What makes a street a street and an avenue an avenue? They're not just named at random. There's no rulebook for building a city, but there are naming conventions that are surprisingly strong, ones you'll find across the world. There are exceptions, but if you comb through postal service guides, state departments of transportation, and dictionaries, you can start to decipher a code behind our roads.
是什麼讓街道之所以稱為街道，而大道為大道呢？它們並不只是隨機命名的。打造一座城市並沒有規則手冊，但卻有出乎意料有力的命名慣例，你會在世界各地發現它們。例外是有的，但若你徹底搜查郵政服務指南、國家交通運輸部門，以及字典，你可以開始破解我們道路背後的一套規則。
It starts simple—a road can be anything that connects two points. A way is a small side street off of a road. But then things build up. Streets are public ways that have buildings on both sides. And you'll recognize them because they often run perpendicular to avenues, which will have trees or buildings on both sides too. The cardinal directions—North, South, East, or West—vary by city, but that perpendicular pattern of streets and avenues is common to a lot of places.
一開始很簡單－－road(道路)可以是連結兩點的任何東西。Way(小路)是道路外的旁支小道。但接著東西逐漸累加。Street(街道)是有建築物在兩側的公共小路。你會認出它們，因為它們經常和avenue(大道)垂直相交，那也會有樹木或建築物在兩側。基本方位－－北、南、東，或西－－隨城市變化，但街道與大道垂直相交的模式在許多地方都很常見。
This is a boulevard—a big wide street with trees on both sides. You'll find a median in a lot of boulevards, too. It's basically the opposite of a lane, which is a narrow road, often in a rural area. A drive takes its cues from the environment. It's a long, winding road that might have its route shaped by a nearby mountain or lake. That might lead to a terrace, a street that follows the top of a slope. A place, however, is a road or a street with no throughway, basically a dead end. Meanwhile, a court will end in a circle or loop, without a throughway. It's like a cousin to a plaza or square, an open public space that's surrounded by businesses or streets. And all of these roads connect to the wider world.
這是一條 boulevard(大道)－－一條有著樹木在兩側的寬廣街道。你也會在許多大道上發現安全島。它基本上是 lane(巷弄)的相反，巷弄是狹窄的道路，經常在偏鄉地區。Drive(車道)深受環境的影響。它是又長又蜿蜒的道路，路徑可能會受鄰近的山或湖形塑而成。那可能會引領至 terrace(住宅街道)，它是接著斜坡頂部的街道。但 place(死胡同)則是個沒有通道的道路或街道，基本上是條死路。與此同時，court(死巷)會終於一個圓圈或環路，沒有通道。它像是 plaza(廣場)或 square(廣場)的親戚，那是被商家或街道圍繞的開放公共空間。這所有道路連接到更寬廣的世界。
A frontage road, or access road or service road, runs parallel to a larger road, providing local access. That larger public road might be a highway, a major public road that connects larger cities. An interstate is part of a highway system, but it's defined by being a federally funded network of roads. It often goes between states, but it doesn't have to. Hawaii has Interstate H1, and you don't want to take an interstate to get there.
Frontage road(銜接道路)，或稱 access road 或 service road，與一條更大的路平向而行，供為地方通行。那更大的公共道路也許是條 highway(公路)，一條銜接較大城市的主要公共道路。Interstate(州際公路)是公路系統的一部分，但州際公路的定義是由聯邦政府出資的路網。它經常行經州與州之間，但沒有一定。夏威夷有州際公路 H1，而你不會想經由州際公路到那裡去。
A turnpike is part of a highway, but it usually means you'll hit a tollbooth, while a freeway is distinguished by size, with two or more lanes on each side. A beltway, meanwhile, is a highway that surrounds a whole city, like a belt. A parkway is a decorated public road, usually called that for the parkland on the side of the road. Wanna know why you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Parkways were originally more pastoral, and they had that parkland on the side, and driveways were often longer, making them "ways" off of "drives." A junction is where two roads cross. In an interchange, it's at a different height, while at an intersection it's at the same height. Causeways are different raised roads that pass across low or swampy ground, or water.
Turnpike(收費道路)是公路的一部分，但這通常表示你會遇到一個收費亭，而 freeway(高速公路)可以從大小來區別，它在兩側各有兩排以上的車道。與此同時，beltway(環城高速公路)是一條環繞整座城市的公路，像條皮帶。Parkway(園道)是裝點過的公共道路，通常是因為路邊的綠地而被那樣稱呼。想知道為何你是 drive(行駛)在 parkway(園道)上，而 park(停車)在 driveway(私人車道)上呢？園道原本位處更加偏鄉，且它們有綠地在側邊，而私人車道通常比較長，讓它們成為駛出大車道的小路。。Junction(路口)是兩條道路相交的地方。在 interchange(交流道)，它處於不同的高度，而在 intersection(十字路口)則處於相同高度。Causeway(堤道)是經過低窪處或沼澤地、或水域的另一種高架道路。
And the rest of the most common roads are the odds and ends. Crescents are winding roads that usually resemble...well, a crescent, and often attach to a road at both ends. An alley is a small pathway between buildings, which might not be driveable. And then there's an esplanade, a long open path or road near the ocean, that's also called a promenade if it's primarily for walking. All these names aren't there to confuse us, but to make roads and cities clearer. And now you won't just know where you are, but how you got there, too.
剩下的最常見道路都很瑣碎。Crescent(彎形街道)是蜿蜒的道路，經常像是...這個嘛，一彎新月，且經常在兩端都有連結道路。Alley(巷子)是在建築物間的小徑，車可能開不進去。然後還有 esplanade(濱海大道)，那是在海邊的開放式長徑或道路，也被稱作 promenade(海濱人行道)，如果它主要是用來行走的話。這所有名稱不是為了把我們搞糊塗，而是讓道路和城市更加清楚。現在你不僅會知道你在哪，也知道你怎麼抵達那的。
So these street naming conventions are just that. They are conventions, they are not hard and fast rules, and there are plenty of exceptions. And that is the case in Tuscon, Arizona, because in Tuscon, the streets run East/West, the avenues run North/South, and something called the Stravenue—postal abbreviation "STRA"—runs diagonally.
所以這些街道命名慣例就是那樣。它們是慣例，它們不是硬性規定，而且有很多例外。而那就是在亞利桑那州土桑市的情況，因為在土桑市，街道往東西向通行，大道往南北向通行，還有叫做 Stravenue 的東西－－郵政縮寫「STRA」－－是斜對角向地通行。
