What's in a name, as in street, road, drive, etc.

 

 

 

Street names are often quite creative, telling you a story of their original inhabitants. You'll find streets named after everything from trees to birds to gemstones, name’s that appear to be referencing other towns or cities, like “Springfield,” or people’s loved ones, developer’s children’s’ names, and the names of geographical landmarks.

 

What is more consistent are the categories they fall into. There is some rhyme and reason behind street classification, and it matters a great deal to city planners and map makers. In Essex County, NJ, it’s especially common for streets to be named after colleges and in the case of one neighborhood in Maplewood, NJ, there is a section known as College Hill.  The street names include, Yale, Bowdoin, Colgate Amherst, Harvard, Rutgers, Wellesley and Oberlin; ironically, a street named Princeton lies across from this neighborhood-and is found in the Hilton neighborhood, I’m not sure what the planners at the time had against Princeton. 

 

Here are some of the differences between a street and an avenue, although over time, the lines are clearly blurred, and it just might help you find your next appointment.

 

 

Roads:

A road is simply a track that connects two distant points. Merriam-Webster defines a road as “an open way for vehicles, persons, and animals especially: one lying outside of an urban district: HIGHWAY.”  Further, roads are supposed to be the link between towns and cities. This rule isn’t too strictly followed — cities are often connected by interstates and contain roads within them. If the strip of pavement doesn't fall into one of the other classifications, just call it a road and you'll be OK. 

 

Streets:

Sticking with the guidelines, streets are supposed to be roads within cities and towns, with buildings lining the way. Merriam-Webster’s definition:

a: a thoroughfare especially in a city, town, or village that is wider than an alley or lane and that usually includes sidewalks

b: the part of a street reserved for vehicles

c: a thoroughfare with abutting property

 

They are supported with sidewalks and are often main business areas — such as Main Street or the High Street.

 

 

Avenues:

Avenues are distinct from streets because of the direction they run. Technically, they are supposed to be perpendicular to the streets. They can be meeting spots, like streets, or be more residential areas with shrubbery and landscaping.

 

Boulevards

 

Boulevards are wide streets, often with a median. Famous examples are Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards in Los Angeles. Boulevards are major areas with lots of space and traffic, but they can be commercial with bars, restaurants, stores, and famous landmarks, or they can be more parklike with greenery lining the boulevard.

 

Alley:

According to Merriam-Webster, an alley is a garden or park walk bordered by trees or bushes.

 

Route:

Merriam-Webster calls a “route” a traveled way : HIGHWAY

 

The Rest of the Roads, Lanes, Ways, Drives, Circles:

 

Lanes are much more low key. They are narrow roads or streets, usually with no median or shoulder.

 

A Way is similar to a lane.

 

Then there is a  Circle: A circle generally defined by a geometric reference to its shape and most often returning to its originating access road or street.

 

A Drive was mostly a private or residential road, often with limited access and possibly with no outlet.  Often we now find Drives adjacent to Streets of the same name as likely to have been an additional development at a later time.

 

High Speed Routes:

 

And while we are on the topic of Roads, what about high-speed routes like Highways, Freeways, Speedways, Inter States, Parkways and Expressways.  They are long, multilane roads designed for long-distance, high-speed traffic. The differences between them aren’t exactly clear, but certain geographical regions have preferences. In New Jersey, the Garden State Parkway prohibits trucks.   Synonyms for Highway (Merriam-Webster) include: arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway, drag, drive, expressway, freeway, highroad, pass, pike, road, roadway, route, row, street, thoroughfare, thruway, trace, turnpike and way

 

 

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