Entries due for Greater Philadelphia trail network naming contest

For anyone who’s ever had a doll, pet or kid, you know how important a name can be.

And while you can bask in your great name-giving skills every time you tell your dog to stay out of the trash, does someone in say, Mantua, N.J., appreciate the name?

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is giving you a chance to expand the scope of your naming talents. It’s taking suggestions for the Greater Philadelphia trail network.

With 12 partners and help from the William Penn Foundation, the DVRPC will award a $250 cash prize to the person who’s suggestion best reflects the trail network and meets the naming criteria:

 

Reflect the whole region [map]
Respect individual trail identities
Promote trail benefits and experiences
Focus on the future and avoid colonial imagery and historical clichés

Submissions are due by email Friday, and must include the proposed name and an explanation for it, and the contestant’s contact information. Some names to avoid: River Ring, which St. Louis has already taken (and frankly sounds a little contagious), and the Thread Trail, which you’ll find in the Carolinas.

Go on and name that network. All that’s missing is the game show music.