Renaming Roads

[Cassis]

The Sarthe Department took over responsibility for the maintenance of many formerly "National" routes at the beginning of 2006.  They are therefore resignposting and redesignating all the road names - so the N138 running south of Alençon will become the D338, the N23 the D323, the N438 the D338bis, etc. as the old signposts are replaced (due to be completed by this summer). 

Is this wonderfully imaginative waste of time, money and resources being repeated nationwide or are we just in a privileged position here in the Sarthe?

I know it's because the roads are named after whoever looks after them, but it just seems such a waste of time - at best something to force everyone to get a new road atlas so good for Michelin et al. [:)]

[AnOther]

I'm not sure you have a monopoly on this syndrome.

When we were out and about house hunting in Midi Pyrenees and other areas, it was often difficult to relate both the map and satnav with the physical road numbers.

One road, the D911 in The Ardech, had been renumbered D811, out of respect for 911 we were told in all sincerity ...!

Nor does it help when road numbers are repeated in different departments, there is a D911 in Averyon for instance, presumably they were as moved by 911 as in The Ardech.

Still, getting a little bit lost in rural France is generally more fun than the same in UK.

[Sunday Driver]

Perhaps the residents of Sarthe could get up a petiton to turf over that nice new autoroute and bring the heavy traffic back onto the Nationales and through their towns and villages, thereby avoiding the need to re-sign......[;-)]

 

[BJSLIV]

Its happening everywhere as the Government have handed over responsibility for many lesser main roads to local councils.

 Its part of the Decentralisation policy.

[Teamedup]

How strange is this. We never check road numbers. I remember asking a friend in the UK directions from their place to somewhere I had to get to. He told me all the road numbers and I was shocked. I told him that I needed to know what the 'place' signs were. Then he looked shocked.

When we are travelling I always put the 'direction' we are heading in and rarely do I jot the road number down.

They could change what they wanted around here, I don't think I would notice.

Does everyone 'use' road numbers? are we really the odd ones out.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

When we were out and about house hunting in Midi Pyrenees and other areas, it was often difficult to relate both the map and satnav with the physical road numbers.

[/quote]

In terms of navigation or directional logic, the road numbers don't mean anything.  Do as us French do and just follow the place names - piece of cake.... [;-)]

 

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Perhaps the residents of Sarthe could get up a petiton to turf over that nice new autoroute and bring the heavy traffic back onto the Nationales and through their towns and villages, thereby avoiding the need to re-sign......[;-)]

 [/quote]

Do not forget a fabulous upside to this is that when the autoroute is jammed solid with all the sheep who think "A" = fast you could have the former N routes virtually to yourselves. We have found the A83, for example, to be a great help in allowing us to move rapidly (and cheaply) up and down the N137 (soon to be the D997 or something). And the roadside eateries are better. I must say I do like this two-tier system; those who like tarmac and really cannot bear to think they might be going at anything less than the maximum speed have their roads and those who like trees, villages and don't mind spending an extra hour or so over the journey have theirs. All most agreeable and highly democratic.

[AnOther]

It's familiarity with the UK numbering system I guess.

These days of course one just puts the post code into the sat nav. Unfortunately the French post code system doesn't seem to be anywhere near as precise as UK's so not a very effective solution other than getting you to the general area.

[Cassis]

Er - I'd like to keep the A28 autoroute please.  It's one of the reasons we moved here!

We, too, only follow place names and that's how we give directions, too - follow the signs for "Hell" until you get to "Heaven" etc.  Let's take this to the logical conclusion ....

In that case, why bother having road numbers at all? [:D]

[Teamedup]

I know where Hell is, does the A28 go through Norway?

But where is Heaven?

[AnOther]

Following a direction is fine but it can be a bit disconcerting when the sat nav says "turn onto Dxxx or whatever, and it turns out to be a different number altogether, sometimes not even the same as on the 2006  Michelin map, but we've learnt to trust it and do as told unless it is patently wrong and it hasn't let us too far off track too often.

There was one notable occasion however when, at a "T" junction, the display clearly showed a right turn but the voice command said turn left...!

But then it is female...........duck........!!!!!!!!!!........I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that just slipped out.

 

[AnOther]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

I know where Hell is, does the A28 go through Norway?[/quote]Yes, via Canterbury and Ashford but I don't think either of those are Heaven...!

[cooperlola]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

But then it is female...........duck........!!!!!!!!!!........I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that just slipped out.

 

[/quote]Eh hem? I should think you are sorry!

Re-naming the N138 is just sacrilege anyway, Saus.[:)]

[Will]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

I know where Hell is, does the A28 go through Norway?

But where is Heaven?

[/quote]

I have, in Norway, been from Paradise (Bergen) to Hell (near Trondheim) in the space of a few hours. Nothing to do with France, but I've been waiting to use that fact for years and TU set up a perfect opportunity. Thanks. [:)]

[Dick Smith]

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="ErnieY"]

But then it is female...........duck........!!!!!!!!!!........I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that just slipped out.

 

[/quote]Eh hem? I should think you are sorry!

Re-naming the N138 is just sacrilege anyway, Saus.[:)]

[/quote]

But it's still straight(ish) and still goes to Mulsanne...

[Quillan]

[quote user="Will "][quote user="Teamedup"]

I know where Hell is, does the A28 go through Norway?

But where is Heaven?

[/quote]

I have, in Norway, been from Paradise (Bergen) to Hell (near Trondheim) in the space of a few hours. Nothing to do with France, but I've been waiting to use that fact for years and TU set up a perfect opportunity. Thanks. [:)]

[/quote]

Lived in Oslo for two years and went to Trondheim a few times. Couldn't get used to either the 23 hours of bright sunshine or the 23 hours of pitch black depending on time of year. Bergen is nice but I did like Oslo because of the night life (I was a young man then) and the women oh the women.

[Will]

I can assure you Quillan that you don't have to be young to enjoy Oslo, but I am sure you know that. Those who whinge about paying £3.99 or more in Britain for wine that would cost the 2€ in France should take a trip to Norway. Unfortunately (or maybe not) the Oslo women do not share the Danish women's love of going into the garden and removing all their clothes as soon as the sun comes out.

But that's nothing to do with renaming roads. I can't help feeling glad that it only seems to be the French who make a habit of this. What if Route 66 became the D134? And back in England, somebody (a Dutchman, would you believe) wrote a whole book about the A272.

[Miki]

We have two N137's and two N176's due to new quatre voies being built in the last10-15 years. The old roads, were as normal, then designated with D prefixes and so the old N137 is the D637 and the N176 the D676. still with me ?

So no problems then with renaming.....except, the D676 from Dinan to Dol de Bretagne has kept its old stone markers and distance posts.....and also the old road name has been kept on them, so we have two roads named as N176. This has caused confusion for those tourists (and out of towners in general I suspect) who like to verify they are on the right road by checking the road number. I asked our Maire one day why this was and he simply told me that the markers were historic, in an ancient marker type mode and would for the foreseeable future, be staying.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Will "]

I can assure you Quillan that you don't have to be young to enjoy Oslo, but I am sure you know that. Those who whinge about paying £3.99 or more in Britain for wine that would cost the 2€ in France should take a trip to Norway. Unfortunately (or maybe not) the Oslo women do not share the Danish women's love of going into the garden and removing all their clothes as soon as the sun comes out.

But that's nothing to do with renaming roads. I can't help feeling glad that it only seems to be the French who make a habit of this. What if Route 66 became the D134? And back in England, somebody (a Dutchman, would you believe) wrote a whole book about the A272.

[/quote]

eh - Route 66 hasn't existed for more than 20 years - it was decommisioned in 1985. It was replaced with interstate highways. I believe small sections are still marketed as an historic monument, but otherwise it's a "D" road.

[Dick Smith]

Indeed there are still bits of Route 66 - I've got a photo somewhere, if I can find it.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

My brother went all the way to Chicago in 1989 with a plan to drive Route 66 to California. He was soooooo disappointed. That taught him to check in future.

[Will]

Well, I guess that if they can do it to Route 66 in the great ol' US of A then anything an insignificant colony like France does around Alençon is pretty insigificant. What would you expect from a town that is twinned with Basingstoke, anyway? 

The other interesting bit, of course, is that as you move from one département to another the D road changes identity -  you are following the D46 and it suddenly jumps up by 70 units to become the D116 - to quote an example just down the road from us. That's probably why the French never bother with the numbers.

[Teamedup]

Well there you go, I didn't even know that the numbers changed like that, and I too live on a border. I'll stick to my 'direction' thing, we do get lost, but not that often.

[Miki]

And some  roads "downgraded" from an N prefix, can be renamed an RD road. Still important and more importantly seen than a D road, which in turn, is seen as a better road than a C road, there again, some C roads are nicer than A roads but not as big or as long ....................

Like TU, I just want to know where the road is going to but sometimes the number may come in handy, especially if it is renamed and one has not got a clue that happening........and with us still using a 1997 map............[;-)]

[Teamedup]

And that is something that is so different between the UK and France, well in my experience anyway. Maps can cost quite a lot of euros, I am quite partial to having the big Michelin  page version ones. In Matalan in the UK I have picked up really cheap big page RAC maps of the UK. If I could get french ones at these prices we would probably renew every year.

As it happens due to the cost,we tend to change our maps less frequently in France and sometimes this has led to us us having navigational difficulties/big rows in the car. As one never seems to go without the other really.