Missing

The issue of missing home or office street numbers is one I keep meaning to mention. Whilst working, it’s a big deal and very frustrating trying to locate an address at night. Occasionally, I simply give up and drive off.

So it was heartening to find the issue covered in Sunday’s Courier Mail,

There is a little-known council ordinance that provides a maximum penalty of $1000 for those who fail to display the building number...The Courier-Mail this week conducted an audit of buildings in the Queen Street Mall to see just how many buildings are numberless.

Of more than 48 buildings noted, nine had obvious street numbering, 32 had no numbering at all and seven buildings had numbers that were either near-illegible or obscured.

I was about to whinge how it’s so trendy now to omit street numbers (obviously a conspiracy by owners and architects to jerk-off cabbies) when I’ve just remembered that my own house has no visible number. As you were.

Comments

[Ian]

Hi Adrian,

Still enjoying reading you. I've been getting some traffic from your site, so thanks for the link. But when I view your page, my link doesn't work... Mind having a look when you get a chance?

Thanks,

Cabhack

[enkew]

Yeah, I have the same gripe, and it's a fair one too. Townsville is notorious for it -"Hey, what for? I know where I live. Ha Ha" - and even though it is smaller than Sydney (thank God), the lack of house and building numbers can be annoying when making deliveries.
However, try to find an address in Hong Kong and see how you get on. Chinese taxi drivers are amazing, it's as if their DNA is encoded with a Gregory's of HK and Kowloon. Take a trip there one day, maybe you can claim it on your tax as "educational".

[Wil]

I wonder how the emergency services cope with this? Being a former cop, now cabbie, I know how frustrating it can be to locate an address.

[Simon]

I am told that houses in many cities in Japan don't have any street numbers at all. Getting deliveries has to be done by way of directions.

[Dirk Thruster]

Where Dad lives the council paint street numbers on the kerb in front of every building using reflective paint.

[Greg]

Street numbers are second on my list; I'm more bothered by the lack of street name signage.

[fred]

Japan they dont even have street names, let alone number. Just some 4th-dimension series of numbers for the district/sub-disctrict/sub-sub-district.
Taxis here are useless. No idea where things are, no roadmaps or navigation systems. fresh out the boon-docks, driving with their eyes-closed mostly.....

[Legal Eagle]

So very annoying when there's no street numbers. Or street signs. Our street has a sign which is totally obscured by a tree. People have difficulty finding it.

[SurferCam]

It frustrates me, especially missing street signs, so I can only imagine how much it must annoy you Adrian.

[coldfoot]

I'm a cabbie myself, and I just noticed a few months ago that my address (an even number) is on the wrong side of the street (odd number side). I hate it when that happens.

[mc]

As a newcomer to Sydney, I can't get over the fact that so many streets are not indicated. And what's with calling 3 neighbouring streets the same name and only changing the "lane", "avenue" or "street".

And to add to bad signage, the road signs are so confusing. I have a theory that they are purposely confusing to try to lure and trap you into the toll roads.

[adrian]

Ian, sorry about that, done in a rush. Blogroll now fixed, found under 'Cabhack confessions'.

[Harry Buttle]

I'd be way more concerned about a lack of street number making it difficult for an ambulance to get to me in time, rather than a cab find me on time...

[MikeFitz]

Harry Buttle is right to be concerned. Mrs Fitz is a GP and often does home visits for her patients at night. She has seen peoples lives put at risk when she or an ambulance cannot find an address.

[Becker]

The street number thing is the reason I generally recall jobs for main roads during peak times. How in hell are we meant to drive in peak hour traffic, while looking for a customer at a building we very likely have never seen before and the majority aren't numbered ??

If you drive along with the other traffic you can't see the numbers and if you slow down you get abused even when your indicating what your doing. No-win situation.

[Roy]

I've used this content for my site www.dublintaxi.net, I've credited you and linked back , I hope you don't mind.
One of my pet hates well described