STREETS RENAMED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23332, 26 October 1937, Page 17

STREETS RENAMED

LONDON’S PUZZLING DUPLICATIONS London taxi drivers who pride themselves upon their complete knowledge of London’s street names now find things a little difficult. To be right up-to-the-minute they have just had , to learn 700 new names for old streets. For 700 London streets have taken new names and the inhabitants have been given new addresses. It is claimed to be the biggest re-christening of place names in tlje history of the city. But although some taxi drivers are finding it a little muddling at the moment, the aim behind the great town-wide change is to make things simpler by sweeping much duplication of names. Postal workers will find the renaming the greatest boon, for it will no longer be necessary in hundreds of cases to try and find where a person lives by a process of elimina-

tion. Previously a letter insufficiently addressed might go from, say, Acacia avenue. Tooting, to Acacia avenue, Tottenham, and then on to Acacia avenue, Wimbledon, before coming to roost at the right place. There are 82 renamed streets in Southwark, 60 in both St. Pancras and Lambeth, 54 in Marylebone, 48 in Battersea, and 20 or more in seven other boroughs. A glance at a map of London shows the magnitude of the problem before the London County Council when it decided to simplify matters a little. The map shows, among other duplications, 11 Arthur streets, and seven Arthur roads; 22 “The Avenues” and 15 Avenue roads; 19 Broadways, 21 Charles streets, 23 Church streets, plus seven Church rows and 22 Church roads, 21 George streets and 65 High streets.