GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — If you’re visiting Grand Junction for the first time, you may be surprised to hear your GPS rattle off directions filled with numbers and letters, but locals have navigated this way their entire life.

“Turn right onto 26 1/2 Road, then turn left onto F 1/2 Road” and “turn left on 25 Road, then turn left on I 1/2 Road” are two sets of GPS instructions you may hear in Grand Junction. Drivers who are unprepared to navigate the sea of numbers, letters, and fractions may find themselves making wrong turns and getting frustrated.

The question is simple, why not name the roads?

The numbered roads actually correspond to the mileage distance from the Utah border. 28 Road is 28 miles from the Colorado-Utah border while 30 Road is 30 miles from the border. These roads traverse north and south.

The lettered roads correspond to their distance from Orchard Mesa, with A Road being the baseline. A 1/4 road is a quarter mile north of A Road, while G Road is 7 miles north of A Road. These lettered roads traverse east and west.

The numbers get even more confusing. Streets are numbered near downtown Grand Junction, ranging from 1st street to 12th street. These streets lie between 26 Road and 27 Road. 1st Street is 26 Road, while 7th Street is 26 1/2 Road.

There are some roads in Grand Junction fortunate enough to have names. The names Orchard Avenue, Patterson Road, and Pitkin Avenue all stem from Grand Junction’s history

Orchard Avenue references the extensive peach farms in the Grand Valley. Patterson Road is named after a Grand Junction farmer, Henry N. Patterson Sr., while Pitkin Avenue is named after the second Governor of Colorado, Frederick Walker Pitkin.

The next time your GPS rattles off some letters, numbers and fractions, you’ll know they represent the distance between Utah and Orchard Mesa but Grand Junction city council members and city planners should still answer the question…why can’t our city streets have real names?