(no subject)

[rosiedoes]

American (and particularly Chicagoan) friends: is there a convention for using terms for roads on the grid system?

For example, when talking of the junction/block on W Wilson Ave and N Broadway, would you be obliged to use one particular road first? For example, east-to-west coming first, rather than north-to-south, and vice versa.

Is there a difference (or error) in saying Wilson and Broadway, or alternatively, Broadway and Wilson?

Comments

[nikitaquincy.livejournal.com]

Um...I don't know if there's supposed to be a proper way to do it, but Toronto's on a grid system and I just use whatever way is easier to say. Like for the closest intersection to my house, I say Street A and Street B using the street that runs north-south first. It just rolls off the tongue easier than using it the other way.

I doubt that helps any, but yeah...

[wesleep2dream.livejournal.com]

you know, i've never thought about it until now.
in phoenix we tend to use the north/south street first when naming the major cross-streets/intersection.
weird.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

I know in NYC the Manhattan (and lower Bronx) grid system is given East-west first...so 125th and Broadway or 161st and River...

This makes sense given you usually give longitude before latitude in global positioning, or on a map you give the horizontal coordinate first.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see, that makes the most sense to me, too.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

I guess local convention depends on how rigidly you need to stick to the convention. I mean, in NYC, switching them around could land you in the wrong place since 1st and 2nd would not be the same place in the grid as 2nd and 1st. Whereas, with a name and a number - eg. 161st and River - it would be the same place even if you said River and 161st.

Maybe THIS can be of help.

[vinagrette.livejournal.com]

In my experience, there is really no error in saying it one way or the other. When giving/receiving directions in Sacramento (using downtown for example) it's the numbered street first, followed by the other (in the case of downtown, a letter) so 13th and J, for example. So that is giving the North-South road followed by the East-West road second.

[vinagrette.livejournal.com]

Hahaha Which I see is the opposite of what your friend above said. Maybe it varies by region/city?

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

LOL. This was just what I observed in New York...but New York is all kinds of special... =D

[ms-mindfunk.livejournal.com]

it makes no difference. The only big thing in Chicago is calling the freeways by name instead of number, i.e the Kennedy or the Dan Ryan instead of their interstate number designations.

[rosiedoes.livejournal.com]

Awesome. That actually is useful - thank you!