9-1-1  Address – How It Works

1. Rural addresses were developed using the existing street/avenue grid, where street and avenue numbers increase every 100 metres – whether an actual road exists or not.  Streets are vertical (north/south), avenues are horizontal (east/west).

   1. Street numbers originate from Meridian Street (implied number 0) and increase in both eastward and westward directions (e.g. 16 St E, 16 St W)

   2. Avenue numbers start at 146 (which aligns with Calgary’s146th Ave.), and increase southwards

   3. Rural addresses end with “E” or “W” to indicate the driveway’s location in relation to Meridian St.  EXCEPTION: in the hamlets, or in subdivisions with a pre-existing civic addressing system, where “E” and “W” might be confusing.

   4. Driveways on the east side of the street are assigned “EVEN” numbers;

   5. Driveways on the west side of the street are assigned “ODD” numbers.

   6. Driveways on the north side of the avenue are assigned “EVEN” numbers;

   7. Driveways on the south side of the avenue are assigned “ODD” numbers.

   8. The address number may be up to 6-digits long, and is divided into two parts.  The first 3 digits make up the first part, which is reserved for the reference street or avenue number.  The last 3 digits are reserved for the address unit – a number between 1 and 260.

2. Our addressing system is based on a 1-Mile grid.  Undeveloped road allowances may be referenced in an address as a “virtual” street or avenue.  Similarly, the dotted line between quarters in this diagram provides for potential “forced” roads between sections, and is referenced here as a “virtual” avenue.  If your address references a non-existent street or avenue, it will always be the number of the street or avenue on an undeveloped surveyed road allowance or the number of a “forced” east/west road allowance between sections, as shown below.

3. Each mile (5,280 feet or 1,609 metres) is divided into 260 address units.   Using the above illustration, a driveway 400 metres south of 242 Av, would be assigned address unit 65 or 66 because (400/1609 x 260 = 65).   If the driveway were located in the second mile south of 242 Av, the distance would be measured from “virtual” 258 Av.

Note:  Driveway locations were identified using digital ortho photographs, and distances were measured on the M.D.’s digital map.  The accuracy of these measurements is reasonable, but it is not survey quality.  Distances were measured following the road, including curves.

Street Addresses – driveway is on a street or a 1000-series Drive

1. Street addresses increase southwards. 

2. Street addresses are always 6 digits long, followed by the street number or name.

   1. First 3 digits are reserved for the real or virtual avenue number at the intersection immediately north of the driveway – e.g. 242

   2. Last 3 digits are reserved for the driveway’s address unit

      If the address unit is less than 3 digits (e.g. 1 to 99), then 0’s are used as placeholders in the second part of the address – e.g.      065     or       003

      Example: A property located on the west side of 16 St W, 400 m south of 242 Av, would be

      242065 16 St W  (west side so an odd number for the address unit)

   3. If one or more avenues were developed between 242 Av and 258 Av, the address assigned to the driveway would reference the number of the actual avenue immediately north of the driveway, and the address units would start over from 1. 

      For example, assume that 246 Av is developed.  The driveway is 200 metres south of 246 Av, so the address will be 246032 16 St W (east side) or 246033 16 St W (west side)

   4. If the driveway were located in the second mile south of 242 Av, the address would reference “virtual” 258 Av, and the distance to the driveway would be measured from that point. 

      For example, assume that the driveway is 800 metres south of “virtual” 258 Av, on the east side of 16 St W.  The address would be       258130 16 St W

Avenue Addresses – driveway is on an avenue or a 2000-series drive

1. Avenue addresses increase eastward and westward from Meridian St. 

2. Driveways on avenues west of Meridian St. are measured from the nearest street immediately east of the driveway, while driveways on avenues east of Meridian St. are measured from the nearest street immediately west of the driveway.

3. Avenue addresses may be 1 to 6 digits long – depending on the reference street number. 

   1. If the address references Meridian St, the first part of the address (first 3 digits) is omitted, and the address consists only of a number between 1 and 260 (the driveway’s address unit).

   A driveway is located 10 m west of Meridian St, on the north side of 434 Av -- we do not use 0’s as placeholders for the first 5 digits. 
   The address will be      2 434 Av W     not       000002 434 Av W
   
   Similarly, the address of a driveway located 400 m east of Meridian St, on the north side of 434 Av will be    66 434 Av E

   2. If the address references a street number that is 1 or greater, the second part of the address always consists of 3 digits (numbers from 1 to 260), with 0’s used as placeholders.

   3. If the address references a street number between 1 and 9, the address is 4 digits long.  
      e.g. 8002 434 Av W;               2220 434 Av E

   4. If the address references a street number between 10 and 99, the address is 5 digits long.          
      e.g. 16130 434 Av W;             80065 434 Av E

   5. If the address references a street number greater than 99, the address is 6 digits long

4. If one or more streets were developed between 16 St W and 32 St W, the address assigned to the driveway would reference the number of the actual street immediately east of the driveway, and the address units would start over from 1. 

   E.g. Assume the driveway is on 434 Av W.  Also assume that 28 St W is developed.  The driveway is 200 metres west of 28 St, so the address is

   28032 434 Av W  (on the north side) or 28033 434 Av W (on the south side)

Shared Driveways or Private Roads

1. Many residents share a driveway with a neighboring land owner.  In these cases, a “suite” number precedes the driveway address following 100, 200, 300, 400 sequence.

2. A driveway runs in a north/south direction, providing access for 2 properties – the northern most property on the driveway is 100, and the southern most property is 200. 
   Sample addresses:  100 8004 530 Av W     or     200 8004 530 Av W

3. A driveway runs in a east/west direction, providing access for 2 properties – the property closest to Meridian St  is 100, and the property farthest from Meridian St is 200  
   Sample addresses          100 530104 8 St E   or      200  530104 8 St E

New 4-digit Drives

1. Hills, gullies, creeks and rivers compelled the Municipality or the Province to build roads that angled across country. Previously, diagonal roads built by the municipality were assigned a street or avenue number – “what it would be, if it were straight.”

2. All addresses must be unique.  When we examined the addresses that would be assigned to driveways on the numbered diagonal roads, we discovered that duplicate addresses could occur (now or in the future), if we used the existing street/avenue designation.  To remedy this situation, a new 4-digit number was developed and assigned to the diagonal road, as follows:

   1. Steeply sloped diagonal roads – i.e. those that angle between 45degrees and 135 degrees – were assigned a 4-digit number in the 1000 series.  The “virtual” street number at the end of the road closest to Meridian St was used to determine the new drive number-- e.g. 271 Street became 1271 Drive.  Addresses on these roads follow the “Street Address” procedures described above.  The first 3 digits will reference an avenue north of the driveway.

   2. Gently sloped diagonal roads – i.e. those that angle between 135 and 180 degrees – were assigned a 4-digit number in the 2000 series.  The “virtual” avenue number at the most northerly end of the road was used to determine the new drive number– e.g. 205 Av became 2205 Drive.  Addresses on these roads follow the “Avenue Address” procedures described above.  The first three digits will reference a street east or west of the driveway.

3. Rural addresses NEVER use the 4-digit drive in the first part of an address.  The nearest street or avenue  is referenced instead. For example:  A driveway is located 600 metres south of (real or virtual) 274 Av on the east side of 1080 Dr W. 

               The address is 274100 1080 Dr W