Street suffix

A street suffix is the word that follows the name of a street to further describe that street. Some examples in the United States, other than "street," are avenue, road, drive, and lane.

Guidelines

Streets running east and west are called "drives" or "avenues", whereas streets running north and south are called "streets" or "roads". Dead-end streets are "lanes" and private drives are "ways". Other designations such as "boulevard", "pike" and "circle" can be requested.

Common American Street Suffixes

*Alley (usually refers to a rear service road used as access to garages, service doors, Dumpsters, etc.)
*Avenue (one of the most common suffixes, can refer to a small residential street or a major roadway)
*Boulevard (usually indicates a wide street, often tree-lined, that is of major importance)
*Bypass (usually used after another suffix, for example: "Tenth Street Bypass")
*Circle (usually a small residential street whose shape is circular)
*Court (usually a residential street which is a cul-de-sac)
*Cove (similar to court, and often named after the street it connects to)
*Drive (usually used in suburban areas both for residential streets and major roadways)
*Esplanade (usually designates a pedestrian-only space)
*Expressway (usually used for limited-access highways)
*Extension (usually used after another suffix, for example: "Maple Avenue Extension")
*Freeway (usually used for limited-access highways)
*Highway (can designate a limited-access highway or a major US or state route)
*Lane (commonly used for dead-end streets, usually referring to a small residential street)
*Loop (usually used for streets whose shape is that of a half-circle)
*Mall (usually designates a pedestrian-only space)
*Parkway (occasionally designates limited-access highways, but usually used in a way similar to boulevard)
*Path (usually a small residential street)
*Pike (historically referred to a tolled roadway, but can also be used for a major road)
*Place (usually a small residential street or a narrow street in a commercial district)
*Plaza (often refers to a suburban shopping area and its internal roadways)
*Promenade (usually designates a pedestrian-only space)
*Road (a very common suffix used to describe a main roadway in both residential and commercial areas)
*Route (typically includes a route number, for example, US Route 19)
*Spur (a road that juts off another road which may or may not rejoin the main road)
*Square (often used on streets whose shape is like a square or rectangle, often with a center park or plaza)
*Street (a very common suffix that can describe from a small residential street up to a major arterial roadway)
*Terrace (historically was a small residential street that was elevated above the surroundings, for example, on a hillside, but is now used in a more generic way to describe a residential street)
*Thruway (usually used for limited-access highways)
*Trace (usually a small residential street)
*Trail (often designates a residential street but can also include major roadways)
*Turnpike (usually used for limited-access highways)
*Viaduct (usually indicates a street that serves as a connector between two other streets)
*Walk (usually designates a pedestrian-only space)
*Way (wide range of use, from an alley-like definition to a residential street to a major roadway in new developments)