Avenues, Boulevards and Parades

When living in Europe, the definition/designation of a street more or less defines the length, width or vegetation of it.

E.g. according to WIKIPEDIA
“An avenue is traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side” and
“A boulevard is a type of large road, usually running through a city”.

But since Australia is a far far away from Europe so is the practical use of the street designations. There are many avenues without any trees or shrubs or boulevards which are just a few hundred metres long and not very large. In short, the street designations don’t mean much in Australia.

But Australia wouldn’t be Australia, if there weren’t an Australian standard 4819-2011 Appendix A ‘Road Types – Australia’ for rural and urban addressing. The standard establishes requirements and guidance for – amongst others – naming roads. That standard gives a description for the most road types in use in Australia, even though it hasn’t been accurately observed by the local governments and some other addressing authorities.

Using widely accessible address databases (based on information from Australia Post and the Australia Bureau of Statistics) I have compiled a list of street designations in use in Australia. There is the astonishing number of 148 urban address designations in Australia, and I don’t think I have listed all of them. I am also happy about any addition/remarks about the list.

I have also added – when available – the description of each street designation according to standard 4819-2011. Find out yourself if your local street names comply with it ….

Road Type	Abbre-viation	Description	Open ended	Cul- de-sac	Pedestrian only
Access
Alley	Ally	Usually narrow roadway in cities or towns, often through city block or squares.	x	x
Alleyway
Amble	Amb
Approach	App	Roadway leading to an area of community interest (e.g. public open space, commercial area, beach etc.)	x
Arcade	Arc	Passage having an arched roof, or any covered passageway, especially one with shops along the sides	x		x
Arterial	Art
Avenue	Av	Broad roadway, usually planted on each side with trees.	x
Barracks
Basin
Bay	Bay
Beach
Bend	Bend
Block
Boardwalk	Bwlk	Promenade or path, especially of wooden planks, for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, along or overlooking a beach or waterfront.			x
Boulevard	Bvd	Wide roadway, well paved, usually ornamented with trees and grass plots.	x
Bowl	Bwl
Brae	Brae
Break	Brk	Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak.	x
Bypass	Bypa	Alternative roadway constructed to enable through traffic to avoid congested areas or other obstructions to movement.	x
Centre
Chase	Ch	Roadway leading down to a valley	x	x
Circle	Ccl
Circuit	Cct	Roadway enclosing an area.	x
Circus	Ccs
Close	Cl	Short, enclosed roadway.		x
Common	Com
Concours	Con	Roadway that runs around a central area (e.g. public open space or commercial area).	x
Corner	Cnr
Course	Crse
Court	Ct	Short, enclosed roadway.		x
Cove	Cv
Creek
Crescent	Cr	Crescent-shaped thoroughfare, especially where both ends join the same thoroughfare.	x
Crest	Crst	Roadway running along the top or summit of a hill	x	x
Cross	Cros
Cruiseway	Cry
Dale	Dale
Dell	Dell
Dene	Dene
Divide	Div
Domain	Dom
Drive	Dr	Wide thoroughfare allowing a steady flow of traffic without many cross-streets.	x
Driveway
East	East
Edge	Edg
Entrance	Ent	Roadway connecting other roads.	x
Esplanande	Esp	Level roadway, often along the seaside, lake or a river.	x
Extension	Extn
Firetrail	Ftrl	Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak.	x
Flats	Flts
Ford	Ford
Freeway	Fwy	Express, multi-lane highway, with limited or controlled access.	x
Garden	Gdn
Gate	Gate
Gateway	Gwy
Glade	Glde	Roadway usually in a valley of trees.	x	x
Glen	Gln
Grange	Gra	Roadway leading to a country estate, or focal point, public open space, shopping area etc.	x
Green	Grn
Ground
Grove	Gr	Roadway that features a group of trees standing together.	x	x
Gully	Gly
Heath	Hth
Heights	Hts
Highway	Hwy	Main road or thoroughfare, a main route.	x
Hill	Hill
Hollow	Hlw
Hub	Hub
Island	Isl
Junction	Jct
Key	Key
Lane	Lane	Narrow way between walls, buildings or a narrow country or city roadway.	x	x
Laneway	Lwy
Link	Link
Lookout
Loop	Loop	Roadway that diverges from and re-joins the main thoroughfare.	x
Lower	Lwr
Mall	Mall	Sheltered walk, promenade or shopping precinct.			x
Mew	Mew
Mews	Mews	Sheltered walk, promenade or shopping precinct.		x
Motorway
Nook	Nook
North	Nth
Outlook	Out
Oval
Parade	Pde	Public promenade or roadway that has good pedestrian facilities along the side.	x
Park
Parkway	Pwy	Roadway through parklands or an open grassland area.	x
Pass	PS
Passage	Psge	Narrow street for pedestrians.			x
Path	Path	Roadway used only for pedestrian traffic.			x
Pathway	Pway
Pier
Place	Pl	Short, sometimes narrow, enclosed roadway.		x
Plaza	Plza	Roadway enclosing the four sides of an area forming a market place or open space.		x
Pocket	Pkt
Point	Pt
Port
Promenade	Prom	Roadway like an avenue with plenty of facilities for the public to take a leisurely walk, a public place for walking.	x
Pursuit	Pur
Quadrand	Pde
Quays	Qys	Roadway leading to a landing place alongside or projecting into water.	x
Racecourse
Ramp	Ramp	Access road to and from highways and freeways.	x
Reach	Rch
Reserve	Res
Rest	REST
Retreat	Rtt	Roadway forming a place of seclusion.		x
Return	Rtn
Ride	Ride
Ridge	Rdge	Roadway along the top of a hill.	x
Rise	Rise	Roadway going to a higher place or position.	x	x
Rising	Rsg
Road	Rdge	Open way or public passage primarily for vehicles.	x
Round	Rnd
Rout
Row	Row
Run	Run
Slope	Slo
South	Sth
Square	Sq	Roadway bounding the four sides of an area to be used as an open space or a group of buildings.	x	x
Station
Steps	Stps	Route consisting mainly of steps.			x
Street	St	Public roadway in a town, city or urban area, especially a paved thoroughfare with footpaths and buildings along one or both sides.	x
Strip	Stp
Subway	Sbwy	Underground passage or tunnel that pedestrians use for crossing under a road, railway, river etc.			x
Terrace	Tce	Roadway usually with houses on either side raised above the road level.	x	x
Throughway	Thru
Tollway	Twy
Tor	Tor
Track	Trk	Roadway with a single carriageway. A roadway through a natural bushland region. The interpretation for both Track and Trail is limited to roadways, whereas in many areas (e.g. Tasmania) these are often associated with walking rather than vehicular movement.	x
Trail	Trl	See ‘Track’.	x
Turn	Turn
Upper	Upr
Valley	Vly
View	View	Roadway commanding a wide panoramic view across surrounding areas.	x	x
Village
Vista	Vsta	Roadway with a view or outlook.	x	x
Walk	Walk	Thoroughfare with restricted access used mainly by pedestrians.			x
Walkway	Wkwy
Waters	Wtrs
Waterway	Wry
Way	Way	Roadway affording passage from one place to another. Usually not as straight as an avenue or street.	x
West	West
Wharf	Wharf	A roadway on a wharf or pier.	x	x	x
Wood	Wd
Wynd	Wyd