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Ask: Numbering or Naming roads?

Posted by GibranalNN on 16 April 2017 in English.

Ok. I would like to ask again,

  • should I number or name roads?
  • what are their pros and cons?

If numbering’s better,

  • are there methods to number them?
  • can I number with 2 route numbers?

Thank you

Discussion

Comment from Myrcia on 16 April 2017 at 09:49

You can do both, traditionally you would number highways and major roads, some people choose to name them too.

You need to come up with your own system for numbering them. Myrcia has Steorweg (major routes) numbered 1 - 4 and other roads are numbered in relation to those.

Comment from histor on 16 April 2017 at 10:44

Often only motorways and main-roads are numbered. There are different systems - one so good as an other. Some too give letters to the roads (like DE-23), but I personally think it is better to give only numbers.

Popular system in Europe is, to give motorways the lower numbers and the first numbers for the radials from the capital-city numbered clockwise.

Comment from ParAvion on 16 April 2017 at 14:21

The system I use in Vodeo is similar to that used in Australia (and to an extent Britain, the US, and Canada).

  • Numbers are assigned to each province, starting with 1 in northern Avalon and finishing with 9 in south-eastern Gerrise.
  • Major national routes (A roads) are single-digit, or double-digit in the case of another major highway past 9. Maybe highway 30 would usually be a B-class road, but it forms part of a major inter-city highway, so it becomes the A30.
  • Inter-city routes are double-digit B roads, and triple-digit C roads fill in the gaps.
  • M roads are motorways, and can be either single-, double-, or triple-digit..
  • Provincial highways (like SA 1 and CA 50) link up smaller roads that don’t fit in elsewhere.

If you use the MABC system, you can chop-and-change designations. For example, in Victoria, Australia the A1 is the main coast road south-west of Melbourne, but it is not the main road to Adelaide, South Australia (which is the A8). So while it’s the A1 to Mount Gambier, once it reaches town it changes to the B1.

Using both numbers and names is a good idea. The highway number doesn’t always stick to the one road, and vice-versa. For example, highway 60 might start on the Pothole Highway, change to the Live Fire Range Highway after another town, and finish as the Nuclear Wasteland Highway. In the same vein, the Nuclear Wasteland Highway might be highway 60 for part of its length and highway 54 for another.

This system works better if you have a larger number and/or a lot of highways. For smaller nations, using a simple number system is better; in New Zealand, we have state highways numbered 1 through 99, and that’s it (save for urban routes in Auckland and Hamilton, but never mind those).

You can also give a highway multiple designations by separating them with a semi-colon. For example, the Saviso Harbour Bridge (http://opengeofiction.net/#map=15/-1.8303/32.2247) carries both the M1 and SA 1: to do that, it’s M1;SA 1.

Comment from skquinn on 16 April 2017 at 19:36

The major highways in Rhododactylia are numbered. The smaller roads are often just named, though a few have prefecture highway numbers. It’s not uncommon to both name and number a highway in the real world (a section of FM 1960 in the Houston area is now named Cypress Creek Parkway for example).

Comment from BMSOUZA on 17 April 2017 at 00:44

I use almost the same thing that is in Brasil. Two letters and three numbers.

Real ones: BR-101, BR-116 (nationals), RJ-104, SP-099 (state)

They usually have names, but only a few of them are “known”. BR-116 between Rio de Janeiro-RJ and São Paulo-SP is Rodovia Presidente Dutra, or only Via Dutra. The same BR-116 between São Paulo-SP and Curitiba-PR (well, really, untill Paraná-Santa Catarina states border) is Rodovia Régis Bittencourt.

But, here in OGF, I only use two letters and three numbers. Rarelly, or never, hehe, I use names.

BL-101 (national in Belgravia), MR-010 (state of Mirassol, in Brasonia), etc

Comment from wangi on 17 April 2017 at 10:40

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