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...use the word "the" to describe the highways they're on, like "The 5" and "The 101"? That seems so weird to me. Out here, we say I-85 or just plain old 85. Does this sound weird to anyone else? Maybe I'm just weird
How about expressions like "the fifty-one freeway" (for AZ state route 51)? It's a California thing mainly, and has also spread into Phoenix and Las Vegas. Pretty much everywhere else in "the west," people do not say "THE." If you talk like that in Colorado, people will know instantly you're from California.
How about expressions like "the fifty-one freeway" (for AZ state route 51)? It's a California thing mainly, and has also spread into Phoenix and Las Vegas. Pretty much everywhere else in "the west," people do not say "THE." If you talk like that in Colorado, people will know instantly you're from California.
I didn't know I was riding "The 10" until a local mentioned it to me.
Did you think that, maybe it is a more important way of life in California? The title will tell someone where he has to go, where he is, what part of the city she's in ( ...she lives south of the 10. ). No one in L. A. says 'interstate'. They're seperate freeways there, with their own names that denote origin ( ..the 10 is the Santa Monica, the 405 is the San Diego.. ). It's like someone in NY saying they'll have to take the 6, and the A. Someone in Chicago who will take the 'EL'. There is no such thing as the O. C., however. Until recently.
How roads are discussed is regional. Here in Chicago most everything that requires one get on an entrance ramp is generically called "the expressway" and I know that is not the case in California because I've had this discussion with California transplants when trying to give them driving directions somewhere and they commented on how I referred to what they would call a 'freeway' or 'interstate' as an expressway (I rarely use the words 'freeway' or 'interstate' when talking about roads).
In STL most people call them highways not freeways or expressways.
They go by their number. Such as 55 for interstate 55.
The interstates have names but no-one uses them. Such as interstate 70 is named the Mark Twain Expressway.
There is federal highway 40. A few years ago they extended interstate 64 which ended in the metro east area to include highway 40. No one calls the Missouri extension interstate 64. It still goes by highway 40 but with the St. Louis accent it's pronounced highway "farty". Interstate 44, becomes highway "farty four"
California is also different in that exits are not numbered but named according to the street you will exit onto. So instead of seeing something like "exit 220" you will instead see "University Ave."
I know there are other states that use street names when denoting exits, but it seems like the use of numbers is more prevalent elsewhere.
Did you think that, maybe it is a more important way of life in California? The title will tell someone where he has to go, where he is, what part of the city she's in ( ...she lives south of the 10. ). No one in L. A. says 'interstate'. They're seperate freeways there, with their own names that denote origin ( ..the 10 is the Santa Monica, the 405 is the San Diego.. ). It's like someone in NY saying they'll have to take the 6, and the A. Someone in Chicago who will take the 'EL'. There is no such thing as the O. C., however. Until recently.
I was on "the 10" in Phoenix, but it was something new to me. Important to them or not, I regarded it nothing more than a new experience. I'd be more prone to tell somebody to take I-10 or more commonly for me, I-75. It just ones of those things you run into when you travel.
I ended up in NYC saying "Red Line", "Yellow Line", "Blue Line", etc. because the same color got you to the same areas (discounting locals and expresses).
I have lived all over the west coast from Southern California to northernmost Washington. People call "the" freeways (i.e. "the" 5) all over. But its not something a person notices. Since moving to Texas, however, I DO notice how many highways have many different names. Thats something we dont have on the west coast and its SO ANNOYING. If you're driving to a new area and you're trying to follow directions, there could be 3 names for THE SAME ROAD. When you're cruising down the freeway/highway at 60 mph trying to read through all the names on the turnoffs is stressful. GPS is pathetic here. It names streets to turn on that are called something else. Some of the rural roads dont even have street signs! With all the toll roads, I really appreciate all the "FREEways" in the Northwest.
GET ME OUTTA HERE!!
I have lived all over the west coast from Southern California to northernmost Washington. People call "the" freeways (i.e. "the" 5) all over. But its not something a person notices. Since moving to Texas, however, I DO notice how many highways have many different names. Thats something we dont have on the west coast and its SO ANNOYING. If you're driving to a new area and you're trying to follow directions, there could be 3 names for THE SAME ROAD. When you're cruising down the freeway/highway at 60 mph trying to read through all the names on the turnoffs is stressful. GPS is pathetic here. It names streets to turn on that are called something else. Some of the rural roads dont even have street signs! With all the toll roads, I really appreciate all the "FREEways" in the Northwest.
GET ME OUTTA HERE!!
Ha ha! I bet you'd REALLY like driving in NJ, NY, & PA. There are toll roads everywhere. The only toll road I didn't agree with was I-294 in Chicago. Since I didn't have EZ-Pass, I had to pull over every few miles and pay $.80. Not to menton the exit on I-90 charged me $.50. Oh, If only I could've just paid the toll in one lump sump when I turned onto the exit ramp, that would've saved me a lot of time.
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There is no such thing as the O. C., however. Until recently.
The only toll road I didn't agree with was I-294 in Chicago. Since I didn't have EZ-Pass, I had to pull over every few miles and pay $.80. Not to menton the exit on I-90 charged me $.50. Oh, If only I could've just paid the toll in one lump sump when I turned onto the exit ramp, that would've saved me a lot of time.
