North Bay councillor Mike Anthony thinks so.
It's not a new idea. Back in 2006 when the four-laning still unfinished, the council of the day wanted to see the highway renamed Highway 411, as a marketing tool for economic development because the 400 series of highways is one of the most well-known highway designations in North America.
That went nowhere.
But Anthony thinks times have changed, along with the government and Nipissing have a very powerful voice with Finance Minister Vic Fedeli in their corner.
"This was looked at around 13 years ago, but it's a different time. With a new provincial government, it's the perfect time to get the idea in front of them," Anthony told BayToday. "And, this government has shown they are clearly willing to look at new ideas and new ways of doing things."
Council agrees, and will take another kick at the can.
"I'm really pleased my council colleagues unanimously supported my motion to have Highway 11 considered as part of the 400 series of highways," Anthony added. "We've had identity and confusion issues for years. The GTA usually confuses us with Thunder Bay. Even if they know we're not Thunder Bay, they usually seem to think we're a full day's drive away, not just around three hours down the highway."
Anthony says Invest North Bay has identified this as one of its biggest challenges and so have city economic development staff.
"If we could get Highway 11 designated as the 411 it could go a huge way to solving one of our biggest challenges. It obviously could help with growth and with attracting investment, and likely more tourism.
"For the millions of people in the GTA, they intuitively know that any highway that's part of the 400 series is within their accessible destinations."
Anthony says council has also asked for support from other municipalities, the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism North Bay and other groups that would be affected by the 400 designation.
The 400-series designations were introduced by the province in 1952.
