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Any easy way to memorize streets?


gvandellen

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Is there an easy way that you have found to learn a new area quickly so you don't have to rely on the map book or master board at the station?

It takes time, After about a year, I know almost every street in the 5 boroughs of NYC. If I can manage that you can manage your area I'm sure !

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has taken me less than a year but best way to memorize an area and the streets is either go for a walk or go for a drive.. and paying attention to the streets along the way. It's only taken me about 5 months to know most if not all of the streets in my area.. it's much smaller than NYC but still hard to get used to, especially when I go out of my area alot

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Remembering streets is great, driving during your shift and doing area familiarization is great as well.

However, there is absolutely nothing wroong with consulting a map board prior to exiting the station and also opening a map book while en route.

I worked the same area for years and I always glanced at the board to be sure and then always opened the map book. This was very common practice by everyone in my service, as it is common sense.

Having the book already open prevents any delays should you encounter unexpected gridlock, road closures, etc. You have quick resource to change your route readily accessible. It also ensures you are going to where you thought you weere supposed to be going. I will admit I have brainfarted on calls before, thought I knew where something was and when I got there.....I was in the wrong place.

Also, you should always practice your map reading skills. You will not always know every street, alley, lane, whatever. The times when you are given an address and have to look it up you will be better prepared and not waste any time as you will have been well practiced in the map reading abillity.

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Plus 5 for a fresh topic!

As long as at least one of you know the streets, that should be good. It's when both of you are clueless that it becomes a real problem.

Back in the 70's, some brainiac partnered a couple of out-of-towners on the same ambulance for awhile. Their response times were always way behind everybody else's. You'd hear them dispatched from the South Side to a run a few blocks away, and five minutes later, the central unit would see them flying past on the highway in the middle of downtown and wonder, 'wtf'? The map books we had back then were hard to read, but gave turn-by-turn directions to every street in town FROM DOWNTOWN. So what happened was, anytime they weren't sure where a location was, these geniuses would run code-3 downtown, and then navigate their way back to the scene from there. The boss finally broke that crew up shortly after that.

Unless somebody in the truck is absolutely, positively, beyond any doubt whatsoever sure about how to get to a specific location, it is usually best for the passenger to call out the route from the map to the driver as you go. Unless the passenger is a retard who is not good with the map (which really isn't uncommon), that usually works well.

Of course, you are right. Plan A is to just know your way around without the map. I tend to learn streets best on my own, off duty, and don't mind doing so. Cruise around, taking your time, and using the map. Get to know the main streets of the entire district, setting a framework foundation for your entire understanding. Once you have that down, then branch off of the main streets one neighbourhood at a time, getting to know that neighbourhood well before moving on to the next one over. Don't bounce around a lot. Stay on a logical path to getting the big picture. It's important to be able to visualise a map over you as you drive, so you can see the big picture and place yourself within it. In other words, you drive looking down on the streets from above, as if looking at a map, not just looking forward with tunnel vision to the next intersection.

It takes time! If there is a really sure-fire way to do this rapidly, I'd sure like to hear it! But the best I know is to just be methodical about it, and not random. And, like any other educational endeavour, set a foundational framework for yourself first before diving into the details of individual neighbourhoods.

Good luck!

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Dusty has already said a lot of it, but learn the main streets first. In every town and city there are main north/south or east/west streets that everyone uses all the time. Get those down first.

Make sure that even if you don't know what (side) street you are on, know which direction (north, south, east, west) you are heading and which main street you should next come into contact with.

Know how to get to the hospitals, from anywhere. This is of particular importance because when driving to the hospital you will probably be by yourself in the front of the ambulance. By the time your partner tells you start moving, it is then too late to be looking at the map. You need to know where you are going, even if it is the slightly longer way that uses more main streets.

Don't be embarrassed about looking at a map. You can't be expected to know every single street, and even if it is a main area it doesn't hurt to take a quick glance to re familiarize yourself.

Lastly do NOT guess on which way to go. If you are unsure, you need to ask. There is nothing worse than working on a patient and then looking out the window to find we are halfway across the city in the wrong direction. There is no excuse for not asking and then doing the wrong thing. If you don't know, swallow your pride for the sake of the patient. ...Then, when the call is done, look on the map and retrace your route.

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Check your city for patterns. A lot of cities use alphabetical names: Ankeny, Burnside, Couch, Davis, etc.

Many cities are divided up by north, South, Northwest, Southeast etc.

Many cities assign the term "street" to roads that run east-west and "avenue to ones that run north-south.

Neighborhoods can have themes. Birds: Oriole, Cardinal, etc. Presidents: Wilson, Washington, Lincoln. Trees: Elm, Oak, Spruce.

Of course the easiest is numbers 1st, 2nd 3rd.

Find the patterns it make things much easier.

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As a person who gets lost very often :? I can tell you that maps are your friends, just make sure that the map you have is up to date.

When I did my ride along a few years ago, the crew was still consulting a map that was 2 years old, the city had changed a lot since then... so of course they had to use their intuition... which made the ride not very comfortable :? .

Good luck!

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