"Grid" roads vs randomly placed roads (map, metro, downtown)

[michigan83]

Question for everyone:

I'm from the Midwest, and one thing that I like about it is the fact that I usually know what direction I'm going, due to the roads being arranged in a "grid" pattern. Most of the roads go directly north, south, east or west, and form square miles.

This makes it really easy to figure out where you are even if you don't really "know where you are," so to speak. It also makes it really easy to grasp how far a mile is, because the next road is always a mile away. Quite often the roads will even be named 7 Mile, 8 Mile, etc, and count down from county borders. Makes it super easy to figure things out.

So... how do people do it in other places? I've driven out East and in the Appalachians, and you basically can't assume anything about where a road is going to take you. It makes for some scenic drives, but how do people manage to navigate? Any transplants that have struggled with this?

[LovinDecatur]

Atlanta is infamous for the latter, although the roads that wind around the city were not random. Many just adapted to the trails that the Cherokee Indians had already established, or were a 'path of least resistance' around the hilly topography of the city. It can be very difficult on a newcomer...thank Heaven for GPS.

[mw_ch3_ch2_oh]

There's hardly any rhyme or reason to the street layout in Boston. The only really grid area I can think of is the Back Bay.

[BelieveInCleve]

Most the areas with grid roads have flatter terrains, which makes it easier to build like that. In hilly cities and cities with not so flat terrain, its very difficult to make a grid system. You will notice a lot of the roads in these cities go around hills, because its too steep to go straight up.

There are some exceptions though. San Francisco has hilly terrain and still managed to keep the majority of the city on a grid pattern. Then you see cities with very flat terrain that just make the street grid confusing for the heck of it. One example is Lake Jackson, TX and they did that on purpose.

I prefer grid patterns, as theyre much easier to drive through and not get lost. Cities like Boston and Pittsburgh are pretty confusing to drive through, especially if youre not from the city.

[MetroBTR]

The grid system is much better functionally, but some places it isn't an option because of terrain.

[thedudewiththeplan]

Yeah, metro Atlanta roads are pretty crazy. The combination of windy roads and one ways in downtown ATL can make it take a while just to go a street over sometimes.

[Widowmaker2k]

I far prefer windy random roads. I get confused as hell on grid layouts. Some roads only go 1 direction, some just dead end, you can't tell them apart, it seems like you have to guess which lane you should be in at times, etc. With windy roads, once you find someplace, you'll never forget how to get there, because it's unique. With grid systems, if you forget the exact street address, you can get lost 3 times going to the same place because everything looks the same (with some notable exceptions, obviously).

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Cle440

Most the areas with grid roads have flatter terrains, which makes it easier to build like that. In hilly cities and cities with not so flat terrain, its very difficult to make a grid system. You will notice a lot of the roads in these cities go around hills, because its too steep to go straight up.

There are some exceptions though. San Francisco has hilly terrain and still managed to keep the majority of the city on a grid pattern. Then you see cities with very flat terrain that just make the street grid confusing for the heck of it. One example is Lake Jackson, TX and they did that on purpose.

I prefer grid patterns, as theyre much easier to drive through and not get lost. Cities like Boston and Pittsburgh are pretty confusing to drive through, especially if youre not from the city.

Seattle also.

Just about every small Oregon town is on a grid pattern of some sort, usually numbered and/or lettered in order for a while at least before you hit the newer development. County roads are impossible to have in a grid though, due to the terrain.

You can't always count on Portland's streets to be through streets just because they're on a grid. For example, you can be going east on a 2-way street and find yourself forced to turn left and go north onto a one-way street without any warning because the street turns into a one-way west... Or it just stops for a couple blocks and then picks up again. That happens allllll the time in Portland and in Eugene too. Doesn't help that you can't even read the street signs in Portland...

[citylover94]

In Boston the downtown and North End areas do not have a grid while other sections of the city are on a grid. The reason that large parts of Boston are not on a grid is that the oldest roads followed the paths around hills and along the waterfront and with the filling of the tidal flats the roads now are inland and appear random. The areas of the city on a grid such as the South End and Back Bay neighborhoods were built in areas that were filled and many other sections have an irregular or curvilinear grid that follows elevation lines.

[nei]

Originally Posted by michigan83

Question for everyone:

I'm from the Midwest, and one thing that I like about it is the fact that I usually know what direction I'm going, due to the roads being arranged in a "grid" pattern. Most of the roads go directly north, south, east or west, and form square miles.

This makes it really easy to figure out where you are even if you don't really "know where you are," so to speak. It also makes it really easy to grasp how far a mile is, because the next road is always a mile away. Quite often the roads will even be named 7 Mile, 8 Mile, etc, and count down from county borders. Makes it super easy to figure things out.

So... how do people do it in other places? I've driven out East and in the Appalachians, and you basically can't assume anything about where a road is going to take you. It makes for some scenic drives, but how do people manage to navigate? Any transplants that have struggled with this?

Umm. We got maps out here. After a while, I get a map of my area in my head.