On Jan 29, 10:56*am, Stephen Sprunk wrote:

But presumably the "park" in "parkway" doesn't imply a constant traffic
holdup

No, it implies that the roadway goes through a park-like area, i.e.
there is nice scenery to look at while your car is stuck in traffic.

Usually that is the case, but the name is used loosely and there are
some parkways (and boulevards) that are nothing but concrete canyons.

In the state of New York, certain parkways are restricted to auto
traffic only. Sometimes truckers use a faulty GPS and take a parkway
only to get stuck under low bridges.


[One of my favorite USA-isms has always been how y'all park on the
driveway, and drive on the parkway]

A driveway is where you drive to get to the parking area, eg. a parking
lot or garage. *Of course, if the parking lot/garage is missing and one
parks at the end of the driveway, its name doesn't change...

There are some "Drives", such as Kelly Drive in Philadelphia, and I
think Lake Shore Drive in Chicago that are similar to parkways.

In the US, the terms road, street, and avenue are completely
interchangeable and can mean a tiny side street to a major highway.