KITCHENER - In an effort to curb confusion for residents, earlier this week the finance and corporate services committee endorsed a plan to eliminate the process of identifying all city wards by names, in favour of recognizing them only by a number system.

The changes to the way the city's wards are identified will take effect for the next municipal election, which will be held in November 2010.

Given both the number of city wards and ward councillors will also be increasing from 6 to 10 at that time, the new wards will be identified only as wards 1 to 10.

"To me, this is the simplest way to go," said Ward 3 Coun. John Gazzola. "The numbers on the city map will be laid out in almost a clockwise fashion, a way that's easy for residents to identify with. Having longer names for the wards becomes very confusing. Plus, they've already changed a number of times over the years; and as the city continues to grow, they're sure to change again. Using a number system is straight and simple; to me, it's the logical choice."

Since the city's wards were named in 1979, there have been two voluntary ward reviews and a provincially mandated review. In all three cases, the names of the wards changed.

''It could be argued that ward names instill a sense of community; however, without consistency, as has been the case over the past 30 years, confusion may result,'' said Randy Gosse, the city clerk and director of legislated services. ''Additionally, with the many neighbourhood associations in the city, there is arguably a closer identification by voters to the neighbourhood rather than the ward name.''

''I agree, going with a numeric system simplifies things,'' added Mayor Carl Zehr. ''Even the name descriptions the wards have now aren't fully inclusive. Going with numbers across the board keeps the system consistent; and it's an easier way for someone to remember which ward they live in.''