Bonus List
U.S. CITIES WITH THE STRAIGHTEST AND LEAST-STRAIGHT STREETS
U.S. cities vary widely regarding their street layouts. Many cities in
the Great Plains and valleys in the West have a lot of straight streets,
especially their major streets, while cities on the East Coast (or
Honululu, which has complex terrain) have a lot of streets that are
curvy, crooked or frequently switch direction. While most streets
(except in some central business districts) in the Midwest and West
are aligned with the compass directions (north, east, south, west),
few streets on the East Coast or in the Appalachians are aligned
that way. (Bonus points are given in the "straightest streets" list
for streets aligned with the compass direction, partly because they
usually keep that alignment for long distances; thus, they are more
straight.)
And, yes...these lists are quite subjective; other people might rank these
cities differently or include smaller cities which aren't on this list
but have either really straight streets (Hutchinson, Kansas) or really
crooked and curvy streets (Charleston, West Virginia; both Hutchinson
and Charleston might be #1 in their respective lists if smaller cities
were included).
Despite nearby mountains, Salt Lake City's streets are so straight
that they are named after addresses. Thus, drive on a street called
600 South, and your cross streets (such as 700 East) will all have
addresses of around 600 South near the intersection (that method of
naming streets usually only works where the streets are really
straight).
In contrast, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with its large hills, forces
many streets which might start out straight to bend or curve after
a short distance. There are some exceptions, but not many.
Straightest Streets:
1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Phoenix, Arizona
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Laredo, Texas
5. Lubbock, Texas
6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7. Fresno, California
8. Miami, Florida
9. Detroit, Michigan
10. Denver, Colorado
Least-Straight Streets:
1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. Springfield, Massachusetts
4. Providence, Rhode Island
5. Worcester, Massachusetts
6. Raleigh, North Carolina
7. Hartford, Connecticut
8. Charlotte, North Carolina
9. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
10. Cincinnati, Ohio
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Copyright ©2005 Brandt Maxwell.