets/files/2960/historyofstreetnamesinstalbert_dec2018.pdf
- St. Albert Gazette, The chains of office: https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/the-chains-of-office-1294441
- St. Albert Gazette, The never-ending road to Ray Gibbon Drive: https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/the-never-ending-road-to-ray-gibbon-drive-12589616
- St. Albert Gazette, Column: The sad saga of Ray Gibbon Drive: https://www.stalbertgazette.com/opinion/column-the-sad-saga-of-ray-gibbon-drive-2781851
- Wikipedia (lead only), Ray Gibbon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gibbon