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National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: roadgeek01 on October 14, 2017, 03:36:42 PM

Title: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: roadgeek01 on October 14, 2017, 03:36:42 PM
I've always wondered why there are so many roads named after trees.  I don't mind the fact, but the topic seems interesting enough.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: bing101 on October 14, 2017, 05:36:45 PM
Residential streets most likely have streets named after trees though like Maple ave in Vallejo,CA.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: DandyDan on October 14, 2017, 06:55:11 PM
There aren't enough famous people to name roads after?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Jardine on October 14, 2017, 07:30:14 PM
Yet there appears to be no "Tree Street" anywhere . . .

:hmmm:
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Big John on October 14, 2017, 07:34:04 PM
^^ There is a Tree St in Philadelphia: https://www.google.com/maps/search/Tree+Street,+Philadelphia,+PA/@39.9224031,-75.1720176,16z/data=!3m1!4b1
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Jardine on October 14, 2017, 09:07:28 PM
EXCELLENT !!!
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: ET21 on October 15, 2017, 12:37:56 PM
We love our trees :D
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Max Rockatansky on October 15, 2017, 01:12:40 PM
Here in California there is a glut of roads either called "Sequoia" or "Redwood" despite not being located near an actual grove.  I always thought it was just as simple as giving names more of a local California flavor with all the Redwoods being an name to pick.  Conversely Arizona had a lot roads names; Cactus, Saguaro, Joshua Tree, Yucca, etc. 
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 15, 2017, 01:24:54 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on October 14, 2017, 06:55:11 PM
There aren't enough famous people to name roads after?
There are tons of famous people. If you would like to name roads after all of them is a different question.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Scott5114 on October 15, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Especially in recent times, a developer that is allowed to name their own streets in the neighborhood they're building often treats the street names as marketing pieces. They think a house on Maple Street is more likely to sell than one on something like Bledsoe Street. They think people will have a positive association with living close to a maple, even if there are no actual maples on that street.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: bing101 on October 15, 2017, 03:36:59 PM
Well in some areas residential streets are named after flowers like Rose Drive in Benicia, Ca.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: epzik8 on October 17, 2017, 04:27:44 AM
Laziness?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: formulanone on October 17, 2017, 05:04:47 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Especially in recent times, a developer that is allowed to name their own streets in the neighborhood they're building often treats the street names as marketing pieces. They think a house on Maple Street is more likely to sell than one on something like Bledsoe Street. They think people will have a positive association with living close to a maple, even if there are no actual maples on that street.

There's some towns and cities which were using those names probably a bit before modern marketing, such as when they wanted something to alphabetize the road names or just to be different than First, Second, Third, et cetera. I always thought of it to be "traditional"...naming streets after local trees, plants, animals, or minerals probably dates back centuries. Along with naming them after people who owned land adjacent to the road or the following town/village/hamlet, it was literally the natural thing to do.

That's not to say developers don't stick with those kinds of ideas; loads of recent sub-developments seem to find obscure botany or other combinations of words just to be unique. Once-famous people and ideas come and go, but trees can last many generations.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: silverback1065 on October 17, 2017, 08:34:21 AM
Quote from: roadgeek01 on October 14, 2017, 03:36:42 PM
I've always wondered why there are so many roads named after trees.  I don't mind the fact, but the topic seems interesting enough.
My theories are that it's a simple naming scheme, but isn't it because that's what trees grew or were planted on that street originally? They tend to be only downtown in my experience.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: ColossalBlocks on October 17, 2017, 09:15:37 AM
Because we love our trees. In fact, I love mine so much I eat them daily.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Henry on October 17, 2017, 09:19:55 AM
The same is true for cities; see Oakland, Pineville, Maple Grove, Palm Springs and Myrtle Beach, among others.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:38:19 AM
Quote from: ColossalBlocks on October 17, 2017, 09:15:37 AM
Because we love our trees. In fact, I love mine so much I eat them daily.
How do you eat trees?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:45:32 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:38:19 AM
Quote from: ColossalBlocks on October 17, 2017, 09:15:37 AM
Because we love our trees. In fact, I love mine so much I eat them daily.

How do you eat trees?

Bite by bite, of course. :D
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:45:32 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:38:19 AM
Quote from: ColossalBlocks on October 17, 2017, 09:15:37 AM
Because we love our trees. In fact, I love mine so much I eat them daily.

How do you eat trees?

Bite by bite, of course. :D
isn't it too hard?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:59:38 AM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.
Who is she?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: hotdogPi on October 17, 2017, 10:00:53 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:59:38 AM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.
Who is she?

"That's what she said" is a common joke used in certain situations. You're only 14, so you wouldn't understand.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 01:46:38 PM
Quote from: 1 on October 17, 2017, 10:00:53 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:59:38 AM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.
Who is she?

"That's what she said" is a common joke used in certain situations. You're only 14, so you wouldn't understand.
What does the joke mean?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 17, 2017, 01:48:24 PM
I really hope that's bait.
Oh, wait, age 14.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 17, 2017, 02:05:38 PM
Quote from: Jardine on October 14, 2017, 07:30:14 PM
Yet there appears to be no "Tree Street" anywhere . . .

:hmmm:

There's a Google for that.  Use it.

Cayce, SC (https://goo.gl/maps/mGuvWhBZFKv)
Clinton, IL (https://goo.gl/maps/conHkEZhkS82)
Columbia, SC (https://goo.gl/maps/B5xhjKz1UxG2)
Dover, AR (https://goo.gl/maps/2p4REoJ5HQF2)
Flowood, MS (https://goo.gl/maps/SmcHpQjHmu32)
Interlachen, FL (https://goo.gl/maps/WPT5g4LscK92)
Lake Oswego, OR (https://goo.gl/maps/y386WyA1SR12)
Largo, FL (https://goo.gl/maps/Dj1qSJrGYam)
Leeds, AL (https://goo.gl/maps/ArKosvoGzqy)
Minnetonka, MN (https://goo.gl/maps/MGNZUsfe8Du)
Philadelphia, PA (https://goo.gl/maps/co3ncSZGy472)
Pomona, QLD (https://goo.gl/maps/DcjEQ5nsAYF2)
Waurn Ponds, VIC (https://goo.gl/maps/zUyEWLZSytu)
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: briantroutman on October 17, 2017, 02:31:53 PM
Regarding tree-named streets in general, we might associate the practice with the fake pastoralism of modern suburbia, but it goes back at least as far as the founding of Philadelphia. In laying out the plan for the city, William Penn expressed his desire to build a "greene country towne" , so it's quite possible that the selection of tree names for streets was an attempt to further that theme.

Additionally, Philadelphia's rectilinear street grid represented a noticeable break from the street patterns of European cities, which tended to grow haphazardly over centuries with crooked streets meeting each other at irregular angles. Compare the street pattern of Center City Philadelphia to that of Boston or Lower Manhattan, both of which grew ad hoc in a more European fashion. The grid patten became prevalent in other American cities as the country expanded westward.

So I would imagine that as other American city planners took some inspiration from Philadelphia's grid pattern, they also borrowed the city's tree-named streets, numbered streets, or both.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 03:10:40 PM
It's a classic street naming theme: name it after what ever you had to bulldoze to build the dumb road.
Trees, flowers, wildlife, crops, human beings...
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 17, 2017, 03:16:28 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 03:10:40 PM
human beings...

Man, I was in the middle of swallowing some tea when I read that.  Almost choked!   :-D
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: sparker on October 17, 2017, 04:02:34 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 03:10:40 PM
It's a classic street naming theme: name it after what ever you had to bulldoze to build the dumb road.
Trees, flowers, wildlife, crops, human beings...

If you had to bulldoze all those things to build a dumb road, what did Virginia Tech have to bulldoze to build their Smart Road?  Just wondering!
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 17, 2017, 04:19:18 PM
Quote from: sparker on October 17, 2017, 04:02:34 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on October 17, 2017, 03:10:40 PM
It's a classic street naming theme: name it after what ever you had to bulldoze to build the dumb road.
Trees, flowers, wildlife, crops, human beings...

If you had to bulldoze all those things to build a dumb road, what did Virginia Tech have to bulldoze to build their Smart Road?  Just wondering!

Smart human beings.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: theline on October 17, 2017, 04:20:52 PM
For what it's worth, I grew up on Mulberry Street, and we had a mulberry tree in the back yard. Our neighbor had walnut trees. The street behind us was Walnut Street. I strongly suspect that the presence of the trees was just coincidental to the street names. The streets were named long before these trees came along.

Edit: finished my entry after bumping "save" button while typing.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kkt on October 17, 2017, 07:23:11 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.

Wow, thanks for the memories of that long-ago meme...
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kkt on October 17, 2017, 07:24:49 PM
I seem to remember some towns planting rows of street trees of the variety indicated by the street name.  Cute, or obsessive-compulsive?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 07:56:38 PM
Quote from: kkt on October 17, 2017, 07:23:11 PM
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on October 17, 2017, 09:55:54 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 17, 2017, 09:53:11 AM
isn't it too hard?

That's what she said.

Wow, thanks for the memories of that long-ago meme...
I vaugly know that meme.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: lepidopteran on October 17, 2017, 11:02:38 PM
There was a joke in MAD Magazine's "Lighter Side" comic, where a real-estate developer points to a small forest of oak, pine, and maple trees.  He says that after they clear the land, a new residential subdivision will be built there.  When someone asks what its streets will be named, he's like, what else?  Oak Street, Pine Street, and Maple Street!
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: 1995hoo on October 18, 2017, 08:44:26 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on October 15, 2017, 01:24:54 PM
Quote from: DandyDan on October 14, 2017, 06:55:11 PM
There aren't enough famous people to name roads after?
There are tons of famous people. If you would like to name roads after all of them is a different question.

Indeed this afternoon we will be in a city that has a street that is not named after a certain famous person but that can't help bring his name to mind:

https://goo.gl/maps/GmcvZpXfrxF2

Regarding demolishing trees, there's a neighborhood near my parents' house called "Maple Trace." My mom says that's because you can't find even a trace of a maple there anymore.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: TheArkansasRoadgeek on October 18, 2017, 10:24:24 AM
Quote from: ET21 on October 15, 2017, 12:37:56 PM
We love our trees :D
"Love" our trees...

*Continues to clear forest and rainforest trees 24/7...
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: paulthemapguy on October 18, 2017, 10:39:51 AM
This thread is gold.

Tree streets are the only reason I know the words Basswood, Birch, Cedar, Cypress, Catalpa, Dogwood, Elm, Hickory, Juniper, Locust, Maple, Oak, Pine, Poplar, Quince, Spruce, Walnut, Willow.

Other tree types I've seen on streets include Ash, Cherry, Aspen, Evergreen, Fir, Hemlock, Larch, Linden, Mulberry, Plum, Sycamore.  Many of these I learned from the landscaping menus in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Any other ones to list?
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Chris19001 on October 18, 2017, 12:41:56 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 18, 2017, 10:39:51 AM
Any other ones to list?
Don't forget Ebony, Makore or Sapele..
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kkt on October 18, 2017, 12:52:32 PM
or Hawthorn.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: formulanone on October 18, 2017, 02:09:46 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 18, 2017, 10:39:51 AM
This thread is gold.

Tree streets are the only reason I know the words Basswood, Birch, Cedar, Cypress, Catalpa, Dogwood, Elm, Hickory, Juniper, Locust, Maple, Oak, Pine, Poplar, Quince, Spruce, Walnut, Willow.

Other tree types I've seen on streets include Ash, Cherry, Aspen, Evergreen, Fir, Hemlock, Larch, Linden, Mulberry, Plum, Sycamore.  Many of these I learned from the landscaping menus in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Any other ones to list?


There's loads of palm tree, oak, pine, and cypress-named streets in Florida. You'll learn of varieties you didn't know existed.

Maybe if we had a street for Schinus terebinthifolius (http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/schinus-terebinthifolia/), the nuisance of Brazilian Pepper Trees would also get removed (it's Florida's kudzu).
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 18, 2017, 04:35:04 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 18, 2017, 10:39:51 AM
This thread is gold.

Tree streets are the only reason I know the words Basswood, Birch, Cedar, Cypress, Catalpa, Dogwood, Elm, Hickory, Juniper, Locust, Maple, Oak, Pine, Poplar, Quince, Spruce, Walnut, Willow.

Other tree types I've seen on streets include Ash, Cherry, Aspen, Evergreen, Fir, Hemlock, Larch, Linden, Mulberry, Plum, Sycamore.  Many of these I learned from the landscaping menus in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Any other ones to list?


There might be a couple of streets named Peach Tree in Georgia.
[/understatement]
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: US 89 on October 18, 2017, 07:17:04 PM
Quote from: kphoger on October 18, 2017, 04:35:04 PM
There might be a couple of streets named Peach Tree in Georgia.
[/understatement]

I was just there, and you really can get lost if you're not paying close attention.

Also, I don't remember where, but at least one city/town I've been to names their streets after trees in alphabetical order (Ash, Birch, Cedar, Dogwood, etc.).
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: tdindy88 on October 18, 2017, 08:05:09 PM
St. Joseph County, Indiana does this with their main north-south county roads, alphabetical order and named after trees starting at the eastern border of the county and continuing west at each mile.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Bickendan on October 18, 2017, 09:01:41 PM
"Suburbs: Where they cut down the trees and name the streets after them"
Snarky refrigerator magnet my mom used to have.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: Scott5114 on October 19, 2017, 06:36:02 AM
Quote from: roadguy2 on October 18, 2017, 07:17:04 PM
Quote from: kphoger on October 18, 2017, 04:35:04 PM
There might be a couple of streets named Peach Tree in Georgia.
[/understatement]

I was just there, and you really can get lost if you're not paying close attention.

I'm running a D&D campaign set in the US, and our party just got to Atlanta. Finding your way through the maze of Peachtrees is a DC 18 Survival check...
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kkt on October 19, 2017, 12:36:30 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 19, 2017, 06:36:02 AM
I'm running a D&D campaign set in the US, and our party just got to Atlanta. Finding your way through the maze of Peachtrees is a DC 18 Survival check...

:-D
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: hm insulators on October 19, 2017, 12:57:46 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Especially in recent times, a developer that is allowed to name their own streets in the neighborhood they're building often treats the street names as marketing pieces. They think a house on Maple Street is more likely to sell than one on something like Bledsoe Street. They think people will have a positive association with living close to a maple, even if there are no actual maples on that street.

What's the old joke about a subdivision being a place where they cut down all the trees to build houses and then they name the streets after the trees that were cut down.
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: kphoger on October 19, 2017, 01:45:33 PM
Quote from: hm insulators on October 19, 2017, 12:57:46 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Especially in recent times, a developer that is allowed to name their own streets in the neighborhood they're building often treats the street names as marketing pieces. They think a house on Maple Street is more likely to sell than one on something like Bledsoe Street. They think people will have a positive association with living close to a maple, even if there are no actual maples on that street.

What's the old joke about a subdivision being a place where they cut down all the trees to build houses and then they name the streets after the trees that were cut down.

It goes like this:  "A subdivision is a place where they cut down all the trees to build houses and then they name the streets after the trees that were cut down."   :biggrin:
Title: Re: Why are there so many roads named after trees?
Post by: US 89 on October 21, 2017, 12:42:59 AM
Quote from: kphoger on October 19, 2017, 01:45:33 PM
Quote from: hm insulators on October 19, 2017, 12:57:46 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 15, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Especially in recent times, a developer that is allowed to name their own streets in the neighborhood they're building often treats the street names as marketing pieces. They think a house on Maple Street is more likely to sell than one on something like Bledsoe Street. They think people will have a positive association with living close to a maple, even if there are no actual maples on that street.

What's the old joke about a subdivision being a place where they cut down all the trees to build houses and then they name the streets after the trees that were cut down.

It goes like this:  "A subdivision is a place where they cut down all the trees to build houses and then they name the streets after the trees that were cut down."   :biggrin:

See Bickendan's post above:

Quote from: Bickendan on October 18, 2017, 09:01:41 PM
"Suburbs: Where they cut down the trees and name the streets after them"
Snarky refrigerator magnet my mom used to have.