street work

[Mark Mandel]

If you wouldn't mind, please read this paragraph and then answer the
question below.

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JPC construction will be doing work at a manhole location on 34th
Street just north of Spruce Street. Therefore, the east traffic lane
will be closed for approximately 4 weeks during the hours of 7:00am -
3:30 pm M-F.
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Did you read that as referring to
 1. the eastbound lane, or
 2. the lane on the east side of the street?

The intended reading is #2: 34th St. in Philadelphia runs N-S, so
there is no eastbound lane. But I first read it as #1. Then I realized
that that was impossible and it must refer to the eastbound lane of
Spruce Street. But the text says 34th north of Spruce, not in the
intersection, and I wound up writing for clarification. The reply was

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You are correct. 34th runs North to South. Therefore there is an east
side and a west side of the street. In the case of the construction
location, the lane on the east side of the street will be blocked off.
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I grew up in NYC, where the numbered streets run E-W, and after almost
six years in Philadelphia I still stumble over the difference
sometimes. Now I can't tell whether my misunderstanding was wholly due
to that, or whether the sentence really is confusing.

Mark, facing .....  East

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