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Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: triddin ()
Date: April 21, 2013 09:28PM

Why does it seem like most of the major roads in the area east of IAD have the word 'ox' in them? With such similar names it makes it confusing for someone who isn't familiar with the area. Does everyone just go by the numbers or does it get easier to remember the names?

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: MoFoNiggaz ()
Date: April 21, 2013 09:47PM

Because you can't use Nigga

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Greybeard ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:31PM

triddin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why does it seem like most of the major roads in
> the area east of IAD have the word 'ox' in them?
> With such similar names it makes it confusing for
> someone who isn't familiar with the area. Does
> everyone just go by the numbers or does it get
> easier to remember the names?

I can think of West Ox Road, Ox Road, and Ox Trail...how many more are there?

In any case, folks I know don't use route numbers much: it's the Dulles Toll Road, not 267, and the Fairfax County Parkway, not 7100...er...286. I do hear both Route 7 and Leesburg Pike, and usually Route 50 or 237 (occasionally Little River Turnpike).

If you think this is bad, try Atlanta, where every other road is Peach-something, or Newark, where every highway is some flavor of Route 1/9!

Not to sound unsympathetic...sure, it's confusing. To me, a bigger problem is roads changing names every couple of miles. I really don't understand that--why the County doesn't tell developers, "No, you're extending a road, you're not going to name it something different". OTOH, given the naming/numbering scheme in Fairfax, maybe they often *can't* let them extend the road, because it would cause conflicts. Never thought of that until now. (In case you don't know what I mean, the scheme means that the first four letters of a street name+the number are unique: so if there's a 1234 West Ox Road, there won't be another 1234 West or a 1234 Westland or anything else starting with "West".)

And then there are the rebuilt intersections that cause roads to turn left or right at a crossroads, like where West Ox meets Lawyer's, or where Lawyer's meets Reston Parkway. In fact, until sometime in the last decade, three of the four roads at the intersection of Lawyer's and Reston Parkway were marked "Lawyer's Road" (I never verifieid whether this was a signage error or was really on the maps that way). At some point that got fixed, so the westernmost leg, going to Fox Mill shopping center, is now Mclearen Road. Of course, that doesn't meet up with the rest of Mclearen Road, and never will--the extension was blocked. If this was an actual renaming of the road, it was relatively easy, because there are no addresses on it.

At least discontiguous roads are relatively rare here. Palo Alto, for example, uses a grid with named streets, wihch often start and stop. So if you're at the 200 block of Cowper and trying to get to the 1600 block, you may have to make several jogs when the road stops and then restarts.

Worst of all, I suspect, is Japan, where addresses are baswed on the order in which buildings were built -- so number 1 may be next to 52 next to 37 next to 3 next to... Oy!

So it could be worse.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Worse Yet ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:34PM

Every road around Arlington contains the word 'Glebe'.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: JustanFYI ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:35PM

The two biggest fuckups I can think of is Loudoun County Parkway (abrupstly ends and you have to take several turns on Ryan Rd, etc. to get back on Loudoun County Parkway. The other is Braddock Road. Good luck staying on that through the county...

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Gordon Blvd ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:41PM

my personal favs are how they do it in utah. Street name will be "North 5400 West" so and address will be 10950 North 5400 West. No "Street", no "Ave".

And they describe intersections like that too. "I'll meet you at the corner of of North 2700 West and East 1500 South." o_0

Anyways, the reason for the "Ox" is cause back in the day, "Ox" = "truck" and that's what the roads were made for - to get yr shit from farm to market or port so you can get some $$$$$, dig?

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Gordon Blvd ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:44PM

p.s. Braddock used to be straight thru all one road but 66 cut it up. Loudoun County Pkwy is fucked up cause it aint finished yet - give them a few. 286 used to be just as bad thru Springfield for like 15 years

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Greybeard ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:49PM

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> p.s. Braddock used to be straight thru all one
> road but 66 cut it up. Loudoun County Pkwy is
> fucked up cause it aint finished yet - give them a
> few. 286 used to be just as bad thru Springfield
> for like 15 years

Heh, and I remember a decade ago when most of Loudoun County Pkwy was unpaved--thus perfectly fitting the Fairfax view of Loudoun. At least most of it is, like, a real road now.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Damn Millers ()
Date: April 21, 2013 10:57PM

Miller Road, Keene Mill Road, Old Keene Mill Road, Hunter Mill Road,vipers Mill Road, Kemp Mill Records...

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Greybeard ()
Date: April 21, 2013 11:01PM

Yeah. Mill, Hunter, Run, Farm... I keep expecting to see a new subdivision called "Mill Hunt Valley Run Farm Estates" or some such.

I've always wondered about West Oaks Estates, which is off West Ox Road -- how many people have had trouble finding "West Ox Estates"?

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Burke Brat ()
Date: April 21, 2013 11:09PM

Old Ox Rd down towards Chapel, Wolf Run Shoals and Ox Rds.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: holycrap ()
Date: April 21, 2013 11:11PM

I keep noticing a huge number of them end with "Rd" or "St" too.. unbelievable.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Arlington ()
Date: April 21, 2013 11:51PM

Greybeard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> triddin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----

>
> At least discontiguous roads are relatively rare
> here. Palo Alto, for example, uses a grid with
> named streets, wihch often start and stop. So if
> you're at the 200 block of Cowper and trying to
> get to the 1600 block, you may have to make
> several jogs when the road stops and then
> restarts.
>

> So it could be worse.


You must not drive in Arlington, There are numerous roads that start and stop. They also have numerous other crazy naming conventions of North and South, Road and Street, etc.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: smar tass ()
Date: April 22, 2013 04:58AM

On old maps they called it Braddox road.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: JustanFYI ()
Date: April 22, 2013 07:27AM

smar tass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On old maps they called it Braddox road.


I have to admit, this made me LOLz a bit.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: MLK republican ()
Date: April 22, 2013 07:55AM

Many years ago when these roads weren't named yet they were in fact paths, there were lots of fat stupid people in Virginia at that time.

All too often these big fatsos would sit down on the paths to take breather because you know how winded fat people get.

Then some normal people traveling the path would walk up and realize there was too much poison ivy growing along both sides of the path to go around these gelatinous tubs of lard.

They would yell move ya big LUMOX.

So many paths became streets and since all had been blocked by Stupid Fat people they had various names like West Ox Rd. for instance.

Don't worry many of those people died in the civil war because they were such broad targets.

Any more questions?

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: April 22, 2013 08:47AM

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> my personal favs are how they do it in utah.
> Street name will be "North 5400 West" so and
> address will be 10950 North 5400 West. No
> "Street", no "Ave".
>

If you think that's confusing you should visit Hickory, NC. Both the north-south streets and east-west streets are numbered, contain N-S-E-W identifiers, and roads/streets/avenues use the same numbers. So you have crap like "3rd Avenue SW" intersecting with "3rd Street SE" near the corner of "8th Ave. Place North". It's baffling.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: jhey ()
Date: April 22, 2013 09:32AM

Worse Yet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Every road around Arlington contains the word
> 'Glebe'.

Best yet is where Glebe Road splits in south Arlington into West Glebe Road and South Glebe Road, but South Glebe is north of West Glebe.

I'M A FIVE-STAR MAN!!


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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Shadow ()
Date: April 22, 2013 11:37AM

Aw, you can't leave out all the "Fair" roads.
Fairfax county parkway
Fair Lakes Parkway
Fair Lakes Promenade Dr
FAir Lakes Shopping Center
Fair Lakes Ct
Fair Lakes Ci
Fairfax Boulevard
Fairfax Dr
Fairfax La
Fairfax Rd
Fairfax st
Fairfax sq
Fairfax Te
Fairway Dr
Fairwind Way
Fairpine way
Fairlawn Dr
FAirview Ave
Fairoaks Rd
Fairfax National Way
Fair Crest Ct
Fairfax Estates Dr
Fairfax Village Dr
Fairfax Commons Dr
Fairfax Station Rd
Fairfax Ridge Rd
Fairfax Center Creek Dr
Fairfax Center Hunt Tr
Fairfax Center Woods Tr

There are many more. Way more than Ox. But then Americans have never been known for their naming creativity.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: obligatory post ()
Date: April 22, 2013 02:04PM

libtards, amiright?!

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Greybeard ()
Date: April 22, 2013 08:25PM

Arlington Wrote:
> You must not drive in Arlington, There are
> numerous roads that start and stop. They also
> have numerous other crazy naming conventions of
> North and South, Road and Street, etc.

Ooh, ooh, I know this one! "That's not in Fairfax County".

And it's actually a very simple and logical system. But yeah, used to work there, had forgotten (suppressed?) the memory of the discontiguous roads.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Ox ()
Date: April 23, 2013 11:20AM

New Rt 123 is Ox Road but during its construction sections of the original Ox Road were left behind. Hence; Lil Ox, Old Ox, Ox crest are three that I can think of.
My Favorite is still Ox road, runs between Furnace Rd. and Lorton Rd, in Lorton. It runs parallel to Ox road (rt. 123) so within 200 ft of one another there are TWO Ox roads. Yes it does cause confusion.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: wnrsm ()
Date: April 23, 2013 05:43PM

Everywhere I go, I end up at the corner of "Walk" and "Don't Walk". Unbelievable.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Missing in Action? ()
Date: April 29, 2013 06:25PM

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> p.s. Braddock used to be straight thru all one
> road but 66 cut it up. Loudoun County Pkwy is
> fucked up cause it aint finished yet - give them a
> few. 286 used to be just as bad thru Springfield
> for like 15 years


Where's Ms. Gordan Blvd?

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Prof. X ()
Date: April 29, 2013 08:09PM

The original Ox Road connected the Occoquan River to what the British believed was a potential copper mine where modern-day Herndon sits back in the 1720s. When the copper mine didn't pan out, farmers used the road to haul tobacco to boats on the Occoquan. Oxen were used to transport the tobacco, hence Ox Road.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: John Oxsuck ()
Date: April 29, 2013 08:17PM

Ox Dick Estates is a terrific little development off of 123.

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: Oxcock ()
Date: June 21, 2021 12:51PM

John Oxsuck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ox Dick Estates is a terrific little development
> off of 123.


Oxcock

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: 0934th ()
Date: June 21, 2021 01:41PM

As a 300 lb man I am offended and plan to burn down any road with the name Ox as a protest. I have had enough of being fat-shamed

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Re: Every road around here contains the word Ox
Posted by: oxbox ()
Date: May 20, 2023 08:10AM

Prof. X Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The original Ox Road connected the Occoquan River
> to what the British believed was a potential
> copper mine where modern-day Herndon sits back in
> the 1720s. When the copper mine didn't pan out,
> farmers used the road to haul tobacco to boats on
> the Occoquan. Oxen were used to transport the
> tobacco, hence Ox Road.


Got it!

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