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Shortcuts: WP:STREETS WP:SRH WP:NSRH

Notability
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Wikipedia has many articles on streets, roads, and highways. The world has so many of these, obviously, not every one of them can be notable. Detailed street maps exist, showing every little side street in the area they cover. These published directories, when up-to-date, provide reliable information. But as every single street in the area they cover is found within them, they do not render any of these routes notable for inclusion in an encyclopedia.

Assumption has it, main arteries are always notable, side streets are never. That is not always the case. There are always exceptions to the rule either way. Regardless, Wikipedia is not a map composed of words. Any street, road, or highway article must be encyclopedic. This means it is not simply a description of what is seen on the map. Yes, what is seen on the map may be described in the article. But such articles should describe additional information beyond what can be found by opening a paper map or visiting a mapping web site. This is equivalent to the Wikipedia guideline that Wikipedia is not a dictionary, requiring that articles go beyond a dictionary entry.

Still, those meeting the criteria below may be created with even basic information and marked as stubs.

Contents 1 Basic criteria 2 Additional criteria 2.1 Limited access highways 2.2 Streets and roads that are part of a numbered system 2.3 Central business districts 2.4 Boulevards 2.5 Location of notable landmarks 2.6 Features of streets, roads, and highways 3 Invalid criteria 4 Alternatives 4.1 Lists 4.2 Redirects

[edit] Basic criteria

A street, road, or highway generally is notable if it meets Wikipedia's WP:N guidelines.

If the depth of coverage in the sources provided is not substantial, then multiple additional sources are needed to prove notability; trivial coverage alone of a subject by secondary sources is not sufficient to establish notability.

Since a detailed, up-to-date street map or a mapping web site (such as MapQuest or Google Maps) will display every side street, maps from a reliable publisher may be used to support content in an article, but they do not contribute toward proving the notability of the street.

[edit] Additional criteria

The following types of streets, roads, and highways are notable:

[edit] Limited access highways

Shortcuts: WP:LAH WP:LIMITED

Limited access highways are generally a major part of a country's or region's infrastructure, and are therefore notable. Additionally, parts of a national highway that transverse several divisions within a country may have separate standalone articles describing the highway within each division. In the United States, many interstate highways have separate articles on the highway in each state they transverse due to the large amount of information that is written within them.

[edit] Streets and roads that are part of a numbered system

Shortcut: WP:NUMBERED

Streets and roads that are part of a jurisdiction's numbered route system are usually notable, though minor routes for which a minimal amount of information is available should be included in an article about the system or on a list of routes. Note that not all places have numbered route systems.

This guideline does not apply to numbered streets. Many cities and towns, mostly in North America, have numbered street systems. When such is the case, not every numbered street is notable. In fact, it is possible, especially in smaller towns, that none of these streets will be notable. In major cities, only those meeting the criteria on this page are notable.

If all or a substantial part of a named street, road, or highway is a segment of a numbered route, the named route should be mentioned in the article on the numbered route, and its title should redirect to the article on the numbered route, unless there is a enough referenced information that can be independently told about the named street in a standalone article. It is acceptable in these cases to use a targeted redirect for the name (#REDIRECT [[Route N#Street name]]).

If a major street or road has and can have an article using its name as a title, and a small portion of it is numbered, it is recommended that the title of the number redirect to the name.

[edit] Central business districts

Shortcut: WP:CBD

Major streets within a city's central business district (CBD) are notable. These include the streets that are a major part of the city's history and/or identity.

Many CBDs have some small side streets of minor importance; these are not automatically notable.

[edit] Boulevards

Shortcuts: WP:BOULEVARD WP:BLVD WP:BVD

A boulevard heavily lined with commercial or other major non-residential development that serves as the main road within a suburb or some other heavily-developed area is notable.

This policy applies to the type of road, and does not include all roads that are simply named "_______ Boulevard," but do not fit the above description. Nor does it automatically exclude roads fitting the above description, but have a name other than "_______ Boulevard."

[edit] Location of notable landmarks

Shortcut: WP:LANDMARK

A street or road that is the location of at least several notable landmarks is notable. For this purpose, a landmark is considered to be on that street or road if the landmark is located very close to it, and the street or road that its official address is on is minor.

A single landmark does not make the street or road notable, though the article on the landmark may mention that the landmark is found on the street or road.

[edit] Features of streets, roads, and highways

In most cases, features of streets, roads, and highways that have articles should be mentioned within the article on the route. Often, it is that very feature that makes the route notable.

Named bridges and tunnels usually meet WP:N requirements and therefore can have their own articles. Unnamed or informally named bridges and tunnels (e.g. the ______ Street Bridge or the ______ Road underpass) should be mentioned within the article.

Intersections and interchanges are rarely notable enough to have standalone articles.

[edit] Invalid criteria

Shortcut: WP:SRHNN

Existence ≠ Notability. It is important that articles about streets and roads and the sources used to support the information contained within tell important information about the street or road itself, and go beyond trivial mention. Stating rudimentary information, such as where it starts and ends and what it intersects with is acceptable, provided that the article is more than just a map entry written in words.

The following aspects of a street or road do not make it automatically notable, and at the same time, the lack thereof does not make a street or road automatically not notable:

• Length of a street or road alone does not render notability, even if it stands out within its area.
• Streets and roads divided by a double yellow line (or equivalent pavement marking in countries other than the United States) or a median strip are not automatically notable, even in neighborhoods where others are not.
• Having multiple traffic lanes in each direction does not render a street notable.
• Being shown in a bolder line than other streets within a published map does not render notability. Map publishers have their own criteria for determining boldness levels; these may vary from one publisher to the next. Likewise, lack of such boldness does not make a street or road automatically not notable.
• A street or road that simply has a large intersection or an interchange with one or more notable streets, roads, or highways is not automatically notable. If a highway has a numbered interchange with a street or road, this can be mentioned in the article about the highway.
• A single, non-notable event occurring on a street does not make the street automatically notable, and a source trivially mentioning the street does not count toward notability. Even multiple minor events do not render notability. For example, if, over the course of time, several criminal acts reported by local media have occurred along a street, and the street gains mention as a result, this does not make the street notable, as this is not considered to be substantial coverage.

[edit] Alternatives

Shortcut: WP:STREETLIST

Some streets and roads that are not notable enough for a standalone article, but have some smaller significance may be included within some other type of page.

[edit] Lists

Lists of streets or roads within a jurisdiction may be created if at least some of those streets or roads will link to their own articles. When such a list is created, the above guidelines can be relaxed, and other streets and roads that are not notable enough for standalone articles may be listed, though such lists should not be comprehensive and list 100% of the streets in a city. A reason should be given as to why a street or road stands out enough to be listed. Some acceptable reasons include, but are not limited to: long length compared with others in the area, location of a notable landmark, or having an interchange off a limited-access highway. In any case, side streets and other very small roads of minimal importance outside their communities should not be listed unless they are clearly notable.

Short lists of streets or roads may also be included in articles about a town or a suburb of a major city.

[edit] Redirects

In some cases, a street or road may be described in an article on a related street or road and its title can redirect there.