Grid System (Phoenix, Mesa, Apache Junction: home, park, metro area)

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by mdtoaz

So the streets are typically north and south, and the avenues are east and west? I know I'm going to get that backwards when I move out there. Good thing there's a compass on my rearview mirror.

Don't worry about it. Once you get to AZ and start driving around you'll quickly get the hang of the place. I never got lost when driving in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, etc... Within my first month of moving there I knew my way around pretty well and seldom had to resort to using a map. Compared to the California street system it was a breeze and it will be even more of a breeze than the UK streets once I get back to AZ.

I LOVE the grid system.

[jksouthbay88]

So you have numbered streets that run n-s,and e-w?
So no "meet me at 44th and whatever?"

[uconn99]

Numbered street and avenues don't run east and west, except for some parts of Tempe and Mesa, but these street's are not part of the grid.


For example, I live on 44th st. and Thomas. Most people don't say Thomas road or Camelback road, we simply say Thomas or Camelback. When talking about the streets and avenues you have to say I live on 44th st. and Thomas, if you didn't say 44th st you could have been mistaken for 44th ave. It is a lot easier than it sounds. Once you live here you will know the way around very easily.

Rule one, if it is an avenue, it is far!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by uconn99

Numbered street and avenues don't run east and west, except for some parts of Tempe and Mesa, but these street's are not part of the grid.


For example, I live on 44th st. and Thomas. Most people don't say Thomas road or Camelback road, we simply say Thomas or Camelback. When talking about the streets and avenues you have to say I live on 44th st. and Thomas, if you didn't say 44th st you could have been mistaken for 44th ave. It is a lot easier than it sounds. Once you live here you will know the way around very easily.

Rule one, if it is an avenue, it is far!

However if you talk to a native they usually don't say ave or st. Myself, and all my native az friends will just say 44th and thomas (and we know that it's in the streets and not the aves). One reason is because that is a major cross street, whereas 44th ave is not. The way the grid system is set up is the major streets are even and the major avenues are odd numbers. So, 35th and northern would be 35th ave automatically, as that is a major avenue and 35th st is not. Now if we want to tell someone the cross streets that are not a major one we will add the "st." or "ave" so they will understand. Such as 54th st, (as the major streets are tatum (48th, or 56th st). I think this is an advanced course in the grid system and how we use it

It's funny my friend and I were talking about how this is the other day. So, for a tip, if you are talking to someone who is a native, or has been here forever, and you don't understand them make sure to ask them exactly what they mean, it may get confusing.

Oh yeah, there are some named streets that run N-S, such as Tatum (which is at the 48th hundred block) and Scottsdale (72nd block).

[aj661]

Several of the cities have their own little ways of separating themselves from Phoenix. Even if you miss the "Now leaving..." or the "Welcome to..." signs, the easiest way to know you've crossed a border is to look at the streets signs. You don't even have to read them. Phoenix has the classic white with black lettering except at some major cross streets, as did Scottsdale decades and decades ago. Chandler has it's Puppy-p**p brown with white letters, Mesa has green with white, etc. (sorry Chandler, but I lived there when they did the change in the late eighties and I didn't like it), This doesn't apply to every city, just like Tempe having to be different and run it's numbered streets in the wrong direction, as well as having to changes the names at the border, i.e. Scottsdale Road becomes Rural Road in Tempe, Hayden becomes McClintock. Glendale does it too. Dunlap changes to Olive for example.

But the grid system is extremely easy to learn. On major arteries you'll always be driving N-S or E-W. Unless you're on Grand Avenue, and then it's NW-SE. If it gets too confusing, learn the mountains and use them as reference points-Camelback, South Mtn, Superstitions; Then you'll never get lost, just temporarily misplaced.

Holy c**p! I can't even use the word p**p? I can't believe this s**t! Who the h**l makes the rules on this @$*&%$g d**n board? .

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by aj661

Holy c**p! I can't even use the word p**p? I can't believe this s**t! Who the h**l makes the rules on this @$*&%$g d**n board? .

ROFLMAO!

Aj, you had me laughing so much I almost forgot what I was going to post

Thanks for the heads-up about the color of signs. I never realized that when I lived in the area. I'll have to remember it when I get back there.

[rambrush]

Lets clarify this a tad.
Goodyear used to be on a different numbering Scheme, Because the residents in the old part of town would have to give up address they have had for years they remained the same. All new construction over the last several years has been on standard addressing schemes.

Out west the numbers continue to climb up into 511th ave out in Harquahala valley.

Odd address's are always on south or east side of the road. Evens are always North or west side of the road.

There is one also for places plazas courts etc. they are divided by central as well.

A ways back convience store kinda places sold a small booklet that had this info in it explaining if you wanted a address on a court it would be east or west side of town.

[JMX]

One quirky thing to know it that the 8-blocks-per-mile numbering system for North-South roads doesn't apply in the 3-mile-wide section from 19th Ave (on the west) to 16th St (on the east). It is one mile from 19th Ave to 7th Ave (a difference of "12") and then only a half mile from 7th Ave to Central. Then it's another half mile from Central to 7th St and then another mile from 7th St to 16th St.

But going outwards from 19th Ave and from 16th St, the 8-blocks-per-mile numbering system applies. So 19th Ave, 27th Ave, 35th Ave, etc. are the major grid roads, as are 16th St, 24th St, 32nd St, etc.

Also, sometimes it's convenient to use the "half-mile" roads as reference points. As the name implies, these roads lie half-way between the major "mile roads". Numbered half-mile roads are 23rd Ave, 31st Ave, 39th Ave, etc. or 20th St, 28th St, 36th St, etc.. Some named (East-West) half-mile roads are Osborn, Missouri, Maryland, Cholla, Sweetwater, etc.

Once you understand the grid, then it becomes easier to know how the addressing system works. East-West addresses are easier to learn because they directly follow the numbering of Avenues and Streets. For example 4568 E Cactus is located on Cactus Rd between 45th St. (the 4500 block) and 46th St. (the 4600 block).

North-South addresses are harder because you have to know the numbering system for the named East-West roads, which is not as consistent as the North-South roads. Washington St. is the dividing line between North and South addresses, but it's not a major grid road. Van Buren is on the grid and it's 300 North (three blocks north of Washington). A mile north from there is McDowell Rd, which is 1600 North. Continuing north, you have Thomas Rd at 2900 North, Indian School Rd at 4100 North, Camelback Rd at 5000 North, etc. So if you know these numbers, it's easy to find an address. For example, 455 N 3rd St is on 3rd St about a block and a half north of Van Buren. Another example farther north is 21001 N Tatum, which is on Tatum Blvd a little south of Deer Valley Rd (at 21800 North). Tatum Blvd is a North-South road that is named rather than numbered.

[silverojo]

Originally Posted by CodyW

I'm not sure why the east valley cities break the numbering system.

Because they were cities separate from Phoenix and each other, so they had their own numbering systems in place, before urban sprawl merged them together.

[CodyW]

If that were the case - the west valley would differ from the system as much as the east valley does.