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

[sandiaman]

In National Cemetery of the Pacific , which overlooks Honolulu ,there are two drives that circle the cemetery, Inner and Outer, then they are divided, North and South.  Thus, there  is a street sign  saying ,S. Inner Drive.  So  you could have loved ones  buried on" Sinner Drive."  Good planning?

[bing101]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane

Hey there is a street called Butt Hole Road in England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butt_Hole_Road

[Pete from Boston]

Sadly, Breakfast Hill Road does not smell like bacon:

http://goo.gl/maps/QsqDt

[hotdogPi]

Sadly, Breakfast Hill Road does not smell like bacon:

http://goo.gl/maps/QsqDt

The golf club that the street is named after might, though.

[mrsman]

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.

WRT Boston Road, it is not so far fetched that the road goes to Boston, as it once did, and in fact still does.  Most of the stretch of Boston Road and Boston Post Road is signed currently as US 1, so the state DOTs are still signing the way to Boston along this road, if you follow the US 1 signs.

[ElPanaChevere]

Whenever we drove up (my family and I) from Atlanta to New York, my dad would get a chuckle at the I-85 exit 65 (Squirrel Level Road) in Petersburg, Virginia. Like, what were you thinking and who's in charge of naming these roads? What the heck is "squirrel level"? 

[GaryV]

What the heck is "squirrel level"? 

Obviously, it's somewhat higher than snake belly level, but not as high as hound dog level.   

[J N Winkler]

I have often wondered why St. Paul, Minnesota has a Cretin Ave.

Edit:  A quick Wikipedia search reveals that it was named after Joseph Crétin (1799-1857), the first Roman Catholic bishop of St. Paul.  The accent is normally omitted on city street and freeway guide signs (hence "Cretin"), but adding back the accent wouldn't really improve things since crétin in French means the same as cretin in English--i.e., somebody whose mental and physical development has been stunted as a result of congenital hypothyroidism.

[MillTheRoadgeek]

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".

Interesting. There is also an alley in a newer planned development in Loudoun County, VA named "Lois Lane" too. I also know of Devil's Reach Road in Woodbridge, VA as well.

[jbnv]

I have often wondered why St. Paul, Minnesota has a Cretin Ave.

Edit:  A quick Wikipedia search reveals that it was named after Joseph Crétin (1799-1857), the first Roman Catholic bishop of St. Paul.  The accent is normally omitted on city street and freeway guide signs (hence "Cretin"), but adding back the accent wouldn't really improve things since crétin in French means the same as cretin in English--i.e., somebody whose mental and physical development has been stunted as a result of congenital hypothyroidism.

There's a business called Cretin Homes in the Florida Parishes area. Not sure I'd buy a house from them.

[bing101]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=866093216753560&set=a.187942584568630.50648.100000586708549&type=1&theater

Weiner Cutoff Rd from google images Its a strange road name.

[Thing 342]

Odd Fellows Rd In Lynchburg.

[WichitaRoads]

Odd Fellows Rd In Lynchburg.

Not as "odd" as you may think. It's obviously referring in some way to the Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization much like the Freemasons or Rotary Club (more Masonic, though). Either they had a foundation on the road, or some connection to it. It's like naming the road Masonic Rd or Lions Dr.

ICTRds

[Pete from Boston]

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.

WRT Boston Road, it is not so far fetched that the road goes to Boston, as it once did, and in fact still does.  Most of the stretch of Boston Road and Boston Post Road is signed currently as US 1, so the state DOTs are still signing the way to Boston along this road, if you follow the US 1 signs.

It borders on neurosis to want all road names to "make sense."  Sure, some are rooted in a historical identification of roads primarily with their destination, but that only lasted until the first road built just as a place to put more houses.  At some point you just need a name for the sake of identification.

In Boston, streets in the South End were named as a nod to the cities and towns served by the railroads in its midst.  Lenox St. is not supposed to go to Lenox, and nobody is expecting Springfield St. to go to Springfield. 

The streets in East Somerville named for states... well, you get the point. 

[KEK Inc.]

There's a street called "no name uno" in Rucker, CA, in Santa Clara county.  It's a frontage road to us-101.

[jbnv]

Odd Fellows Rd In Lynchburg.

Not as "odd" as you may think. It's obviously referring in some way to the Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization much like the Freemasons or Rotary Club (more Masonic, though). It's like naming the road Masonic Rd or Lions Dr.

Crowley, LA, also has an Odd Fellows Road, and cemetary.

[Pete from Boston]

Grumpy Old Men Rd., Shelburne, NH:

http://goo.gl/maps/nl44k

I have a picture of the same road name in Maine, but it's not on any on-line maps I've checked. 

[bing101]

http://www.spokeo.com/Weiner+Cutoff+Rd+Harrisburg+AR+addresses

Weiner Cutoff Rd is in Arkansas according to Spokeo.