Is Calgary the only city in Canada that has "street direction" as part of the address?

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steviep1968

I think it's an Alberta thing because Medicine Hat uses this system as well.

kingsgirl

Yes, I think it's pretty common.

I know it's used at least in London, Ontario, but even in smaller towns and cities you may get an address directing you north/south/east/or west on a particular road.

TMLeaf Fan

Yes there are...there are several cities with direction in the address. Edmonton, Toronto (Queen St E and W), London (Richmond St N)....

John M

Nope...Edmonton has it as well

Lydia

No, some areas in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan use directions as well.

david_s_ca

Yes, I know about Edmonton and Calgary street addresses. This format is not really street direction, but location, as it which quadrant (NE, NW, SE, SO) the location is in. Washington DC is also like this. Street direction refers not to one of the 4 quadrants, but which side (E, W, N, S). For example, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Manhattan, Laval, Longueuil, Pembrooke, Miami, Mississauga, and Brampton are some places that have street directions in the address. In Toronto, 100 Dundas Street West means that it is located west of a central dividing line. The dividing line is Yonge Street that cuts Toronto into eastern and western halves. West 51 Street in Manhattan means that it is on 51st Street, located west of Fifth Avenue that divides Manhattan into east and west.

ab1609

Giving directions like Bloor St E in Toronto is quite common in many Canadian cities and towns.
Living in the GTA you get used to describing your address by using the closest major intersection of the grid-like streets - like a side street in the NE corner of Bay and Bloor or at the corner of Woodbine and Steeles (E).

A real interesting tidbit regarding addresses is the inner city of Mannheim, Germany where blocks are named by letter and number - from A1 to U6 (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheimer_Quadrate) and no street names are used.

Goddess of Grammar

Calgary is the only one I can think of that uses quadrants, starting from the middle and working out. (Not exactly the middle; the Bow River is what divides North & South.)
So there could actually be four different "934 2nd Avenues", one for each quadrant.

Edmonton as far as I know starts at 0 and heads north, so it would have 128th Street N but not 128th Street S. I don't remember them having E and W either (but I haven't been there in 20 years...).

Montreal has East and West but not North and South, and it doesn't have any numbered streets and avenues. You would still need the E. or W. to know which, say, 500 St. Catherine St. you were going to.

Magick_is_you!

I'm not sure what some ppl are talking about...I'm in Edmonton all the time, I've never seen N,S, E, W anything..although I don't usually have to look at the street address to know where I'm going...And when I do have to look for an addy, I've still not noticed that....That's one of the reasons I find Edmonton so much easier to get around than Calgary...I suck at directions and they use so many bloody street names...is there some sort of order to these names? numbers are far easier...

old lady

Yes, it is quite common. Especially with numbered streets and avenues, but sometimes with named streets as well.

Adventure: The street names are often in alphabetical order, which gives some sense of order. Or they may be in clusters. For example, in Vancouver there is a stretch where the street names are all trees -- Fir, Alder, Spruce, Hemlock, etc. or where they are all politicians, or historical figures or whatever.

chaotic_dar

the reason for it, is that there are many "2nd Avenues" within the city. Many of cities use it. It sure helps the cabbies out! ;)

mac121000

Not sure about Canada, but in Wisconsin, we have the same thing.

for example, address look like this for a lot of us here in the Milwaukee area - N54 W13100 Mill Rd - it's a real pain.

tonalc1

I'd not heard of this (and sorry, I'm unable to answer your question re Canada), but I think it's a great idea.

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