Streets of Laredo
“They're streets. In Laredo.”
The streets of Laredo are a collection of avenues, boulevards, parkways, and other thoroughfares in the city of Laredo, Texas, USA. They are known for their grid pattern, flat nature, and proximity to the city of Nuevo Laredo in neighbouring Mexico.
Physical characteristics
The streets of Laredo are paved with asphalt, while some outer roads are mere concrete or gravel-like paths. All registered vehicles in Laredo drive on these streets, as do unregistered vehicles and questionable vehicles like segues and blood donation trailers. Garages, related to the streets of Laredo, often house such when they are not in motion. Pedestrians use these streets for going from one place to another in Laredo, although they usually keep to the sidewalk.
Some streets are one-way, while all non-one-way streets are two-way. Most streets have two lanes while bigger streets have multiple lanes. Notable thoroughfares in Laredo can even have up to eight lanes, and are considered among the most important streets of Laredo. Most of the streets of Laredo are fronted by buildings with street addresses. Some, however, are fronted only by vacant lots. All the streets of Laredo are at surface level minus underpasses, dug-in roads, overpasses and tunnels.
History
The streets of Laredo began when Laredo was founded. The original streets of Laredo were frequented paths. The well-worn paths of Laredo were created by human foot traffic and mounted animals. Asphalt soon became the universal material of choice for new roads. It is an ideal material for weathering the hot summer days and the slightly chilly Laredo nights.
Rivalries
The streets of Laredo have many rivals. Their biggest rivals are the bridges of Laredo, which are very important because they connect the USA to its neighbor, Mexico, right across the Rio Grande river. However, the streets of Laredo also have other rivals. These include the train tracks of Laredo, the landing strips of Laredo, and even an international rivalry with the streets of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
Challenges
The streets of Laredo face many challenges. Some streets are called avenues when they should be called streets. Some of the busier intersections of Laredo have two stop signs when they should have traffic lights. Children play road hockey in the streets, as there is no natural ice in Laredo. Gulf Street becomes Jackson Lane when it crosses Hickory Parkway. Name changes like this create confusion and neighborhood identity crises. Fortunately, there aren't many other multiplied name changes. Other challenges on the streets of Laredo include small surface cracks, sinkholes, inadequate street signs, missing manhole covers, and faded paint jobs on the fire hydrants of Laredo.
Benefits
The streets of Laredo are ideal for getting from one place to another place. City planners use the layout of the streets to zone buildings. The streets of Laredo are distinguished from each other by their own unique street names. Buildings on each street also have a unique identity. They are identified by numbers which can be especially useful when a street is longer than one block. Two identical adjacent buildings can be distinguished by their different street numbers and possibly by personalised welcome mats. One side of a street will have even numbers, and the other side will ideally have odd ones. Not every street in Laredo has even numbers, as some streets have buildings on only one side. Odd numbers are the numbers of choice for the one-sided streets of Laredo.
The streets of Laredo also double as spots for parallel parking. Double parallel parking is forbidden in the city, though at busy times it is known to happen. The streets of Laredo make orientation easy, as people can know they are if they have a map or a good memory. Some pedestrians get lost walking the streets of Laredo, as there are many streets in the city of Laredo.
Controversy
Some of the streets of Laredo have names which have changed. The people of Laredo adopt new street names, but remember the old ones fondly, and tell stories about them. Renaming the streets of Laredo is not always popular, as some residents worry that old friends won't be able to find them. Some maps and GPS systems show old street names until their system information is updated.
Conditions
The streets of Laredo are clean, but get messy after parades and bad weather. The traffic flow of the streets of Laredo is considered ideal, but on Fridays they witness congestion and wait times. A few of the streets of Laredo are many times longer than the smallest streets, which causes understandable jealousy. The driving conditions in Laredo are desirable, except during undesirable times such as frost and sand storms.
The future of the streets of Laredo
None of the streets of Laredo are named after famous people, but that could change at any time, possibly when someone from Laredo becomes famous. Laredo has limited handicap parking, but more handicap spots of Laredo are on their way. The colour of intersection markings may remain white, though people fond of yellow street markings may prevail. If high speed rail comes to Laredo, the streets of Laredo will have to reinvent themselves and find ways to compete with train travel. Progressive thinkers of Laredo have even proposed the introduction of horizontal streets. If such streets ever make it in Laredo, they will be known as "the horizontal streets of Laredo".
See also
