Where the streets have two names. Or three.
Driving in Atlanta is one of the most stressful activities you’ll ever engage in. For one, traffic is horrendous during rush hour. While there’s traffic in literally all major cities in the world during rush hour, Atlanta’s rush hour goes from 7AM until 8PM. Atlanta’s rush hour extends beyond what is normal for other cities. There’s the morning rush hour (7-9:30AM), lunch rush hour (12Noon-1:30PM), and afternoon rush hour (3:30PM-8PM).
Drivers in Atlanta also seldom never follow the speed limit. Going at least 10 miles over the limit is a must because going any slower will only get you into more accidents. You’ll see motorists passing on your right using the shoulder, most will tailgate, and some will simply cut you off. Watch this video and see for yourself. This short movie was created by students for their annual campus movie fest.
.
As if the bumper-to-bumper traffic and drag racing speeds are not enough to make you wish you stayed at home instead, add one more to that: streets with the same names and the same street with different names. First off, Atlanta is famous for naming streets beginning with Peachtree. In fact, there are over 40 streets named Peachtree — Peachtree Rd, Peachtree Battle, Peachtree Corners… you get the drift. But what would really confuse even the most experienced driver in Atlanta is the fact that there are many names for a single street. The picture I took below is just one classic example (this was taken on a surface street somewhere north of Interstate-85).
.
Here are some of Atlanta’s famous streets with multiple names (note: streets change names depending on direction of travel):
But the most confusing of all, if you aren’t confused yet, is that there are also different streets with the same names. Most times, it’s because of how the roads are constructed so instead of making the road fork, you’ll either have to make a right or left turn. Notable ones are:
So what does these all mean? Simply put: driving in Atlanta will drive you crazy. End rant.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, GA
September 19th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Chloe: I feel your pain. I think there is an unwritten law here in Northern Virginia about naming streets. It seems that every street changes it’s name every 2.5 miles and it must use Rebert E. Lee’s name every third name change. You woulds think there were more than one hero from Virgina worth naming a street after.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:41 am
[...] roadwork will give you road rage. And if you are indeed prone to road rage, Chloe wants you to know a few reasons driving in Atlanta might cause you stress. On the other hand, Lynn loves Paris and the French language but DO NOT [...]