It's Official in L.A. - It's the [number here] Freeway

[LA_MetroMan]

This is actually...


... My GPS always tells me that when I'm in Los Angeles, to merge onto U.S. Route 80 instead of I-10.

So THAT'S how I got stuck here in Bellevue Washington for the last year and a half. All I remember is seeing that sign somewhere in Cuuuuucamonga.


Post Merge: December 09, 2012, 04:33:08 AM

This change is not about using the definite article with route numbers or omitting the system designator.  Instead, it is about not referring to the freeways by their traditional names--Hollywood Freeway, San Diego Freeway, Colorado Freeway, etc.

Speaking of COLORADO FREEWAY, is that still the moniker for the short extension just east off of the I-5 skirting Griffith Park and Glendale city. ?  It was that way when I left LA during the late 80's.

LA_MetroMan

Removed excessive quoting. --roadfro

[LA_MetroMan]

I hear Century Freeway used some, Foothill Freeway a little more...but it does seem like the freeways with destination-city names are used the most.

Thanks for the update on radio-report usage!  How is Route 91 referred to in reports?

Just in case someone is counting - I prefer the names over the numbers. Although not practical, it's a bit romantic.

The Redondo Beach Freeway, Gardena Freeway, Corona Freeway and now a few stretche3s of (insert slain CHP officer name here) is all the 91. Probably the proper way (and the way I used to hear it) is   "The 91 westbound through .....".

I'm keen on naming freeways after places not persons.

KMPC TRAFFIC ON THE SIXES:

Westbound Sgt. Gonzales freeway is clogged up just beyond Akito Furiyima Interchange but clears up by General Whazzit Freeway as it merges into the David Campbell transit corridor.

Can you imagine this is all within 1/4 mile ?    LOL

[Interstatefan78]

I hear Century Freeway used some, Foothill Freeway a little more...but it does seem like the freeways with destination-city names are used the most.

Thanks for the update on radio-report usage!  How is Route 91 referred to in reports?

Just in case someone is counting - I prefer the names over the numbers. Although not practical, it's a bit romantic.

The Redondo Beach Freeway, Gardena Freeway, Corona Freeway and now a few stretche3s of (insert slain CHP officer name here) is all the 91. Probably the proper way (and the way I used to hear it) is   "The 91 westbound through .....".

I'm keen on naming freeways after places not persons.

KMPC TRAFFIC ON THE SIXES:

Westbound Sgt. Gonzales freeway is clogged up just beyond Akito Furiyima Interchange but clears up by General Whazzit Freeway as it merges into the David Campbell transit corridor.

Can you imagine this is all within 1/4 mile ?    LOL

Even locals in Ventura county still refer the Golden State Freeway and the Ventura Freeway over the 5 freeway and also the 101 freeway, and this makes it easier to non Southern California motorists who are trying to drive the freways of LA and SD, but here in the Leigh Valley area Bee 104.4 traffic reports do refer the Northeast extension of I-476 as the turnpike wheras the William Penn Higway segement of I-78 is refered as 78.

[roadfro]

Even locals in Ventura county still refer the Golden State Freeway and the Ventura Freeway over the 5 freeway and also the 101 freeway, and this makes it easier to non Southern California motorists who are trying to drive the freways of LA and SD ...

Not sure how referring to the "Golden State Freeway" and "Ventura Freeway" makes it easier for non-Southern Californians... The freeway names appear on increasingly fewer signs (if any) and numbers/shields have come into predominant usage.

[Road Hog]

Even on some non-freeways, the highway name seems to be more common. I once mentioned how I drove up CA 2 to Mount Wilson and somebody said, "Oh, the Angeles Crest Highway."

[Mark68]

I grew up in Orange County, and remember using the names and highway numbers interchangeably ("The 5" or "The Santa Ana Freeway"), and it's a hard habit to break when you move to another area.

Here in the Denver area, you'll hear references to the "Valley Hwy" occasionally (the "official" name of I-25 thru central Denver), but most refer to it as I-25. Traffic reports do reference US 36 between Denver & Boulder as "The Boulder Turnpike" or just the "Turnpike". There is one other freeway that is referred to by name, and that is 6th Avenue (technically, the 6th Avenue Freeway), which carries US 6 from I-25 in Denver west to Golden. Otherwise, you hear "I-225", "I-270", "I-76", or "I-70".

"C-470" (SH 470) is the southwestern quarter of the beltway, "E-470" (Extension 470 Tollway) is the eastern half of the beltway, and "Northwest Parkway" is the northwestern eighth of the beltway (the stretch from Broomfield south to Golden is still a proposal).

Oh, and freeways are generally referred to as "highways", and surface street highways are referred to by their street names ("Santa Fe Dr" for US 85 from Denver south to C-470, then "US 85" south of there to Castle Rock; "Vasquez Blvd" for US 6-85 from I-270 to I-76).

I did live in Portland for two years, and most of the traffic reports there just refer to the route number, except for I-84 between I-205 & I-5, which is referred to as the "Banfield Freeway", or US 26 west of downtown to Beaverton & Hillsboro ("Sunset Hwy"). They do refer to specific structures, such as bridges (the Marquam & Fremont Bridges, for instance) or the Vista Ridge Tunnel on US 26 (or the Sylvan Summit just west of there...which can get interesting during cold weather).

[bulkyorled]

That article makes me think of this forum, why was an article even needed to be written about that? I'm late on this but I thought it was funny. We clearly know what you mean if you say it any three ways "the 5, the 5 Freeway, or Golden State Fwy", and as it said context is key but still, it's funny because people on this forum get mad if you don't say it ~*"the proper way"*~

[The High Plains Traveler]

That article makes me think of this forum, why was an article even needed to be written about that? I'm late on this but I thought it was funny. We clearly know what you mean if you say it any three ways "the 5, the 5 Freeway, or Golden State Fwy", and as it said context is key but still, it's funny because people on this forum get mad if you don't say it ~*"the proper way"*~

I started the thread because I lived in the L.A. area and learned to drive there when freeways were only known by their name. At the time I learned to drive, calling something the "11 Freeway" (as it would have been known then) would have caused a blank stare. When the I-605 Freeway was opened, there was a lot of amused commentary that the highway was only marked "605 Freeway" rather than with an official sobriquet; in this case, it would have been "San Gabriel River Freeway", so you can see why the name was omitted. This is why I find it amusing that sometime after I left the area, the numbers --- prefixed by "the" --- suddenly became the predominant way of referring to freeways, even though the 60s standard of marking freeway junctions mostly emphasized the number over the name, long before this cultural shift took hold.

Since I left southern California, I haven't lived in or near a metro area where freeways are predominantly identified by name over number.  Nowhere have I heard any part of the highway system referred to by "the" [any number]. Thus, I found adoption of an official style guide adopting this usage by the L.A. Times noteworthy.

[myosh_tino]

That article makes me think of this forum, why was an article even needed to be written about that? I'm late on this but I thought it was funny. We clearly know what you mean if you say it any three ways "the 5, the 5 Freeway, or Golden State Fwy", and as it said context is key but still, it's funny because people on this forum get mad if you don't say it ~*"the proper way"*~

What I find interesting (and a little nauseating being a native northern Californian... kidding ) is how out-of-staters think *everybody* in California refers to freeways as "the 5" or "the 210" or "the 280".

[flowmotion]

That article makes me think of this forum, why was an article even needed to be written about that? I'm late on this but I thought it was funny. We clearly know what you mean if you say it any three ways "the 5, the 5 Freeway, or Golden State Fwy", and as it said context is key but still, it's funny because people on this forum get mad if you don't say it ~*"the proper way"*~

The article explains why it was written. The LA Times uses a particular style in order to be consistant, and a reader inquired/complained about it.

Now, off to read New York Times articles about Nato and compact disks.

[agentsteel53]

The article explains why it was written. The LA Times uses a particular style in order to be consistant, and a reader inquired/complained about it.

Now, off to read New York Times articles about Nato and compact disks.

and calling everyone "Mr. Obama" and "Mr. Romney".  yeah, 538 definitely lost something there...

(I believe the NYT at one point made an exception and did not write "Mr. Hitler".)

[Road Hog]

The article explains why it was written. The LA Times uses a particular style in order to be consistant, and a reader inquired/complained about it.

Now, off to read New York Times articles about Nato and compact disks.

and calling everyone "Mr. Obama" and "Mr. Romney".  yeah, 538 definitely lost something there...

(I believe the NYT at one point made an exception and did not write "Mr. Hitler".)

NYT style is no courtesy title for historical figures (Lincoln, Beethoven, etc.)

[agentsteel53]

NYT style is no courtesy title for historical figures (Lincoln, Beethoven, etc.)

I believe this occurred at a time when Hitler was a contemporary figure.

[Lytton]

Its kind of funny. i will refer the freeways by their number designations yet in Hawaii, I refer freeways and highway in Hawaii by name. I dunno, maybe its because I got used to calling freeways by their name since I was a local in the region for 2 years.

[Interstatefan78]

Even Kiis fm uses the 14 fwy, 605 fwy, 91 fwy in their traffic reports, but occasionally sometimes uses San Gabriel River fwy, Antelope Valley, and the Artesia fwy in the traffic reports. Another thing to consider is that Southern California residents who visit the Lehigh Valley region will use this the number here fwy format ex the 476 turnpike, 22 thruway, 78 hwy their street names are PA turnpike NE extension, Lehigh Valley thruway, and the 78^th division highway, or William Penn highway (Northampton County) segment of I-78