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Detroit street signs - why just the names but not the suffixes?

Started by ixnay, July 15, 2018, 05:27:27 PM

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ixnay

On maps one would know that "Woodward", e.g., is Woodward *Avenue*, but the neophyte, for all (s)he knows, might as well be on Woodward *Street*. 

And this suffix-less tradition of Detroit street names is not just a recent phenomenon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSTXqNhSglc&t=492s

Why do Detroit street signs just show the thoroughfare name and not the category (St., Ave., Blvd., etc.)?

ixnay
The Washington/Baltimore/Arlington CSA has two Key Bridges, a Minnesota Avenue, and a Mannasota Avenue.


silverback1065


ixnay

The Washington/Baltimore/Arlington CSA has two Key Bridges, a Minnesota Avenue, and a Mannasota Avenue.

GaryV

Because mostly it doesn't matter.  There isn't a Woodward Street and a separate Woodward Avenue.

And we don't say them, for the most part, either.  We don't need to.  Why add the extra syllables to the sentence?

In fact, when I first moved here I would be on the phone talking to someone who needed my address (like for shipping), I didn't even know if my house was on a street or avenue.

tdindy88

I didn't know if it was just a Michigan thing but on the official state map most of the city inserts have just the street name with no suffix. However, on the larger Detroit Metro insert map they do have the suffix on the street names.

Flint1979

I never felt the need to have a sign say Street or Avenue in Detroit. Detroit's streets are just named once like there isn't a Woodward Street along with a Woodward Avenue or there isn't a Fenkell Street and a Fenkell Avenue and so on. It really isn't needed.

TheStranger

Quote from: ixnay on July 15, 2018, 06:08:13 PM
Quote from: silverback1065 on July 15, 2018, 05:28:57 PM
I HATE it when cities do that, SF does it too.

That's right, so does SF.

ixnay

The exception:

For the numbered streets and numbered avenues, all of those are ALWAYS labeled as "Street" or "Avenue" on both the street-level signblades and on larger overhead mounted signs.  (Which in part explains why the Richmond and Sunset districts are often called "The Avenues" as well)
Chris Sampang

plain

Cleveland does this as well, except for numbered streets.
Newark born, Richmond bred

Flint1979

Saginaw has whatever the street is, St, Av, Ct, Dr and so on. Well there are probably a few examples of not knowing exactly what it is. There is a street called Congress in Saginaw, it's a somewhat major street as it starts at N. Michigan by the hospitals and then turns into Malzahn at Mackinaw Street and then Wheeler Street south of Brockway, Malzahn actually continues to Gratiot breaking off of Wheeler south of Brockway. Going along Congress you might see it as a Street at some intersections and at others its Avenue. You can never really tell what it's suppose to be. Google Maps has it as Congress Avenue.

As shown here there are a couple signs that say Street instead of Avenue on them.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4306799,-83.9865989,3a,16.3y,158.91h,90.52t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sfAQ3XiPqD75CiLf74nDkyw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DfAQ3XiPqD75CiLf74nDkyw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D75.67883%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

thenetwork

Add Toledo to that list as well for street-name only blades.



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