Knowing What Different Street Names Mean Could Help You Out In A Pinch

I recently turned 28, and I am embarrassed to admit that I use my GPS to navigate everywhere I go. I know my hometown well, but I live in Los Angeles now and I do not trust myself to navigate this big city without the help of satellites. I hardly remember a time before GPS – the days of MapQuesting directions and printing them out so I can scream at family members about missed turns are my earliest road trip memories, but I’ve thankfully never had to navigate on my own without GPS.

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If you ever find yourself in a new town without cell service or with a dead phone battery, or if you’re just wandering around aimlessly, it may come in handy to know the widely agreed-upon definitions of street naming conventions. Say you’re trying to catch the sunset, but there are no recommendations for sunset spots on Google. Knowing that the terrace designation frequently indicates a roadway that often runs along a hill, you can follow that road and just might find the perfect sunset spot. Or if you need a place to easily turn around, knowing that a court ends in a dead-end might help. There is not a guarantee that all cities abide by these definitions, but it is likely that these definitions are applicable. MotorBiscuit reports,

The first thing to know is that many cities are grids made up of Streets and Avenues running at a perpendicular angle to one another. Boulevards and Drives are different types of city streets that often interrupt this grid for specific reasons. Many of the other types of roads are limited to residential areas, but many of them still have a unique definition.

Road: Denotes any vehicular travel way that connects two points.

Street: A road that is flanked by buildings on both sides, and usually runs perpendicular to avenues.

Avenue: Can have buildings or plants on either side, often bordering the long end of a city block.

Boulevard: Wide metropolitan roadways with trees and plants on both sides, and often with a center median.

Lane: A narrow and often rural roadway.

Drive: A winding roadway that often navigates around natural features like ponds or mountains.

Terrace: An often residential roadway that leads to or runs along a hill or other incline.

Place: Often a residential roadway with a dead end.

Court: A roadway that often ends in a cul-de-sac.

Way: A small residential side street.

Alley: A very narrow roadway that usually runs between buildings.