# Longest Street **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872 "2003-06-14T18:14:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/1 "2003-06-14T18:14:42Z")
Here’s a question that I’ve encountered a number of times in the past that I don’t have a direct answer to. Ignoring limited access highways, which would fit the precise definition but are not quite what I’m looking for… What is the longest stretch of road where you can “keep going straight ahead” for the greatest distance. Obviously, curves in the highway are excluded; what ends this is a T or Y intersection where the option to “keep going straight” through the intersection is not available. I had heard, about 40 years ago, that Grand River Avenue/US 96 between Detroit and Lansing was the longest road that fit this definition. I’d suspect that there are other roads longer elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/2 "2003-06-14T18:19:12Z")
I don’t have figures (yet), but Westhiemer in Houston is insanely long. It changes names (a couple of times IIRC), but stays the same street. Leads you way out of town on the west side. Will try to get hard numbers for you… ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/3 "2003-06-14T18:24:36Z")
Well, I always thought it was Yonge Street, in Ontario? I’ll go find a site…but I thought it was nearly 1200 miles? I should have done a google search before posting. :smack: Daizy ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/4 "2003-06-14T18:26:35Z")
Yahoo claims that Yonge Street, which starts (or ends, I suppose, depending on which way you are going) in Toronto, is the longest street in the world. I’ve never driven it’s length, so I can’t actually say that it doesn’t have some jogs in it where you have to turn to keep going. Perhaps someone else would be able to drive this answer a little further? ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/5 "2003-06-14T18:27:55Z")
My bad…here’s the link [Longest road in the world](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20021121.html) ---
**Author:** ![Daizy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/6 "2003-06-14T18:32:17Z")
Awwwww! Ignore me Polycarp. :o I just learned to read today. :wally And btw…Yonge Street is [1178 miles.](http://www.torontotourism.com/about/visitor_fun_facts.asp) Daizy ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/7 "2003-06-14T18:44:49Z")
WOW! That sure 'nuff beats the hell out of whatever else I was gonna post! Imagine the address problems you might have, tho. \*Yes, yes. Send to: NoClueBoy 11290937735656277818881-B Yonge street No no no I said 11290937735656277818881- **B** Yes, B as in Brisbane. Ok ok ok 1 1 2 9\* … See? Now _that_ would be tough to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/8 "2003-06-14T18:48:36Z")
Ok, you Yongians, step up! It’s a long road; there must be someone here who lives on it. I wonder if it changes names a few times… ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/9 "2003-06-14T18:58:15Z")
Oho! After deciding that I need to know a little bit more about this, I read the Yahoo thing through. I then followed a link to [Sylvana & Hans’ Toronto](http://www.boldts.net/Tor7.shtml) site (scroll down just past half-way). They claim that Yonge street is, in fact, only 56 km long. They suggest that Highway 11, which is _supposedly_ Yonge Street, is the road that was 1900 km long, but that Yonge Street and Highway 11 are quite different. It looks like the answer to this conundrum remains unposted. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/10 "2003-06-14T20:51:11Z")
Los Angeles County has some very long streets: Figueroa, Sepulveda, Olympic, and Washington are all quite long, but I believe that Avenue J, up in the Antelope Valley is the champ out here and it’s around 50 miles long. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/11 "2003-06-14T21:23:24Z")
Ah gee whiz Morkfromork…you just had to go ahead and shatter what I thought was a great world record. As an Ontarian, I am quite disenfranchised. BUT, why not just say that Highway 11 is the longest street? ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/12 "2003-06-14T21:29:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*BUT, why not just say that Highway 11 is the longest street? \*\* Cuz if you want to call a highway a street, the Trans Canada has got Hwy 11 beat several times over. In fact, I suspect that it is the longest highway in the world. However, the OP contemplated the exclusion of highways. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/13 "2003-06-14T21:45:44Z")
Ah, but he said “limited access highways”. Is Highway 11 actually a _highway_ or just named as such? I guess I should know since I live here, but I don’t get out much 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/14 "2003-06-14T22:20:25Z")
The claim of Yonge Street was discussed in a previous thread: [What’s the longest road in the world?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=132680) ---
**Author:** ![stoyel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@stoyel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stoyel)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/15 "2003-06-14T22:58:51Z")
I once heard (from a taxi driver, so ‘pinch of salt’ rules apply) that Boston’s Commonwealth Ave. cuts through three states. Now, states being awfully tiny up there, that may or may not mean much. Having trouble finding an actual length, though. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/16 "2003-06-15T02:13:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Ah, but he said “limited access highways”. > > Is Highway 11 actually a _highway_ or just named as such? > > I guess I should know since I live here, but I don’t get out much 🙂 \*\* According to Microsoft Streets & Trips, 11 is never a limited access highway, something which the Trans-Canada cannot claim. 11 runs from Toronto through Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket and Bradford. It veers of to the right at Bradford but the road continues straight on, finally terminating as 7[sup]th[/sup] Line at Adjala-Tecumseth Tline, Adjala-Tosorontino, Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/17 "2003-06-15T02:41:26Z")
Because 11 diverts at a four-way intersection, it doesn’t meet **Polycarp** ’s requirements. ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/18 "2003-06-15T02:54:35Z")
Why not Route 1, or 30, or 40 or 50 or others? Sure, in places they’re limited access, but there’s plenty of stretches in each where they’re not… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-street/181872/19 "2003-06-15T05:24:16Z")
Don’t you need to define the parameters before you can ask what the longest street is? [ul] [li]Does it have to have the same name throughout?[/li][li]Can it have any break in it? (E.G. A factory is in the way so you have to go around the factory and pick the road up again)[/li][li]Can the road have any right angle turns in it?[/li][li]Can the road be part of a highway at any point?[/li][li]Do highways even count? Not all highways are 10-lane beasts. Many are two lanes that seem to be a highway only by virtue of putting a sign that says so on it. Locals may still have a name for it.[/li][/ul] Maybe there are other possibilities but I think the definition is important just the same.