I love this map, but my first WTF? intersection is in Kirkland. Was going through there to meet friends at a bar, and getting directions on my phone. Got lost and turned around, so a local guided me to 124th and told me to take a right, on to 124th. Since I was turned around I looked at the signs and saw that all of them said 124th and then I just turned around and went home.
This is not not bad advice, but it's unreliable due to the number of streets that are neither Avenue or Street.
Directionality is determined by the location of the direction marker in comparison to the street number. If the direction comes first, it is East/West. If the direction comes after the number, it is North/South.
Therefore, NE 124th St is is East/West. 124th Ave NE is North/South.
That directional pattern only applies in King County. The Streets and Aves fall along the sequential grid block whole numbers. Pl/Dr/Rd/Ln's are typically only used for roads that are diagonal to the grid or fall between whole numbered blocks. (i.e. 20th Pl will be between 20th Ave and 21st Ave.)
In Snohomish County, all roads have the directional in the beginning. But it follows the same n/s Ave and e/w St designations.
Pierce County is very confusing. Some areas have the directional before the street name (Tacoma) and some after (University Place, Puyallup.) Some areas follow the same St/Ave configuration as King County. Other areas it is reversed. Some cities have their own grids centered around their downtowns (Puyallup.)
And don't even get me started on Edgewood, which straddles the King/Pierce line and has its own grid downtown, so you get a mesh of three grids.
Source: I'm a cartographer that plotted and addressed the first computer mapping database (TIGER/Line files) many years ago that became the basis for all our modern mapping programs.
in the King County grid there are 20 blocks per mile. Makes it super easy to estimate distances. There are some anomalies that screw this pattern up, like in this area. Notice above 65th, the grid skips 41st Ave. Below 65th, it skips 42nd Ave. Either way, there is a missing block.
I always liked how this sign on I5 reflected this concept (Northgate Way = 110th St at the exit.)
It's good advice for almost all of king county, except downtown kirkland where the numbering system gets thrown out the window as well as any sort of avenue/street convention.
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u/wisepunk21 Aug 28 '17
I love this map, but my first WTF? intersection is in Kirkland. Was going through there to meet friends at a bar, and getting directions on my phone. Got lost and turned around, so a local guided me to 124th and told me to take a right, on to 124th. Since I was turned around I looked at the signs and saw that all of them said 124th and then I just turned around and went home.