# Streets, Roads, Avenues, Boulevards, et cetera **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306 "2013-04-21T13:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/21 "2013-04-22T10:11:27Z")
In my area (near Beaverton OR), sometimes cul-de-sacs off a street have the same name as the street but with a different suffix[sup]1[/sup]. For instance, there’s a Salishan Place which is a cul-de-sac off Salishan Dr. A second level example of this can be found [here](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=45.472824,-122.864428&spn=0.001104,0.002696&t=m&z=19) where Broad Oak Blvd has a cul-de-sac named Broad Oak Dr, which in turn has a cul-de-sac named Broad Oak Court. BTW, has anyone ever seen a third level cul-de-sac? The above example is a second level cul-de-sac, i.e. a ciul-de-sac off a cul-de-sac. The names don’t have to be the same, as in the Broad Oak case, but they should all have names. [sup]1[/sup] Streets named in this pattern aren’t always cul-de-sacs, but they always intersect. I know of a couple cases where they aren’t cul-de-sacs, although it’s possible they started out that way. Oops, I take that back about always intersecting. I just remembered there’s a NW Vance Dr and a SW Vance Lane whcih are no where near each other. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/22 "2013-04-22T10:21:48Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > And it’s the usual word in Scandinavian (unless, of course, we use something else). Such as ‘vei’/‘vej’/‘veg’ - way. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/23 "2013-04-22T11:28:44Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Such as ‘vei’/‘vej’/‘veg’ - way. Can also be translated into English as road. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/24 "2013-04-22T15:14:31Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Here in Melbourne, near where I used to live, we have [High Street Road](http://goo.gl/maps/4c8yM). I don’t know what to think about that. And here in the Philadelphia area we have [Street Road.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Route_132) ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/25 "2013-04-22T17:20:42Z")
Downtown DC the alphabet streets (i.e. K, M, P) go east-west; numbered streets go north-south (14th, 7th, 33rd, etc). The avenues run diagonally e.g. Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, etc. Going home you drive on the parkway and finally park in the driveway. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/26 "2013-04-22T17:41:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Here in Melbourne, near where I used to live, we have [High Street Road](http://goo.gl/maps/4c8yM). I don’t know what to think about that. And in Toronto there is Avenue Road. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/27 "2013-04-22T18:01:34Z")
In the area I grew up there were a lot of [name] Street Roads. The significance of the name was pbvious in context, though: they were the extension of what was in a given city/village named [name] Street on out into the countryside. What is now NY Route 283, for example, was the extension, to connect the City of Watertown with Fort Drum, of Pearl Street, which ran from downtown through the industrial area to the city limits, and hence the extension, a county road at the time, was Pearl Street Road. I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/28 "2013-04-22T18:09:28Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. London’s The Mall. And really Broadway isn’t one, since “way” is a tag such as street, avenue … ETA: Berlin’s Unter den Linden is another one. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/29 "2013-04-22T19:32:18Z")
Anderson SC has “Boulevard,” “North Boulevard,” and “South Boulevard” which led to road names like “[Boulevard Heights](http://maps.google.com/maps?rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Anderson,+SC+boulevard&fb=1&gl=us&hq=boulevard&hnear=0x88586c269a7cbefb:0x7c5fd13566e0adf,Anderson,+SC&sa=X&ei=Go91Ub2HL5HS9QSg_oGQBg&ved=0CIcBELYD)” which is the exact opposite of a non-tagged roadway. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/30 "2013-04-22T19:58:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > … > > I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. Paseo means a public walk or boulevard, as in “Paseo de \”. It has a tag, but no name, it’s just not in English. If you’re counting that sort of thing, we have “The Alameda” in both Berkeley and San Jose. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/31 "2013-04-22T20:36:47Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > In the area I grew up there were a lot of [name] Street Roads. The significance of the name was pbvious in context, though: they were the extension of what was in a given city/village named [name] Street on out into the countryside. What is now NY Route 283, for example, was the extension, to connect the City of Watertown with Fort Drum, of Pearl Street, which ran from downtown through the industrial area to the city limits, and hence the extension, a county road at the time, was Pearl Street Road. > > I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. In Montreal (actually in Westmount), there is The Boulevard. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/32 "2013-04-22T20:48:12Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I would be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. Agree that “Broadway” isn’t, even though no one uses the space. The Bowery a little east of it is, though. And I think some but not all of the streets in the French Quarter in New Orleans have no tags, or at least the signs have no tags. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/33 "2013-04-23T01:21:25Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare. “The Alameda” in Berkeley and San Jose has already been mentioned. Pretty much ALL the vehicular travel structures (VTS) in San Francisco are given names without a “title”. The above-cited Wiki (post #5 above) mentions several cities like this, with a photo of Kearny in San Francisco. The Wiki mentions that all the VTS’s in S.F. actually have “titles”, but that they aren’t shown on the street signs, so nobody really knows what they are. (And also lists several other cities that do likewise.) There are also VTS’s with numbers instead of names, and these ought to show the “title” (although I don’t know if they actually do, but they should) because the same numbers can and do appear on both a “Street” and an “Avenue” in different parts of town. For example, there is a 19th Avenue (a major thoroughfare in the Sunset District) and a 19th Street (a residential side-street in the Mission District). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/34 "2013-04-23T01:28:52Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > In NYC, in Queens, while avenues and streets do not generally run parallel, “drives,” and “roads” seem to have been used when blocks were divided up into smaller blocks. > > I remember that when I lived in Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens, I could quite honestly and accurately say to people “I live on 30th, between 30th and 30th.” Meaning that I lived on 30th Street between 30th Drive and 30th Avenue. As you know, exactly the same for almost all addresses up and down the Boulevard of Death. I was going to post specifically on Queens Boulevard, christened TBOD by the NYPost after the umptee-umpth fatality of a pedestrian trying to cross on one light change a 12-lane (?more) highway being treated by autos like an expressway. No one ever knew anyone on the other side, it divides my growing-up neighborhood, Forest Hills, so completely. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/35 "2013-04-23T01:33:25Z")
I always thought roads were bigger and more major, and streets and avenues branched off from them. In Australia, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/36 "2013-04-23T01:38:52Z")
I live on a Drive, which in this case I’ve never thought made much sense, because it’s a cul-de-sac. I’d imagine a street called a Drive at least having more than one entrance/exit option. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/37 "2013-04-23T02:37:25Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp;16221134 I wpuld be interested in seeing, in connection with this thread, some more examples of “single-name streets”, where the street name has no tag such as street, avenue, boulevard, or drive, but is simply a single word, perhaps with “The” attached. Tue two examples I have are Broadway, in New York City, and The Paseo, in Kansas City. I imagine there are more, but they must be quite rare.[/QUOTE] Here in Boston we have Riverway and The Fenway. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/38 "2013-04-23T02:40:43Z")
Does California’s many routes named El Camino Real count? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/39 "2013-04-23T04:31:52Z")
Atlanta has Boulevard. In nearby Marietta, U.S. 41 was called Four-Lane Highway. That was never its official name, but it was the only name given on street maps. If anyone knows why certain streets in Nebraska City, Nebr., have the names 15th Corso, 16th Corso, etc., please enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306/40 "2013-04-23T05:38:08Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned [Cecil’s article](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1319/whats-the-difference-between-a-street-a-road-an-avenue-a-boulevard-etc) yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/streets-roads-avenues-boulevards-et-cetera/656306.md?page=3)