Street names: What on earth were they thinking (or drinking)?

[hotdogPi]

Freeway Street/Avenue/Whatever where it is not close to a freeway. There are quite a lot of examples that are within 1000 feet from a freeway.


http://goo.gl/maps/9RYXf

http://goo.gl/maps/6JVyB

[DandyDan]

In Omaha, just off of 108th Street and Q Street, is John Galt Boulevard, named for the character in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

[bzakharin]

Don't forget Street Road in PA...

I read somewhere that the "street" in "street road" actually means "straight" in some language or other, or possibly during etymological development. The two words are not actually related in English, but "straight" was once spelled "streht", so there could have been some conflation that happened once and then other roads were named after it. The word sequence "street road" has been used as early as 1722 according to Google (http://books.google.com/books?id=2dIHAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22street%20road%22&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q=%22street%20road%22&f=false)

[The High Plains Traveler]

Since many - not all - of the street names in my community have Spanish names, I have thought about a sub-topic here, "Why developers should not use Spanish street names." Some of the Spanish names in this area are totally incorrect (misspelled), or strange when translated back to English. Por ejemplo:

This intersection was envisioned, I'm sure, to be South Street (Drive) and Happy Street (Drive). One problem, common on the Spanish streets in this area, if the street is already a Calle, why add "Drive"? Also, some issues with the names themselves. "Happy" is alegre, not allegre. That additional "l" turns it into a non-existent word in Spanish that would be pronounced differently. "Sud" also had me thinking that the French word for "south" was chosen by mistake, but some digging through Spanish dictionaries on-line led me to find that "sud" is a Latin-American variation of the usual word, "sur". Any of you guys more fluent in Spanish could comment on this, whether you encounter that usage in Mexico.


My first reaction to "Dos Cabezas" was that it just plain looks weird. Did the narcos leave the heads of two informants here as a warning? Then, I reflected that the name sounds like a geological formation. Nothing by that name in this area, but there is a Dos Cabezas Peak in southeast Arizona, only 500 miles from here. So, that's probably the reference even though nobody in this area would know of it.

[Dr Frankenstein]

So... are those calles and caminos, or drives?

[The High Plains Traveler]

So... are those calles and caminos, or drives?

Apparently, yes.

[agentsteel53]

some digging through Spanish dictionaries on-line led me to find that "sud" is a Latin-American variation of the usual word, "sur". Any of you guys more fluent in Spanish could comment on this, whether you encounter that usage in Mexico.

"sud" tends to be a prefix.  I have never seen it written in Mexico, but I feel like I've heard it pronounced.  maybe.  the "r" and "d" are sufficiently similar when wedged in front of a vowel that I (not that great a speaker, admittedly) can't quite differentiate it.  see "suroeste", "suramerica", etc, which may very well have a "d" in there as pronounced.

[Jardine]

In Omaha, just off of 108th Street and Q Street, is John Galt Boulevard, named for the character in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

Appreciate that very much.  I'm familiar with the street, but not the novel, LOL.

With other locally colorful names, Bob Boozer Dr, Q Street, Ruggles Circle, and Golfing Green Drive, it fits right in.

[NE2]

We really don't need a 'funny place names' thread. But Limp is an unincorporated community in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States.

[roadman65]

I like to know why the City of Orlando picked Radebaugh Way for Tropical Trail which was a very short street in what is now the Millenia Development that is under the I-4 underpass that once connected Americana Boulevard with Vineland Road.

There were plenty of other streets created in the Millenia Development that could have been named that. It is just Tropical Tail was never a real street, but part of the original Americana Boulevard that never got named it.  For years it created confusion for motorists on Vineland Road looking for Americana Boulevard and many would always talk about why the City of Orlando let Americana Boulevard change it name for one brief moment while passing under I-4.  I guess that is a bigger mystery than the one I am pointing out here, but nonetheless somebody went out of their way (even for one brief moment) to merely put this name on the books. 

I would wager, that the city had no idea that Tropical Trail even existed and thought it was all Americana Boulevard all the way to Vineland Road.  Then when the whole development went up where Americana got severed, they thought that the part under I-4 needed a new name so they chose whoever Radebaugh was and decided to name the rest of that street after him or her.

[NE2]

Radebaugh was originally the part of Millenia south of current Radebaugh. It was named by 1957, presumably for a local landowner.

In 1959 the county requested (unsuccessfully, of course) that the state build an I-4 underpass at Conroy/Holden rather than Tropical/Radebaugh. [Note that original Tropical is now Conroy/Americana.]

[jbnv]

Some from Lafayette, LA:

* Intersecting streets named College and Coolidge. The former is a major road that goes nowhere near the local major university (which IS on University Ave.). The latter just happens to be one of a series of streets named for presidents.

* Souvenir Gate. That's the complete name of the street (ignore the erroneous signs that say "Souvenir Gate Street"). There is no gate. There's also no place to get souvenirs.

* Mountainside Lane. I delivered pizzas in that area for two years. Never did find the mountain.

In rural St. Martin Parish there is a road named "Old Trash Pile Road." As if Louisiana didn't have a bad-enough reputation for littering.

And yes, there is a Clearview Parkway, in Metairie, which has nothing to do with the font.

[TEG24601]

The one that really bothers me is the road named "Hwy 99" in Vancouver, WA.  Yes it was the former alignment of US 99, but due to the proximity to Oregon it is confused for an actual highway by people, even though Washington technically uses State Route, the locals call them highways.  It doesn't help either that there is a section of SR-99 in Lynnwood, WA simply called "Hwy 99".


This is almost as bad as roads called "Highway" that either were never highways, or haven't been for 50+ years.  Ballenger Highway in Flint, MI was one that really bothered me.  It was never US-23, and from what I can find was never a highway, but has had that name for decades.


Another one is when a road changes names between jurisdictions, only to have that name used for another road/street in the other jurisdiction.  M-24 outside of Lake Orion, MI is often known as Lapeer Rd.  However, in Lake Orion, it is simply M-24. Adjacent to it, only within Lake Orion is a street called Lapeer St.  It is really confusing for people unfamiliar with the area to follow directions from locals because of that.


The only other one that bothers me is a street named, for example, Evergreen St., has several branches, Evergreen Ct., Evergreen Pl, Evergreen Lp, etc.  Come up with other names!!!


Of course, I would love to have a new city, or start a renumbering campaign, to name the numbered streets after Presidents, in order of service.  Or have an excuse to have 1st, 2nd, 3rd, πth, 4th, etc.  Perhaps even adding eth before 3rd, with eth and πth being oneway cuplets, and 3rd being a local access rd.

[freebrickproductions]

Here's a clever one here in Huntsville:

A Cleaner Way by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

[Scott5114]

In Clinton, OK–Google Maps shows it as Gary Boulevard, but there's at least one set of signs calling it "Gary Freeway".

It's old US-66. Definitely NOT a freeway.

[amroad17]

 

Here's a clever one here in Huntsville:

A Cleaner Way by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

Is a laundry soap or a fabric softener factory nearby?

[mrsman]

Another one is when a road changes names between jurisdictions, only to have that name used for another road/street in the other jurisdiction.  M-24 outside of Lake Orion, MI is often known as Lapeer Rd.  However, in Lake Orion, it is simply M-24. Adjacent to it, only within Lake Orion is a street called Lapeer St.  It is really confusing for people unfamiliar with the area to follow directions from locals because of that.

A very similar thing occurs in Beverly Hills, CA and the nearby neighborhoods of Los Angeles:

Bedford Drive (BH) is 1.4 miles west of Bedford Street (LA) and both intersect Olympic Blvd.

Camden Ave (LA) is 2.4 miles west of Camden Drive (BH) and both intersect Olympic Blvd.

Spalding Drive (BH) is 2.8 miles west of Spaulding Ave (LA) and both intersect Olympic Blvd.

Stanley Drive (BH) is 1.4 miles west of Stanley Ave (LA) and both intersect Wilshire Blvd.

There really is no need for this.  Especially, Stanley Drive is a relatively short stretch of street.  North of the BH city line and south of the BH city line the street is known as Holt Avenue and the street is only in Beverly Hills for like half a mile.

[GaryV]

No one has mentioned Lois Lane in Southfield MI.

And Lenawee County has the habit of naming gravel roads not much more than dirt tracks "Highways".

[Charles2]

In Pelham, AL, just south of Birmingham, the access road to the local bowling alley is named Bowling Lane.

[briantroutman]

Here's a clever one here in Huntsville:

A Cleaner Way by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

Is a laundry soap or a fabric softener factory nearby?

There's also a "Soap Circle"  nearby. Maybe "Bathtub Ring"  would have been better.

Based on a quick glance at Google Maps, a number of cleanup-related business are in this industrial park: Green Mountain Soap, Republic Services (trash and recycling services), and Servpro (fire/water damage restoration).

[Alex4897]

Personally, I never understood why things like 'Nine Foot Road' (or stuff similar to that) exist.  The road tends to be longer than the length it is named for.

[hotdogPi]

Personally, I never understood why things like 'Nine Foot Road' (or stuff similar to that) exist.  The road tends to be longer than the length it is named for.

The reverse is true for 2 Mile Rd. in Barrington NH (just off of US 4). It's slightly under 1 mile long.

[getemngo]

And Lenawee County has the habit of naming gravel roads not much more than dirt tracks "Highways".

So does Eaton County. Nobody tell TEG24601!

[SidS1045]

The ones that don't make sense:

Gloucester Street in Methuen.
Beverly Street in North Andover.
Westford Street in Haverhill.
Boxford Street in Worcester.

How could these have gone to the other towns?

(These are just examples out of hundreds.)

You're assuming the present city and town boundaries are as they were when these roads were built, and that's not true in many cases.  The town I live in, Stoneham, was once part of Charlestown (when Charlestown was independent of Boston).  By their present boundaries, the two are almost ten miles apart.

Or, to pick a really extreme example:  Boston Road (formerly Boston Post Road) in the Bronx.

[bing101]

Fort Wayne has this street name. Its named after a former mayor but it got national attention.