ELI5- Why do streets have different labels like Ave, Blvd, Rd, etc.? Are there certain qualifications for what determines them?
In: 909
At least around here, “streets” run east-west and “avenues” run north-south.
“Places” and “circles” are typically spurs or dead-ends that don’t connect to larger roadways at both ends.
“Routes” and “highways” are state-maintained and cross a large number of municipalities, maybe even the entire state.
Some roadways have multiple names if they meet multiple criteria – route 45 is also LaGrange road and also 96th avenue in some parts of south Chicago.
it is mostly conventions, but there is some meaning to it:
“Avenue” is wider than a regular street, and there are usually fewer of them.
“Boulevard” has trees on it. Or had, when it was created.
“Road” is in rural area, or used to be in rural area when it was created
“Lane” is an alley, used for trash containers or parking.
“Place” or “Court” is an small upscale residential street, often a dead-end (or “cul-de-sac”).
You have to get approval for new road names, which helps ensure no duplicate names in an area. Many jurisdictions have classifications that determine the label. For example, here’s what San Luis Obispo County, California uses:
– Blvd: arterial (a major thoroughfare) in urban areas
– Road: arterial outside urban areas
– Street: collector (midsize road) or local (minor roads) in urban area, running east/west
– Avenue: collector or local in urban area, running north/south
– Place: collector or local outside urban areas, running east/west
– Way: collector or local outside urban areas, running north/south
– Lane: cul-de-sac longer than 200 feet
– Court: cul-de-sac under 200 feet
– Circle: circle or U-shaped
*Edit: For those asking about Drive, Pass, or any road classification, San Luis Obispo County does not permit them. You can see their rules for yourself in their [County Code](https://library.municode.com/ca/san_luis_obispo_county/codes/county_code?nodeId=TIT20STADRONA). That doesn’t mean they don’t have Drives; but they were likely named prior to the current rules.*
*For those saying the rules are different where they live, yes, they probably are. Every jurisdiction makes their own rules. The rules I posted will be similar to many places, but some may have widely different rules (or even no rules at all).*
Where I live, the city planners decided that Avenues run east/west and Streets run north/south. Some of our avenues used to have street cars on them, and they are very wide thoroughfares. Some of our avenues are so so narrow that parking is not allowed and they run only a short way. We don’t have boulevards, but we have a “boulevard district” where all the streets and avenues have a grassy area with trees between the street and the sidewalk.
I guess that after reading the other responses, it seems that while there may be definitions for the different types of street designations, there is no universally accepted convention for their usage.
Edited to remediate fatfingering
In Phoenix, AZ, the city is divided by Central, a North/South road. Major North/South roads that are West of Central are “Avenue”. Major North/South roads that are East of Central are “Street.”
In planning, a “road” is route intended to travel from location to location with no or limited destinations, and a “street” provides access to destinations (namely to access residences or businesses).
In naming, a “circle” is a street where both ends connect to the same street or road. A “boulevard” means a wide street (usually lined with trees), and “avenue” means the same thing. “Place” refers to a short street, often one that leads to a small square or public place. A “way” is usually a road that connects a road to a destination or street. A “lane” is typically a street that ends in a cul-de-sac (in the UK, it can also refer to an alleyway), a “court” is the same thing. An “alley” is a service street intended for delivery of goods or disposal of refuse.
In my city, we have a lot of Boulevards, and they’re required to have a strip of land between the two directions of traffic. They’re usually small parks or walking trails. Avenues tend to be bigger, busier, and more important.
In the nearby suburb I grew up in, the East-West streets are numbered, AND their labels go in order like this:
* 1st St
* 1st Terr
* 1st Ct OR 1st Cir (for a cul-de-sac or dead end offshoot)
The reason is to keep the grid uniform, so for instance 1st St and 5th St are half a mile apart. If the houses are more spread, there’s fewer roads in the grid and fewer names, but if there’s lots of houses, they can use more labels to cram more roads in there but keep the big grid.
The North-South streets in that area are word names, and don’t really seem to have much of a pattern as far as the titles, BUT they’re themed. In one neighborhood, they’re alphabetical. By the house I grew up in, they’re named after trees.
Basically, it’s all to keep the city grid pretty, sensible, and organized.
As everybody has pointed out – there’s no actual universal qualification. Different cities/towns/counties/states have different rules and regulations, or lack thereof.
There’s technically definitions.
A Boulevard is an urban arterial path. A road is the same, but in more rural areas. A crescent diverts from a street, and reconnects elsewhere in a curve.
The problem is that once the road gets its name, it often won’t change its name. The way that it acts can tho. So the type might not always be correct.
Originally Boulevard were built around or in place of rampart of medieval cities. Boulevard comes from dutch word “bolwerk” that means rampart (I think, I had to use translation tool for this, I don’t speak dutch)
Avenue is a straight line, surrounded by trees. The name comes from “avenir” which in old french means “coming to”, usually avenu went straight to a monument or the town center.
Than the words evolved in every country to mean whatever they mean now lol.
Latest Answers