A certain woman I share a cell phone plan with, among other things, mentioned to me today that on her recent long road trip she noticed how she found no roads and bridges are named for women. I tried to counter, but only came up with Ella Grasso Blvd. and the Betsy Ross Bridge on the spot. Since then I thought of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge and the Hutchinson River Parkway.
What else is there? I want to get a good grasp on this situation before I dare pursue this conversation further.
Melnea Cass, probably several for Rosa Parks, and a bunch of those bullshit names that nobody uses whether they're women, men, or entire ranks who held back the enemy tanks for a while.
Probably a lot of platted streets have women's names, but aren't named for specific women, such as Rosalind Avenue in Orlando.
Margaret Mitchell Drive in Atlanta, GA.
Pearl Nix Parkway in Gainesville, GA.
Are you going to exclude royals? Lots of places out East are named for royal women, though I'm drawing a blank at the moment on roads and bridges.
In Hawaii, you have at least three major highways named for royal women, the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway (western two-thirds of Interstate H-1), the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (major HI 19 segment north of Kailua-Kona -- at least one lesser state highway carries the Kaahumanu name), and the (Princess) Likelike Highway (much of HI 63 north of Honolulu). While the first hasn't quite caught on (even for Hawaiians, "Liliuokalani" is a bit of a tongue-twister, and Interstates are the only roads where locals use numbers rather than names), the others are names in common use.
Quote from: NE2 on January 15, 2015, 09:21:11 PM
Melnea Cass, probably several for Rosa Parks, and a bunch of those bullshit names that nobody uses whether they're women, men, or entire ranks who held back the enemy tanks for a while.
Probably a lot of platted streets have women's names, but aren't named for specific women, such as Rosalind Avenue in Orlando.
I'm thinking more of major highways and bridges, ideally names people use, named after specific women.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on January 15, 2015, 09:33:31 PM
I'm thinking more of major highways and bridges, ideally names people use, named after specific women.
Applying those same criteria to men, you probably have a proportion about the same as those genders' importance in history books (if not their actual importance). Add that back in the day, bridges and new highways were generally named after current politicians or bureaucrats, which were overwhelmingly men, rather than historical figures, and it's clearly a reflection of other sources of imbalance.
In the Orlando area, the only major road names I can think of that have taken hold (not counting normal naming of existing section-line roads for adjacent landowners, such as Kirkman Road) are the GreeneWay (a pun on OOCEA chairman Jim Greene) and Osceola Parkway (named indirectly for an Indian chief through the county name).
Pocahontas Parkway. If you consider that named after a woman rather than a legendary figure.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on January 15, 2015, 09:33:31 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 15, 2015, 09:21:11 PM
Melnea Cass, probably several for Rosa Parks, and a bunch of those bullshit names that nobody uses whether they're women, men, or entire ranks who held back the enemy tanks for a while.
Probably a lot of platted streets have women's names, but aren't named for specific women, such as Rosalind Avenue in Orlando.
I'm thinking more of major highways and bridges, ideally names people use, named after specific women.
Julia Tuttle Causeway?
Clara Barton Parkway
Martha Mitchell Expwy, Pine Bluff, AR.
Mary Ball Road (VA-3 on the Northern Neck)
Mary Inges Hwy (Part of KY-8)
Virginia Dare Trail (Part of NC-12)
Quote from: Fred Defender on January 15, 2015, 09:52:37 PM
Julia Tuttle Causeway?
And apparently Brickell Avenue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Brickell
But not Earhart Expressway in New Orleans.
Ann Uccello St. in Hartford (I-84 Exit 50)
Queen's Stroll Place in DC (I suppose technically it's named after a woman's action in walking down the street, rather than after the woman herself)
Martha Street in Boise (OK, I don't know for sure for whom it's named) and the nearby Ann Morrison Park Drive
The QEW in Ontario
The Boulevard in seaside heights NJ is officially Anna o hankins blvd
I have no idea who she was
There aren't that many roads built, named or re-named before the '60s that include both first and last names.
Some streets in downtown Jacksonville are named for the children of the guy, Isaiah d Hart (who laid out the grid and changed name from Cowford)
Laura st
Julia st
Ocean st is named for his son Ossian
Nannie Helen Burroughs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannie_Helen_Burroughs) Avenue, N.E. (formerly Deane Avenue, N.E.) in the District of Columbia (has an interchange with D.C. 295).
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on January 15, 2015, 10:25:52 PM
Ann Uccello St. in Hartford (I-84 Exit 50)
Formerly known simply as Ann Street. Probably originally named after the local baker's daughter or something equally mundane. Now craftily renamed after someone who apparently was mayor of Hartford a while back by appending her last name. But does anyone call it that? As far as I'm aware people still just call it Ann Street, so it fails the "name people actually use" test.
Not the most major of bridges, but Rochester has the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge on I-490. I didn't live there long after it was completed, but I think the name gets some use (in much abbreviated form) because it's a) an improvement over the old name (Troup-Howell Bridge), and b) a relatively ungratuitous re-naming.
And I'm glad I wasn't the first to mention the QEW, though I am pretty surprised it took as long as it did.
Michigan has several memorial highway names dedicated to women:
- I-194 in Battle Creek is the Sojourner Truth Downtown Parkway.
- Part of I-96 in Detroit has been named for Rosa Parks.
- All of M-125 and then US 24 northward to I-96 in Detroit is the Clara Barton Memorial Highway.
- Part of M-37 in Grand Traverse County has been named the Queen's Highway after the Cherry Queen from the National Cherry Festival.
Lubbock - Marsha Sharp Freeway
Dallas - Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (Woodall Rodgers Freeway, west of I-35E); Margaret McDermott Bridge (I-30, west of downtown)
Piestewa Freeway (AZ 51) in Phoenix was renamed in honor of Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat for the US military.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on January 15, 2015, 09:33:31 PMI'm thinking more of major highways and bridges, ideally names people use, named after specific women.
While not a highway, the Rose Kennedy Greenway came about as a result of the Big Dig; it's the parkland where much of the old Central Artery once stood and now covers most of the O'Neill Tunnel.
There's a Victoria Road a few miles west of where I live. Given that the neighborhood where it's located is named Kings Park and has British-themed street names (examples: Parliament Drive, Thames Street), I think it's fair to presume the road is named for Queen Victoria.
Changed title to better reflect criteria in my "clarfying" post near the start.
In Vermont the official name for VT 9 is the Molly Starke Trail.
It could be argued that Ingalls St. in Walnut Grove, MN, which passes in front of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum may be named for the most famous of the Ingalls, though probably for the whole family.
St. Charles, IL has a Laura Ingalls Wilder Road.
Some things get named well after they were built. As an example, there's the Jane Byrne Interchange (formerly the Circle Interchange) in Chicago. Personally, I think it was a veiled insult as it is a basketcase of an interchange, and her derisive nickname while mayor was "Crazy Jane".
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Jane Addams Tollway yet.
Kentucky has the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway, all 72 four-lane miles of it.
A section of US 68 in the central part of the state is named and signed as the Jane Todd Crawford Trail.
Most streets called Virginia St./Ave./Rd. are directly named after the state of Virginia, and therefore indirectly named after Elizabeth I.
Quote from: http://mentalfloss.com/article/31100/how-all-50-states-got-their-namesNamed for Queen Elizabeth I of England (known as the Virgin Queen), who granted Walter Raleigh the charter to form a colony north of Spanish Florida.
Babe Zaharias Dr in Beaumont, TX
Quote from: Thing 342 on January 15, 2015, 10:14:41 PM
Mary Ball Road (VA-3 on the Northern Neck)
Mary Inges Hwy (Part of KY-8)
Virginia Dare Trail (Part of NC-12)
Forgot about the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge, which carries US-64 across the Croatan Sound.
Quote from: NE2 on January 15, 2015, 10:19:55 PM
Quote from: Fred Defender on January 15, 2015, 09:52:37 PM
Julia Tuttle Causeway?
And apparently Brickell Avenue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Brickell
But not Earhart Expressway in New Orleans.
But there is . . .
Amelia Earhart Drive, Brownsville, TX (South Padre Island Intl. Airport)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Salt Lake City (also near the airport)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Omaha (near Eppley Airfield)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Naples, UT (near Vernal Regional Airport)
Amelia Earhart Blvd., Egg Harbor Township, NJ (near Atlantic City Intl.)
Amelia Earhart Point, Crystal River, FL (also near the airport)
I'm sure I've missed some. The thing I couldn't find is a road named for Amelia Earhart that wasn't near an airport.
On to another famous historical American, I found . . .
Harriet Tubman Lane, Columbia, MD
Harriet Tubman Street, Knoxville, TN
Harriet Tubman Street, Camden, AL
Harriet Tubman Avenue, Bridgeville, DE
Harriet Tubman Drive, Exmore, VA
And another . . .
Eleanor Roosevelt Street, Jasper, TX
Eleanor Roosevelt Lane, Willard, NC
Eleanor Roosevelt Lane, San Diego (UCSD campus)
Eleanor Roosevelt Drive, Laurel, MT
Eleanor Roosevelt Drive, Jacksonville, FL
Quote from: PHLBOS on January 16, 2015, 08:43:41 AM
While not a highway, the Rose Kennedy Greenway came about as a result of the Big Dig; it's the parkland where much of the old Central Artery once stood and now covers most of the O'Neill Tunnel.
Similar situation, the Margaret T. Hance Park, which is on top of the I-10 tunnel in downtown Phoenix.
Queen Victoria Street, in Central, Hong Kong
http://goo.gl/maps/cGGwZ
Lea Joyner bridge, which carries US 80/LA 15 over the Ouachita River in Monroe/West Monroe, LA.
http://www.knowla.org/entry/896/ (http://www.knowla.org/entry/896/)
Not highways or bridges, but along the NJ Turnpike you have service plazas named after Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, and Clara Barton
Quote from: DrSmith on January 18, 2015, 12:38:30 PM
Not highways or bridges, but along the NJ Turnpike you have service plazas named after Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, and Clara Barton
Maybe you want to reconsider Joyce Kilmer in that list...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F0%2F0e%2FKilmer_1908_columbia_yearbook_picture.png%2F170px-Kilmer_1908_columbia_yearbook_picture.png&hash=06242609fd49afd5217c02caf662de1b0784905f)
Knoxville TN has Pat Head Summit Street and Chamique Holdsclaw Drive.
Quote from: theline on January 16, 2015, 06:19:53 PM
Quote from: NE2 on January 15, 2015, 10:19:55 PM
Quote from: Fred Defender on January 15, 2015, 09:52:37 PM
Julia Tuttle Causeway?
And apparently Brickell Avenue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Brickell
But not Earhart Expressway in New Orleans.
But there is . . .
Amelia Earhart Drive, Brownsville, TX (South Padre Island Intl. Airport)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Salt Lake City (also near the airport)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Omaha (near Eppley Airfield)
Amelia Earhart Drive, Naples, UT (near Vernal Regional Airport)
Amelia Earhart Blvd., Egg Harbor Township, NJ (near Atlantic City Intl.)
Amelia Earhart Point, Crystal River, FL (also near the airport)
I'm sure I've missed some. The thing I couldn't find is a road named for Amelia Earhart that wasn't near an airport.
Amelia Earhart does get the Amelia Earhart Bridge in Atchison, Kansas (her old hometown).
Boys Town, Nebraska has a Mother Teresa Lane. Of course, Boys Town is run by an arm of the Catholic Church. Looking through my Rand McNally Omaha atlas (4th Edition, published in 2004), I noticed a Bjork St. west of Bennington, NE, but whether that is the Icelandic singer, I have no idea. The one thing RMcN does that's really annoying to me, however, is the fact they call the segment of NE 370 immediately west of US 75 Kate Fox Road, a name I have never otherwise heard, nor do I know who in the world Kate Fox is. This has been in every Omaha inset of the RMcN at least since the time I moved here to the Omaha area.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on January 18, 2015, 01:02:41 PM
Quote from: DrSmith on January 18, 2015, 12:38:30 PM
Not highways or bridges, but along the NJ Turnpike you have service plazas named after Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, and Clara Barton
Maybe you want to reconsider Joyce Kilmer in that list...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F0%2F0e%2FKilmer_1908_columbia_yearbook_picture.png%2F170px-Kilmer_1908_columbia_yearbook_picture.png&hash=06242609fd49afd5217c02caf662de1b0784905f)
But you
can add Gene Stratton Porter Rd, Urbana, IN. There is also the Gene Stratton Porter Travel Plaza at Mile Post 126 of the Indiana Toll Road, near Howe. Porter, a woman, was the author of 12 novels and 7 nature books. She was also a naturalist water color artist.
I almost added (Beverly) Briley Parkway in Nashville, TN to this list, until I learned that his full name was Clifton Beverly Briley. Similar to Alfred Joyce Kilmer.
There's a Marie Curie Drive in Elkridge, MD.
In Monterey, CA, near the Naval Research Lab, there a road named for Grace Hopper, a USN Rear Admiral who was a computer science pioneer.
Christa McAuliffe Bridge in Merritt Island, FL; the drawbridge had a major reconstruction a few years after it was named.
Skye Winter Bridge, on the M31 near Woodbine
http://goo.gl/maps/hlrt7 (http://goo.gl/maps/hlrt7)
Nothing for Rachel Carson, huh? –Oh, I found one: Rachel Carson Parkway in Myrtle Beach. And another, Rachel Carson Way west of Ithaca. Neither could be considered at all major.
There's a Rachel Carson Boulevard in Spring, Texas, but it's not signed and nobody calls it that.
Quote from: empirestate on January 24, 2015, 07:46:48 AM
Nothing for Rachel Carson, huh? –Oh, I found one: Rachel Carson Parkway in Myrtle Beach. And another, Rachel Carson Way west of Ithaca. Neither could be considered at all major.
We have a Rachel Carson bridge here in Pittsburgh. It was renamed a few years ago. (It was the 9th St. Bridge - one of the "Sister Bridges" spanning the Allegheny.)