When Bruce Tennant decided to name his company McKay Creek Technologies after the creek that entered Burrard Inlet next to their building, he had no idea the linguistic minefield he was stepping into.

It was only the day after he submitted the final paperwork for the name that he saw a sign that read "Mackay Creek."

"I thought to myself 'Oh, crap,' but it was too late at that point."

He can forgive himself, though, as neither the City nor District of North Vancouver can spell it correctly on a consistent basis -- that is assuming there is agreement on what the correct spelling should be.

The street and creek appear to be named after George Grant Mackay, although no documents have been found to confirm this. Mackay only lived in the Lower Mainland for five years before his death in 1893, but in that time he built the first Capilano suspension bridge and was instrumental in getting Capilano Road built.

Yet several signs in the city are spelled either MacKay or McKay, including the most prominent signs on Marine Drive, rather than Mackay, as the name was first spelled.

The city's GIS system has the name spelled correctly, but not so in the district, which uses a capital K. A fisheries database under the Ministry of Environment lists two options for the creek, while the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation decided to hedge their bets and use a random assortment of all three spellings on their website.

City parks manager Mike Hunter said the city wasn't even aware of the problem.

The signs would be fixed when they were next up for replacement, he said, but added he wasn't in any hurry.

"Mr. Mackay hasn't come in and complained," he said, chuckling.

That's not the only street suffering from multiple personality disorder: Bridgman Avenue in the district is spelled Bridgeman at the intersection with Keith Road and 21st Street, but the "e" is otherwise absent.

E.H. (Harry) Bridgman, spelled without an "e," was Reeve of the District of North Vancouver between 1915 and 1919 and councillor in 1914 and from 1919 to 1923, before switching to the city until 1930 and being elected mayor for one term in 1931. He died in 1945.

Also on the list of mishaps is the street sign on the corner of Cortell Street and "22nd Avenue" in Pemberton Heights.

"We're pretty diligent with our proofreading, but with literally thousands of street and traffic signs throughout the district, the occasional typo may slip by us," said Jeanine Bratina, spokeswoman for the district, adding the signs will be replaced.

It's not usually spelling that generates sign complaints, but a lack of clarity.

That's been the reason for a number of complaints to the Ministry of Transportation over the highway sign on the approach to Horseshoe Bay that attempts to explain that ferry traffic should use the right-hand lane instead of the left lane, as had been the case prior to the Sea to Sky Highway upgrades.

Since then, the ministry has added more signs and painted the word "Ferry" on the correct lanes of the highway closer to the exit.

"We're trying to draw more attention to the signage and trying to make it clear for people," he said, though the big sign at Exit 4 that has been compared to a bowl of spaghetti will stay.

Have you seen a street sign gaffe? Tell us about it at editor@nsnews.com.

tholloway@nsnews.com