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National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: Joseph R P on November 29, 2022, 01:33:26 AM

Title: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Joseph R P on November 29, 2022, 01:33:26 AM
What are some roads you know with some very unfitting suffixes contrary to the way the road is built?

I have a couple roads in Northern Virginia that are only named such because they used to be built a different way:

The freeway section of VA 28 between I 66 and VA 7 is called Sully Road, named for the Sully Plantation. It used to be a normal 2-lane road, but was, over time, upgraded to a large freeway. Of course a freeway is still a type of road, but it's odd seeing a freeway built to near-interstate standards with such a simple name. The section of the freeway through Loudoun County is also designated as Darrell Green Boulevard, named in honor of the retired Redskins player Darrell Green. As far as I know, boulevards are typically arterial roads and not freeways (though there are many freeway-like roads called boulevards outside of the US), however I really like the Easter egg of naming a highway numbered 28 after an athlete numbered 28.

Another example of a freeway with a name typically applied to smaller/lower-speed roads is the freeway section of VA 7, which runs between US 15 and VA 28, particularly the section of highway through the town of Leesburg, named Market Street (however an actual street section of this road exists passing through the downtown). This is another example of a highway which started out as a two-lane road, was widened, then became a freeway over the years due to more development in the area.



Looking at Las Vegas, Nevada, there are many run-of-the-mill arterial roads with the suffix 'parkway', such as Centennial Parkway, Tropical Parkway, and Maryland Parkway. But the funniest of these is a short, narrow dead-end road called Paplinski Parkway in Sloan. Not sure how it got that name.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Bruce on November 29, 2022, 02:09:50 AM
The "West Seattle Bridge" actually constitutes a good chunk of the freeway that leads up to the bridge on both sides, so that seems pretty unfitting. WSDOT and SDOT removed the word "Freeway" from its name 25 years ago.

Many of Seattle's classic Olmsted boulevards were named for their scenic qualities, rather than being wide roads with plantings.

Alderwood Mall Parkway serves a grand total of zero parks and is just a road around some suburban mall sprawl. Not to be confused with its cousin Alderwood Mall Boulevard, which has fewer trees than a typical Snohomish County street.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Scott5114 on November 29, 2022, 04:59:54 AM
"Gary Freeway" (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.508546,-98.9853708,3a,61.8y,45.37h,93.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVor4MVcNwwv8DIc3C1A5mQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: roadman65 on November 29, 2022, 05:41:24 AM
Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia is scenic, but it's design is that of a Boulevard.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Max Rockatansky on November 29, 2022, 08:08:15 AM
Atwater-Merced Expressway is a road between Atwater and Merced.  It doesn't connect the communities and the claims that it is an expressway are questionable given the short length coupled with the short two-lane alignment. 

That said, if the project ever gets close to the scale it was planned to things change:

https://www.mcagov.org/DocumentCenter/View/16/Proposed-Phase-1-Map?bidId=
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: hotdogPi on November 29, 2022, 08:10:57 AM
Weisner Parkway (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7262939,-71.1471142,3a,73.1y,221.07h,90.08t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3XRgizD5Ipt5o5w5Y8s30w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D3XRgizD5Ipt5o5w5Y8s30w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D206.3021%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192) in Methuen MA is a residential street.

I remember an intersection in New York City recently being labeled Sesame Street. An intersection. Not a street.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: GaryV on November 29, 2022, 08:14:46 AM
N/S roads in Lenawee County, MI, are called "Hwy", even if they're just a dirt track.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: SP Cook on November 29, 2022, 08:36:23 AM
- All of Kentucky's former toll roads are a "parkway" .  While they go through some scenic parts of the state, they are not really parkways.

- One of Charleston's major suburban roads is the Kanawha Turnpike.  It was never a toll road, AFAIK. 

Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: SectorZ on November 29, 2022, 08:37:17 AM
I know of numerous dead-end roads or small residential roads north of Boston that are "parkways" yet really don't deserve the moniker.

I'll add any "Broadway St" to the list.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: MATraveler128 on November 29, 2022, 08:43:23 AM
Watson Parkway in Danvers, MA. Just a glorified connector from MA 114 to Centre St. Doesn't feel like a parkway. Also Dalton Parkway in Salem.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: 1995hoo on November 29, 2022, 08:43:38 AM
"Parkway"  is pretty common for residential streets in my observation. The one that always readily comes to mind for me is "The Parkway"  in Fairfax County, Virginia. I know I've mentioned that one before–my car's sat-nav, which omits the street suffix, shows it as simply "The."
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Hunty2022 on November 29, 2022, 10:24:26 AM
Valley Road Extension and Grove Street Extension in Charlottesville. None of the roads are extensions of their "namesakes" . The first one is just a normal street in that part of the city. The latter one, is just the ending part of the same psychical road.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: 7/8 on November 29, 2022, 10:26:20 AM
Some freeways with weird suffixes:
- Highbury Avenue (https://www.google.ca/maps/place/42%C2%B057'13.9%22N+81%C2%B011'14.5%22W/@42.9547828,-81.1867941,15.25z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0xc58b630f78983c29!7e2!8m2!3d42.9538623!4d-81.1873714) in London, ON is a freeway south of Hamilton Road.
- Nikola Tesla Boulevard (https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B015'24.6%22N+79%C2%B047'08.8%22W/@43.2581957,-79.7919999,15.28z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x41836bcecc43b1a4!7e2!8m2!3d43.2568395!4d-79.7857669) in Hamilton, ON is a freeway its entire length.
- Allen Road (https://www.google.ca/maps/place/43%C2%B042'47.7%22N+79%C2%B026'35.3%22W/@43.7182579,-79.4441614,14.38z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x84d2be06732fcd7!7e2!8m2!3d43.7132491!4d-79.4431271) in Toronto, ON is a freeway for most of its length (except the northernmost portion).
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: CtrlAltDel on November 29, 2022, 10:37:15 AM
There's a number of more or less run-of-the-mill road name suffixes that no longer mean what they originally did.

An avenue, for example, was an approach road to a specific place, usually a country house.

A boulevard, at least in road usage, was a road paralleling a defensive city wall.

A court was originally a closed-off area, like a courtyard, and so on and so on.


I think it's interesting to see how the words have changed in meaning over time.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Dirt Roads on November 29, 2022, 10:51:52 AM
Quote from: SP Cook on November 29, 2022, 08:36:23 AM
- One of Charleston's major suburban roads is the Kanawha Turnpike.  It was never a toll road, AFAIK.

But alas, Kanawha Turnpike was believed to have been along the original route of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, which was routed along the edge of the mountainsides to avoid the river bottom as much as possible due to flooding.  Kanawha Terrace in St. Albans follows a similar trail and was known to be part of the original road.  At the junction of Kanawha Terrace and 6th Street, there was a toll ferry to cross the Coal River, which was replaced in 1831 with a covered toll bridge built by Phillip Thompson and James Teays.  (That covered bridge was destroyed by Confederate forces on their retreat from the Battle of Scary).  All of which indicates that Kanawha Turnpike in South Charleston was indeed not a toll road itself, but a connection between the toll ferries and toll bridges.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Urban Prairie Schooner on November 29, 2022, 11:02:45 AM
Siegen Lane, Essen Lane, Staring Lane, O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. All of these are now 4-6 lane major arterials.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: WillWeaverRVA on November 29, 2022, 11:26:03 AM
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on November 29, 2022, 11:02:45 AM
Siegen Lane, Essen Lane, Staring Lane, O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. All of these are now 4-6 lane major arterials.

On that note, Lucks Lane in Chesterfield County, Virginia and Glenside Drive in Henrico County, Virginia are major 4-lane arterials.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: kurumi on November 29, 2022, 11:39:32 AM
Guadalupe Parkway (https://goo.gl/maps/zcgsNwkYuRUTLgc76) (CA 87) in San Jose... I tried to find a parkway-like section. It really isn't.

Imagine if a town leaned into the "stroad" character and renamed something like CT 10 in Southington to "Queen Stroad" (https://goo.gl/maps/eCSsn5x111wUfbdH8). "Yep. There's ShopRite and Home Depot and Chick-fil-A and Dollar Tree. It's a stroad. It sucks if you're not driving, but it's useful."
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Hobart on November 29, 2022, 12:42:51 PM
New Lenox, Illinois has a couple of highways that are really residential arterial roads, or extensions of those roads; generally, roads that really shouldn't be considered highways.

Illinois Highway runs from Lincoln Way West High School (if we're being generous), east to Spencer Park, and serves as a minor connector through the south part of New Lenox.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lincoln+Way+West+High+School,+Gougar+Road,+New+Lenox,+IL/Spencer+Park,+South+Spencer+Road,+New+Lenox,+IL/@41.4988372,-87.9814639,14.58z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x880e6f5069b20f85:0xfe38c960ffe1012!2m2!1d-88.0003763!2d41.4956754!1m5!1m1!1s0x880e6eae649b6159:0x2cf85f3491d6e3f8!2m2!1d-87.9417171!2d41.4970698!3e0

Joliet Highway runs all the way across town, from US 30 to Nelson Road... and it's a minor, residential arterial for all of it.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/41.5079106,-87.9153435/41.5045302,-87.9851407/@41.5069341,-87.9458357,14.63z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Max Rockatansky on November 29, 2022, 12:49:22 PM
Quote from: kurumi on November 29, 2022, 11:39:32 AM
Guadalupe Parkway (https://goo.gl/maps/zcgsNwkYuRUTLgc76) (CA 87) in San Jose... I tried to find a parkway-like section. It really isn't.

Imagine if a town leaned into the "stroad" character and renamed something like CT 10 in Southington to "Queen Stroad" (https://goo.gl/maps/eCSsn5x111wUfbdH8). "Yep. There's ShopRite and Home Depot and Chick-fil-A and Dollar Tree. It's a stroad. It sucks if you're not driving, but it's useful."

To an east coast person the entire Santa Clara County expressway system probably is misleading. 
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: DTComposer on November 29, 2022, 12:57:54 PM
Alta-Arden Expressway in Sacramento is really just an arterial street, really only a step "beefier" than Arden Way, which it "bypasses" one block to the north.

Parts of the Expressways in Santa Clara County have allowed enough development/cross traffic that they don't deserve the suffix anymore - especially portions of Capitol, Montague, and Almaden.

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 29, 2022, 12:49:22 PM
To an east coast person the entire Santa Clara County expressway system probably is misleading. 

True, although significant portions certainly come close to the east coast versions - and would have even more so if they had built out the expressways as they originally envisioned.

Quote from: kurumi on November 29, 2022, 11:39:32 AM
Guadalupe Parkway (https://goo.gl/maps/zcgsNwkYuRUTLgc76) (CA 87) in San Jose... I tried to find a parkway-like section. It really isn't.

I thought they were deprecating the use of "Parkway" - the approach signs on CA-85 covered up "Guadalupe Parkway" with "Downtown San Jose", and around 2016 the approach sign on US-101 was replaced with only "CA-87 South" (and an airport symbol). But in the last couple of months that sign has again been replaced, reinstating "Guadalupe Parkway" (why this one doesn't also have "Downtown San Jose" is baffling to me).

Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: jmacswimmer on November 29, 2022, 04:02:49 PM
The MD iteration of I-195 (leading to BWI) carries the name Metropolitan Boulevard, though it isn't acknowledged on any signage.  As best I can tell, the Metropolitan Boulevard name is leftover from when the roadway was designated MD 46 and simply connected MD 295 & BWI (with the extension northwest to I-95 & re-designation as I-195 coming later), but MD 46 appeared to be a freeway as well in its original configuration.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Dirt Roads on November 29, 2022, 05:27:27 PM
Broad Street in Downtown Charleston, West Virginia has been renamed as Leon Sullivan Way (after the renowned Baptist civil rights leader who was born nearby).  Traditionally, the suffix "Way" was used similar to "Alley" in parts of Charleston and its surroundings; or more recently, the suffix "Way" is posted on private driveways with multiple houses.  Not sufficient for a major street in the heart of the Central Business District.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Henry on November 29, 2022, 07:18:09 PM
US 41 in Chicago is called Lake Shore Drive, but it resembles more of an urban parkway (and yes, that includes the northern limited-access sections).
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: DandyDan on November 30, 2022, 04:52:52 AM
Omaha has West Dodge Road, which is mostly a freeway.

Waterloo, Iowa has Airline Highway, which is a two lane road through an industrial park near the Waterloo airport. I believe it was IA 57 at one point, though.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: formulanone on November 30, 2022, 05:26:21 AM
Buffalo Speedway (https://www.google.com/maps/@29.6791179,-95.4254864,14.48z) and Mukilteo Speedway (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.8880288,-122.3022399,13.24z) are open to the public, but there's speed limits and traffic laws. At least they're open 24 hours a day without entry fees.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: GaryA on November 30, 2022, 01:44:53 PM
Los Angeles has Whitnall Highway (https://goo.gl/maps/9HvnY1gRvNePEqDcA), which was proposed way back in the 1920's as a sort of proto-freeway crossing the San Fernando Valley.  Only a couple of short sections were built, each just a few blocks long, but they still carry that optimistic name.  You can trace power lines following what may have been the planned route, but it's not clear how well or how far that match goes.

(Not the same as the also proposed but never built CA 64 Whitnall Freeway, which was decades later.)
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Molandfreak on November 30, 2022, 02:48:40 PM
A "court" that is a thru-street with connections to two other roads (https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4425125,-93.1701224,3a,15y,5.45h,92.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfZB3nLSh-xNqqEjCVM5GGw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&authuser=0).
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Bruce on November 30, 2022, 11:49:48 PM
Quote from: formulanone on November 30, 2022, 05:26:21 AM
Buffalo Speedway (https://www.google.com/maps/@29.6791179,-95.4254864,14.48z) and Mukilteo Speedway (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.8880288,-122.3022399,13.24z) are open to the public, but there's speed limits and traffic laws. At least they're open 24 hours a day without entry fees.

Mukilteo Speedway is anything but speedy, as well. Probably should be replaced the Signalway for the number of traffic lights it now has.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: US 89 on December 01, 2022, 06:16:01 PM
In the little town of Dinosaur, Colorado, we have the Stegosaurus Freeway (https://goo.gl/maps/ZPM4jT7nZj6a9BHr8) in all its glory. It's one of the only named streets in town that isn't alliterative, either. US 40 runs along Brontosaurus Boulevard, and the cross streets include things like Triceratops Terrace, Antrodemus Alley, Plateosaurus Place, Ceratosaurus Circle, Camptosaurus Crescent, Diplodicus Drive. Surely Stegosaurus Street was an option?

Kellogg Drive is the unassuming name for the US 54/400 freeway in Wichita.

A lot of the standard suffixes have indeed lost their original meanings, some of them more than others - and I would argue "Parkway" now fits that bill as it has been applied to roads of just about every category, from regular freeways to suburban arterials to little streets through random subdivisions. To me, that feels less weird than driving on a big "Lane" or a small "Boulevard".
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: kphoger on December 01, 2022, 06:35:32 PM
Quote from: US 89 on December 01, 2022, 06:16:01 PM
Kellogg Drive is the unassuming name for the US 54/400 freeway in Wichita.

Close, but not quite.  Kellogg Avenue is the name of the highway itself.  Kellogg Drive is the name of the frontage roads.

Of course, 'Avenue' isn't much more fitting than 'Drive'.  But it's a route that has had interchanges added piecemeal over the last few decades, so I'm not sure it's entirely inappropriate.  When my wife and I first moved here 15 years ago, after all, the freeway didn't extend any farther east than Woodlawn.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: SD Mapman on December 01, 2022, 09:59:52 PM
The section line roads in Brandon, SD (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5904392,-96.5825139,14z) are two-lane "boulevards" named after trees (or the two waterways that border the town). Personally, I think they should rebuild the roads into divided 4-lane boulevards with the tree the road is named after in the middle, it'd be interesting to see if redwoods could grow in eastern SD lol.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: pderocco on December 02, 2022, 03:21:27 AM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on November 29, 2022, 10:37:15 AM
There's a number of more or less run-of-the-mill road name suffixes that no longer mean what they originally did.

An avenue, for example, was an approach road to a specific place, usually a country house.

A boulevard, at least in road usage, was a road paralleling a defensive city wall.

A court was originally a closed-off area, like a courtyard, and so on and so on.

A terrace was (and still is) a flat area carved out of a slope.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: pderocco on December 02, 2022, 03:34:07 AM
A "motorway" sounds like something a "motorist" would drive on, but where I live in SoCal, it's usually a terrible, rutted dirt road in the mountains, only expected to be travelled by very large fire-fighting equipment.

These are also frequently called "truck trails". But there is one Skyline Truck Trail that is actually a nice, fairly straight road through the hills of San Diego County, that doesn't even look like it replaced a fire road of that name.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: bcroadguy on December 02, 2022, 05:54:23 AM
North Grandview Highway (https://maps.app.goo.gl/L9sk8snoT8dZHJW86?g_st=ic) in Vancouver is a traffic calmed bike route.

The Disraeli Freeway in Winnipeg (a city with no freeways) is not a freeway.

Many freeways in Calgary have the suffix "Trail."
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Ted$8roadFan on December 02, 2022, 05:58:26 AM
In Portland, CT (and perhaps others), some streets are signed as extensions, i.e. Coe Avenue Ext. Not sure why they couldn't add a directional or other suffix. 
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: -- US 175 -- on December 02, 2022, 06:45:53 AM
The freeway in Amarillo that carries I-27, US 60, and US 87 south from near downtown and I-40 is actually named Canyon Drive.  Apparently no move has ever been made by the city to update/upgrade the name.  Many locals refer to it as "the E-way" as if were going by an "expressway" naming.

Meanwhile, the north-of-downtown counterpart for US 87 and US 287 is "Dumas Drive".  As with Canyon Drive, nothing has been done by the city to update this freeway name, either.

It will be interesting to see if any of the upgraded-to-freeway portions that come along on Loop 335 ever have their namings updated/upgraded to match.  Probably not a reason to hold my breath.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: roadman65 on December 02, 2022, 07:07:33 AM
Burlington Street in Hamilton, ON is a freeway.  It's actually a spur to the QEW and resembles a three digit interstate to its parent.


Even to call QEW a way is odd, as it's all freeway.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: LilianaUwU on December 02, 2022, 07:35:37 AM
Boulevard Gastonguay (https://maps.app.goo.gl/HrSdNoydDYP8t6kQ9?g_st=ic), Boulevard Savard (https://maps.app.goo.gl/5qjEW2jjzTuKmKZg8?g_st=ic), Boulevard Cloutier (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lq5ikL2mzr69fmtn6?g_st=ic), all are "boulevards" that are no more larger than residential streets in Québec City.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: wriddle082 on December 02, 2022, 07:56:12 AM
Many of the freeways in Greensboro, NC have Boulevard names.  Fordham Blvd. for I-40 west of town.  O'Henry Blvd for US 29 east and northeast of town.  I can't recall the name that Business I-85 has, along with its duplex with I-40 through "Death Valley" , but it has one.  And there's also the unnumbered Bryan Blvd. freeway on the northwest side of town.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: 1995hoo on December 02, 2022, 08:33:18 AM
Quote from: wriddle082 on December 02, 2022, 07:56:12 AM
Many of the freeways in Greensboro, NC have Boulevard names.  Fordham Blvd. for I-40 west of town.  O'Henry Blvd for US 29 east and northeast of town.  I can't recall the name that Business I-85 has, along with its duplex with I-40 through "Death Valley" , but it has one.  And there's also the unnumbered Bryan Blvd. freeway on the northwest side of town.


It's interesting, a portion of US-15/501 near Chapel Hill also bears the name "Fordham Boulevard." I wonder what the connection is that prompted the use of that name in North Carolina. When I hear "Fordham," I think of the university in the Bronx because my father got his undergraduate degree there and my mother got her master's degree there.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Dirt Roads on December 02, 2022, 10:10:36 AM
Quote from: wriddle082 on December 02, 2022, 07:56:12 AM
Many of the freeways in Greensboro, NC have Boulevard names.  Fordham Blvd. for I-40 west of town.  O'Henry Blvd for US 29 east and northeast of town.  I can't recall the name that Business I-85 has, along with its duplex with I-40 through "Death Valley" , but it has one.  And there's also the unnumbered Bryan Blvd. freeway on the northwest side of town.

Quote from: 1995hoo on December 02, 2022, 08:33:18 AM
It's interesting, a portion of US-15/501 near Chapel Hill also bears the name "Fordham Boulevard." I wonder what the connection is that prompted the use of that name in North Carolina. When I hear "Fordham," I think of the university in the Bronx because my father got his undergraduate degree there and my mother got her master's degree there.

There is a connection, indeed.  Fordham Boulevard in Greensboro is named after C. C. Fordham, Sr., founder of the famed Fordham Drug Store on South Elm Street that finally closed in 2002.  Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill is named after his grandson, Christopher C. Fordham III, who served as Dean of the UNC School of Medicine in the 1970s, and Chancellor of the University from 1980 to 1988.  Left out in the middle was Christopher Columbus Fordham, Jr., who played on the 1922 UNC football team that won the National Championship.  The junior ended up inheriting his father's drug store in 1938 and was probably more prestigious than either of the other two.  Yet he died from a heart attack while making a home delivery in 1969.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Henry on December 02, 2022, 10:46:46 AM
Quote from: wriddle082 on December 02, 2022, 07:56:12 AM
I can't recall the name that Business I-85 has, along with its duplex with I-40 through "Death Valley" , but it has one.

That would be Preddy Blvd.

Also, Painter Blvd was the planning name for what is now the Urban Loop.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on December 02, 2022, 02:06:22 PM
Cedar Avenue, a full modern freeway carrying the MN 77 designation, and fully signed as such between Old Shakopee Road and its southern terminus.

Isn't part of US 6 in Denver signed as the 6th Ave freeway?
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: SSR_317 on December 03, 2022, 03:05:25 PM
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on November 29, 2022, 11:02:45 AM
Siegen Lane, Essen Lane, Staring Lane, O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. All of these are now 4-6 lane major arterials.
Not as bad as the Reno area (and other parts of Nevada) where almost every street, regardless of functional classification or traffic count, is suffixed with "Lane".
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Halian on December 03, 2022, 04:13:48 PM
The "city"  (read: bedroom community that won't even stand up its own cop shop) where I live has several streets named Boulevard that are neither scenic nor tree-lined, instead being side roads for more houses.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: jay8g on December 04, 2022, 02:00:41 AM
Most of the paths around the UW campus have street-like suffixes (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6581039,-122.3095325,3a,31.6y,219.43h,83.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdD-eHauh_0O2981bHZeKYQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en), though it seems the UW stopped maintaining the signs a while back and most have gone missing.

Right nearby, Campus Parkway isn't what most people would think of as a parkway (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6560919,-122.3153256,288m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en). Neither are several other "Parkways" (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.4583888,-122.2608415,1230m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) in the region.

W Queen Anne Driveway (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6261982,-122.3567008,162m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) is a normal residential street, not anything like a normal driveway. 
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on December 04, 2022, 06:38:49 AM
I give you Hiawatha Highway, Red Feather Lakes, CO.

https://goo.gl/maps/M6YeB2ctN3orNDRF7 (https://goo.gl/maps/M6YeB2ctN3orNDRF7)
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Henry on December 05, 2022, 06:53:51 PM
I-44 in Tulsa is known as Skelly Drive.

Would names like the Vine Street Expressway (I-676 in Philly) count? I think so, even if it adds the correct designator to the one that's obviously wrong.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: zachary_amaryllis on December 05, 2022, 09:07:32 PM
Where's the Colorado Springs guy?

I want to say they have streets like Milton E Proby Parkway, Hancock Expressway, and a few others that, unless I'm mistaken, are more or less regular streets.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Elm on December 06, 2022, 12:06:03 AM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on December 05, 2022, 09:07:32 PMI want to say they have streets like Milton E Proby Parkway, Hancock Expressway, and a few others that, unless I'm mistaken, are more or less regular streets.
Hancock Expressway (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hancock+Expressway,+Colorado+Springs,+CO/@38.796657,-104.774557,2626m/data=!3m1!1e3) was also the first thing I thought of for this thread; I've even heard non-road geeks comment on the name and its non-express-ness. I suppose it was more fitting earlier in its life when it was less built-up, but it's an interesting artifact now. Since the city's gradually nudging it into becoming a multimodal corridor, I wonder if they'll eventually want to re-suffix it.

Proby Pkwy (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Milton+E+Proby+Pkwy,+Colorado+Springs,+CO/@38.780613,-104.738978,2626m/data=!3m1!1e3) arguably depends on what you want to call a "parkway," but it's a more recent attempt at an expressway and initially got you from the freeway part of S Academy Blvd to the airport with only two signals (Hancock and Powers). There are two additional signals on it now, though.

A little off the main thread idea, Bridle Oaks Lane (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bridle+Oaks+Lane,+Colorado+Springs,+CO/@39.013131,-104.802653,2626m/data=!3m1!1e3) in northern Colorado Springs was formerly "Bridle Oaks Drive"; changing the suffix was an element of trying to discourage speeding. From the application (https://web1.coloradosprings.gov/LUISPlanner/uploaded/LUISPlanner/Documents/Misc/31481.pdf):
QuoteWe would hope this subtle name changes would conjure up thoughts of a country lane, one that may be narrow and slow but pleasurable while traveling on it, rather than some wide and straight thoroughfare of never ending asphalt that only encourages faster speeds.
(Under file number 'HO SN 02-00109' here (https://web1.coloradosprings.gov/plan/ldrs_ext/rpt/index.htm))
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Dirt Roads on December 06, 2022, 09:29:03 AM
James J. Freeland Memorial Drive in Hillsborough, North Carolina has been downgraded to a private driveway.  It was originally the main entrance for the Daniel Boone Village amusement park.  After the amusement park closed down in the mid-1960s, much of the eastern part of Daniel Boone Village became antique and curio shoppes, and the main entrance relocated to (aptly-named) Daniel Boone Street.  Thus, James J. Freeland Memorial Drive primarily served various restaurants that utilized the colonial-style home that James Freeland relocated here from Yanceyville, as well events held at the [Daniel Boone] Big Barn event center (there was also the original [Daniel Boone] Blacksmith Shop that would open on weekends in certain seasons).  After the recent sale of the entire Daniel Boone Village property to a housing developer, the remaining antique shoppes closed down and much of the property is now fenced off.

James J. Freeland Memorial Drive still has a stop light on South Churton Street, as it is directly across from Mayo Street (former home of Walmart, which relocated in 2003).  I haven't seen any evidence of vehicular use this calendar year.  On the map below, the fence is roughly located where the terrain turns from green to brown.  There is still some question whether the Collins Property development will try to utilize the existing stop light at James J. Freeland Memorial Drive; choose to install one at Daniel Boone Street (which is closer to I-85); or continue to use the new Gold Hill Way entrance that ties into the stop light at Orange Grove Road.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/James+J+Freeland+Memorial+Dr,+Hillsborough,+NC+27278/@36.0592332,-79.1022338,447m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89acded1be342e9d:0x2d81d9a14a483de7!8m2!3d36.059232!4d-79.1016371

Interesting tidbit:  The vacant property just north of Gold Hill Way along the North Carolina Rail Road corridor is slated to become the new Amtrak station for Hillsborough (if we ever get one).  This got entangled with another NCDOT bypass concept that was rejected by residents and affected businesses north of the railroad corridor.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: 1995hoo on December 06, 2022, 09:33:57 AM
It occurs to me that nobody in this thread so far has mentioned the infamous Rockaway Freeway in Queens. Supposedly the name "Freeway" was applied to denote that it was largely "free" of cross streets.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: kphoger on December 06, 2022, 10:42:52 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 06, 2022, 09:33:57 AM
It occurs to me that nobody in this thread so far has mentioned the infamous Rockaway Freeway in Queens. Supposedly the name "Freeway" was applied to denote that it was largely "free" of cross streets.

...which is why freeways are called freeways, after all.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: royo6022 on December 06, 2022, 10:56:23 AM
Arcadian Highway in Evansville, IN... Just a residential street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9621045,-87.471993,3a,75y,210h,75.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjwgam7YJQ03IC7Ci5Qp63w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: Henry on December 07, 2022, 08:15:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 06, 2022, 10:42:52 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 06, 2022, 09:33:57 AM
It occurs to me that nobody in this thread so far has mentioned the infamous Rockaway Freeway in Queens. Supposedly the name "Freeway" was applied to denote that it was largely "free" of cross streets.

...which is why freeways are called freeways, after all.
And besides, New York is a strange place to put a "freeway", because they call the actual ones expressways.
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: paulthemapguy on December 07, 2022, 09:54:59 PM
I was really confused about the definition of a boulevard as a child, because of the nearest street named "Boulevard" to my childhood home.  The first street I knew with the name "Boulevard" was a dinky little two-lane road called "Park Boulevard" in the Lisle/Glen Ellyn area.  https://goo.gl/maps/ieEHY7tan31aBxMZ8
Title: Re: Roads with unfitting road name suffixes
Post by: kphoger on December 08, 2022, 02:54:32 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on December 07, 2022, 09:54:59 PM
I was really confused about the definition of a boulevard as a child, because of the nearest street named "Boulevard" to my childhood home.  The first street I knew with the name "Boulevard" was a dinky little two-lane road called "Park Boulevard" in the Lisle/Glen Ellyn area.  https://goo.gl/maps/ieEHY7tan31aBxMZ8

And, see, I'm very familiar with Park Boulevard, but not as a "dinky little two-lane road"–rather, as a four-lane arterial.

My daughter's home daycare provider was ... ummm ... somewhere around here (https://goo.gl/maps/4RDbcapeaVtku81d6) (can't remember the exact house 17 years later).  And I took evening/weekend classes as COD, just east of this intersection (https://goo.gl/maps/nCa7VmoNsSTCHsYk6).  I only ever used it north of Butterfield Road, so in my mind it was only a "dinky little two-lane road" north of Roosevelt (i.e. between the Jewel and Glenbard).