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[KCRoadFan]

One thing I have noticed is that in many cities - among them some of the largest ones, like NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia, as well as a few others I have been to, such as Minneapolis - use the two-letter abbreviation "Av" on street signs for "Avenue", as opposed to "Ave", which is the format that both the Postal Service and Google Maps prefer.

That makes me wonder: aside from the cities that I have mentioned, what other ones throughout the country might there be that use the shorter abbreviation for "Avenue"?

[roadman65]

Florida practically uses AV everywhere.

[LilianaUwU]

The official abbreviation in Québec is "Av.", so every avenue has that abbreviation here.

[SkyPesos]

How about a city that doesn't have any abbreviation of "Avenue" written for roads that end in that suffix? I'll nominate Cleveland to start off.

[Roadwarriors79]

Phoenix AZ uses "Av" on its street signs, but at the traffic signals, "Ave" is used.

SM-G998U1

[mrsman]

One thing I have noticed is that in many cities - among them some of the largest ones, like NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia, as well as a few others I have been to, such as Minneapolis - use the two-letter abbreviation "Av" on street signs for "Avenue", as opposed to "Ave", which is the format that both the Postal Service and Google Maps prefer.

That makes me wonder: aside from the cities that I have mentioned, what other ones throughout the country might there be that use the shorter abbreviation for "Avenue"?

Los Angeles street signs use both.  The older "shotgun" signs from the 1950's tend to use Ave. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1757429,-118.4053891,3a,37.5y,267h,90.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgjmGI-JymwLzaq-LETHTsw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DgjmGI-JymwLzaq-LETHTsw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D341.35956%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

The newer signs (of various designs) use Av.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1793381,-118.4052678,3a,15y,254.91h,92.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOqWM4RXUmNJmnxtG_gYxZg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[vdeane]

The official abbreviation in Québec is "Av.", so every avenue has that abbreviation here.

New Brunswick, parts of Ontario, and federally maintained roads (this example in Québec) even use both at the same time!  Isn't bilingual signage fun?

[LilianaUwU]

The official abbreviation in Québec is "Av.", so every avenue has that abbreviation here.

New Brunswick, parts of Ontario, and federally maintained roads (this example in Québec) even use both at the same time!  Isn't bilingual signage fun?

Ah, the legendary Avenue Atwater Avenue sign.

[US20IL64]

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

[Scott5114]

That makes me wonder: aside from the cities that I have mentioned, what other ones throughout the country might there be that use the shorter abbreviation for "Avenue"?

Kansas City, Kansas, which also uses the non-standard LA for Lane.

[Henry]

Being from Chicago, I tend to favor "Av", although I'm accustomed to "Ave" in Seattle.

[TBKS1]

Hot Springs, Arkansas does this everywhere.

[jay8g]

Seattle uses Ave for avenues, but often (not always) uses Wy for ways. That's always annoyed me. If you're going to abbreviate everything to two letters, it makes sense to use "Wy", but Seattle doesn't.

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

One runs north-south and the other runs east-west!

[Flint1979]

Saginaw, MI does that.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4378263,-83.9754201,3a,15y,212.71h,98.95t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slAhkZf5gFPkEBJTAjLgs9Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DlAhkZf5gFPkEBJTAjLgs9Q%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D88.52937%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

[1995hoo]

I’ve never really understood why an "e" would be necessary when abbreviating "Avenue," especially on signs. The context makes it clear what "Av" means.

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

Or you could visit Toronto and drive on Avenue Road. It’s a road named Avenue. Apparently it is not true that it got its name when someone pointed along the route and said, "Let's 'ave a new road."

[Rothman]

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

Something to do with which trees line the road...

[DrSmith]

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

Something to do with which trees line the road...

There can be other local differences too:
Manhattan for example where Av vs St is direction related
In Gettysburg (if I remember correctly), avenue was used for new routes that were not present during the battle so that you could see historically what existed back then in terms of the town and roads.

[mrsman]

One thing I have noticed is that in many cities - among them some of the largest ones, like NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia, as well as a few others I have been to, such as Minneapolis - use the two-letter abbreviation "Av" on street signs for "Avenue", as opposed to "Ave", which is the format that both the Postal Service and Google Maps prefer.

That makes me wonder: aside from the cities that I have mentioned, what other ones throughout the country might there be that use the shorter abbreviation for "Avenue"?

Los Angeles street signs use both.  The older "shotgun" signs from the 1950's tend to use Ave. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1757429,-118.4053891,3a,37.5y,267h,90.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgjmGI-JymwLzaq-LETHTsw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DgjmGI-JymwLzaq-LETHTsw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D341.35956%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

The newer signs (of various designs) use Av.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1793381,-118.4052678,3a,15y,254.91h,92.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOqWM4RXUmNJmnxtG_gYxZg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

As the discussion in the thread in now incorporating the other types of road abbreviations, I can say with reasonable memory that the old shotgun signs (which even though they came to be placed in the 1950's were once basically ubiquitous in the city and are still probably the second most common type of street signs and are especially common in the Valley) would use the more traditional abbreviations:  Ave., Blvd., Dr., St., Rd.  It would typically spell out  Way.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0718963,-118.3795354,3a,21y,18.91h,89.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPDLaVBkSKUk8cgDj8AG0Pw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DPDLaVBkSKUk8cgDj8AG0Pw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D43.859425%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192


The newer signs all seemed to limit to two letter abberviations such as: Av., Bl., Dr., St., Rd., Wy.  The two letter abbreviation has become more widespread and used even for very short words.  Of course, there are certain words like Highway that can only be abbreviated into three letters, and they are.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0720281,-118.3826788,3a,75y,117.13h,94.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEn2dQgETnPhOMrb4ZfFRaA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192


https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9309008,-118.2892634,3a,75y,178.01h,89.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSJAFc0JHU4tAPFekR7ognQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Henry]

Many ask "What is difference between Avenue and Street?" Correct answer is "nothing", 

Something to do with which trees line the road...

There can be other local differences too:
Manhattan for example where Av vs St is direction related
In Gettysburg (if I remember correctly), avenue was used for new routes that were not present during the battle so that you could see historically what existed back then in terms of the town and roads.

In Washington, DC, "Ave/Av" is preceded by a state's name, and "St" is used for east-west lettered ones, and north-south numbered ones, as well as the dividing line of the address grid.

[DTComposer]

The newer signs all seemed to limit to two letter abberviations such as: Av., Bl., Dr., St., Rd., Wy.  The two letter abbreviation has become more widespread and used even for very short words.  Of course, there are certain words like Highway that can only be abbreviated into three letters, and they are.

San Jose has been replacing its sign blades over the last few years, and have switched to "Av" instead of "Ave." They also went to two-letter abbreviations for longer words, like "Ex" for Expressway and "Pw" for Parkway, both of which look woefully short to me.

But then, they used "Hwy" for Highway, so it doesn't seem to be 100% consistent. I'm not surprised, though, since it's obvious whomever they contracted with has lax quality control, as there's visibly different font variants being used (and not just condensed versions of the same fonts).

[SkyPesos]

The newer signs all seemed to limit to two letter abberviations such as: Av., Bl., Dr., St., Rd., Wy.  The two letter abbreviation has become more widespread and used even for very short words.  Of course, there are certain words like Highway that can only be abbreviated into three letters, and they are.

That seems like a good enough reason for me, considering the formal abbreviation for "Boulevard" (Blvd) is the same number of letters as unabbreviated "Road".

[mrsman]

The newer signs all seemed to limit to two letter abberviations such as: Av., Bl., Dr., St., Rd., Wy.  The two letter abbreviation has become more widespread and used even for very short words.  Of course, there are certain words like Highway that can only be abbreviated into three letters, and they are.

That seems like a good enough reason for me, considering the formal abbreviation for "Boulevard" (Blvd) is the same number of letters as unabbreviated "Road".

The post office abbreviations still prefer Ave., Blvd., St., Dr., and Rd.  Way is unabbreviated. 

https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28apc_002.htm

[Pink Jazz]

I remember Virginia Beach, Virginia uses "La" instead of "Ln" for Lane, with signs using "Ln" being contractor errors. I haven't been there in a while, so I don't know if that is still the case or not.

[US 89]

There are a few older street signs in Salt Lake City that use "Av", but these are no longer installed.

[vtk]

Columbus pretty consistently uses Ave, but Franklin County (which contains most of Columbus) seems to use Av more often than Ave on the street blades it puts up.