>And what's with the US'n habit of numbering streets, anyway? Makes it real easy for foreigners like me - if you can count - but, miGawd, how banal! Why don't you give them interesting names like Bill Clinton Avenue or Devine Brown Road or Hugh Heffner Tollway?
In Western Canada there are a lot of numbered thoroughfares as well. One of its biggest virtues, as you pointed out, is that it is hard to get lost. Several years back, when I lived in Surrey, my address was 12233 92nd Avenue. Just reading the address anybody being invited over would know that the nearest intersection was 122 St.
At the other end of the spectrum, I have seen cases where the city planner of the developer must have done the naming while in an alcoholic haze. One of my other former addresses was on Rosebank Crescent. The streets in the area included Rosemary, Roselea, Rosebush, Rose Ad Nauseum lane, etc.
Finally, Richmond, BC had a contest to name the new bridge across river to Vancouver. The bridge was built at the end of #5 Road. Any guesses what the winning entry was? That's right, the #5 Road bridge. It almost like naming your dog, Dog. It displays a certain lack of imagination, although, avoids the political fallout of naming it after somebody someone is sure to dislike.
