Residents of Ottawa's Trump Avenue have a lot riding on Nov. 8 outcome

It's not far from Manhattan Crescent, around the corner from Park Place and just off Bloomingdale Street. 

But in this corner of Ottawa's Central Park neighbourhood, where the street signs are more Big Apple than Bytown, Trump Avenue stands out this presidential election year.

The residents of this quiet street have suddenly found themselves in the midst of a political tempest, ever since brash billionaire Donald Trump shook off a field of Republican contenders and closed the gap on the Democratic nominee in the race for the White House.

Pam Baker inherited the address when she married her husband and moved in with him 10 years ago. These days, she said, they've been trying to put some distance between the name and the namesake.

"We try to say, 'Oh, no, no, we're just like the trump card. We're just trumping everybody.' They don't buy it!" Baker laughed. 

Mused about name change

Baker said she's even mused about having the street's name changed, but hopes next week's election will take care of the problem for her.

"I'm hoping that after the election Mr. Trump will go away and the issue will go away and we wil not have to deal with it any more!"

Baker said it was one of the first topics of conversation when new neighbours moved in on the weekend.

"I just asked them how they felt about living on Trump Avenue and they said they'd heard pretty well every joke going!"

An even newer neighbour, Edward Liu, was busy moving in on Thursday.

"Initially I didn't think about [the name], but when I signed the offers I realized it has the same last name," said Liu.

As the court translator unloaded boxes into his new garage, he noted that though Hillary Clinton continues to hold a slight lead in the polls, Donald Trump could yet win the U.S. presidency.

"If it happens, certainly, this street will get even more famous!" laughed Liu.

Some undecided

Carolyn Cowan has been making daily visits to Trump Avenue for the past two years as a personal support worker.

"I'm undecided," she said. "He definitely has a very bright mind. It could go very well, or very, very bad. [I'm] hoping that he has very good management skills."

Another neighbour, Bonnie Bowering, spends her winters in Florida, so she follows U.S. politics closely. Bowering is a staunch Clinton supporter, and said her friends have found a new way to get under her skin.

"People say, 'Oh you must hate that name now!'"

In fact she dislikes it so much, Bowering said she'd happily dump the Trump name if she could.

"Right now, if my neighbours had a petition to change the name of the street, I'm all in," she said, so long as the new name fit the New York theme.

Purolator driver Cory Simpson said he drops parcels off on Trump Avenue at least twice a day.

What would change for the residents of Trump Avenue if the Republican candidate wins on Nov. 8?

"I don't think too much will change," Simpson laughed. "I just think they'll want the name of the street changed. Maybe they'll change it to Hillary."