New York Streets
Do they still have the Avenue Sprint in NYC? What I mean by that is the system where the traffic lights on the avenues all turn green as far as you can see at the same time, so of course, everyone goes like a bat out of hell to get as far as possible before they all turn red. That's the way it went back in the 70's, which was the last time I drove in Manhattan. In Baltimore, we have timed lights on the principal traffic arteries. This is a computer-controlled system whereby the lights on a given street are set to turn green in rotation so that if you can maintain a steady 29 mph or so, you can go a long way without ever stopping for a red light. Of course, this is easier said than done; maintaining a steady pace without getting stuck in back of some fool trying to make a left turn (maybe from a middle lane), or avoiding UPS trucks stopped illegally in the right lane to make a delivery or even illegally parked cars, is done by carefully choosing lanes and switching when necessary, which is a real science.
On the subject of strange street names, I just remembered Caracas, Venezuela, where I have often had occasion to send goods or documents. Apparently there are no street numbers there, so you have addresses like, "Avenida Simon Bolivar across the street from Sears Roebuck", or, "Avenida XX Agosto a stone's throw from the public library and around the corner from the Royal Cinema".
