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I like NYC in general, but I hate the street grid. It is the most boring street pattern you can possibly imagine. I wish they would have done something like DC or Boston where it is more based around epicenters with roads going out from there. At least more Broadway-type diagonal streets. Am I alone in hating the street grid?
Yes, you are. It's organized easily so people can figure out where they're going without a hassle. I also think you're one of the few people that like the Boston one, because most of the people I know in Boston absolutely hate it because of how confusing it is, and hard to follow.
I think you are alone on that one, too. I love the grid. I love Boston - but everytime I go there, I get lost. And when I drive in Boston - forget about it! It is the most confusing place ever. The grid rocks and I wouldn't change it for anything. And I don't think that the street layout for a city makes a difference in whether the city is interesting or not - but it can definitely make it easy or difficult to make your way through the city!
Boston, except for the Back Bay, is so old that it was not "designed" at all (similar to lower Manhattan).
The problem with designed cities is that they're usually about political power. A Frenchman based DC on Versailles. It's really a stage set meant to convey status and political power. The Manhattan grid was designed to be both egalitarian and practical. It fulfills a completely different purpose. If New York had remained the capital, streets would look a lot more like DC.
I like NYC in general, but I hate the street grid. It is the most boring street pattern you can possibly imagine. I wish they would have done something like DC or Boston where it is more based around epicenters with roads going out from there. At least more Broadway-type diagonal streets. Am I alone in hating the street grid?
I remember visiting NYC in January, and walking around lower Manhattan, in the freezing/windy 14 degree weather, trying to get to my destination, walking in circles and circles and circles for about an hour and just about break down, lose it and scream at the top of my lungs.
I couldn't even imagine the entire Manhattan with the street maze that is the Financial District.
New York's grid system is very efficient, the city was definitely built the way a large city should be. It avoids confusion to people not familiar with the area and not good with directions, as well as alleviate traffic issues.
Sometimes grids are confusing too. I am constantly confused in Queens.
For example, in Queens, the intersection of 24th Road and 23rd St. is a block away from 24th Drive and 23rd St., which is one more block from 24th Ave and 23rd St....just one more away from 23rd Terrace and 23rd Street!
Edited to say that in this case, it's not the grid itself that's confusing but rather the stupidly named (numbered) streets/roads/avenues/terraces.
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