Criticism over the new names for the city’s five current and future LRT lines is focusing attention on the volunteer committee responsible for choosing them.

The eight-member naming committee chose Capital Line, Metro Line, Energy Line, Valley Line and Festival Line from 900 suggestions submitted by the public during a contest last year.

Some critics say the names are bland but no one from the committee is speaking publicly about them.

City planner Cory Sousa can't speak about the merits of the choices, only the process that led to them. He says that it is important to have citizens involved in such decisions.

"I think that when people are part of the process they feel that entitlement within their city," he said. "They feel that the city is theirs and that they had a voice in how the city is shaped."

The committee is responsible for naming buildings, roads and neighbourhoods.

Sousa describes each member as a regular citizen. No one from the city sits on the committee, though staff does provide members with information and historical background they need to make a choice.

The city also has a naming policy.

“It does outline what the committee members should be looking for in terms of approving names for roads, buildings,” Sousa said.

“And they felt that the names that were submitted did fit the criteria that was listed within our policy.”