Reply #86: CRAP [View All]

[Patsy Stone]

That's the acronym. Courts, Roads, Avenues and Places run north/south. Most everything else runs east/west, but there are, of course, some named streets and circular roads that don't always adhere to the plan. Streets and Avenues are the major thoroughfares, with Terraces and Places and Courts filling in the middle of the pattern, but you have to know which direction you're looking for.

Miami (the City of Miami that is) along with all of the surrounding municipalities runs off of a grid system. The zero point is in downtown: the intersection of Miami Avenue and Flagler Street. Everything radiating out from there has a direction in front of it. NW, SW, SE, NE. Except for three places: Miami Beach, Hialeah, and Coral Gables. They have their own street systems. Coral Gables is all named after Spanish towns and conquerors, with no rhyme or reason. The street signs are concrete blocks on the ground. At snake-eye level as Dave Barry once said. Even the locals get lost in Coral Gables. Hialeah is also on a grid system, but it's a completely different grid, for no good reason. The minute you cross the line into Hialeah your street becomes a totally different street. NE 103rd Street becomes West 49th Street. I don't know why, it just does. But the coffee is really good in Hialeah, there's a famous racetrack, and they have great thrift stores, so we keep on going.

Sorry he had a tough time. If he's around again let me know. I'll talk him down. :)

Nice to see you, CC! :hi: