We are in our sixth year here in Kirkland. We are still confused by the streets. Almost all the streets are numbers. Avenues and streets supposedly run different directions - but this isn't consistent throughout Kirkland (see notes below).
Then you run into the situation pictured above. This 2nd Avenue runs east and west but there's a 2nd Avenue South and a 2nd Avenue (no "north" attached to that name).
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From an article in Seattle Times
"Under state law, cities can tackle street naming however they feel is best. And hence, Kirkland has opted to maintain its own original downtown street layout from the late 1880s rather than conform to the county’s grid.
From Northeast 68th Street to 20th Avenue, Kirkland does everything in reverse [from the rest of the county]. Thus, avenues run east-west and streets north-south. Many of the roads are set at a diagonal because city founder Peter Kirk and his engineer wanted to make the most of the area’s water and mountain views, said Bob Burke, past president of the Kirkland Heritage Society.
As Kirkland grew, however, it kept the street names of the county neighborhoods it absorbed, Burke said. And that’s why drivers encounter 110th Avenue Northeast after Ninth Street."
From: The ABCs and 123s of Eastside streets by By Karen Gaudette
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