A guide to Boston’s double named streets

Megan Woolhouse wrote in today’s Globe that nearly 200 Boston street names are repeated elsewhere in the city. An address of 10 Cedar St. can bring you to locations in Charlestown, or several miles south in Mattapan and Roxbury. One Marion Ave.? Look for it in East Boston, Roslindale, and Hyde Park.

With a little detective work, you too can learn how to navigate Boston's streets. Bob Madden, a 63-year-old investigator at the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, trains new hires in more than just police techniques -- he teaches ways to cope with the city's often baffling roads.

Here are Madden's Top 5 Tips, not in order of importance, as told to Woolhouse:

1. Get a map, and not just any map. Get an Arrow map dedicated to the city, not the region. Most other maps sold downtown and to tourists are full of errors.

2. Assume houses and businesses on some streets are not numbered sequentially. Also check for both odd and even numbers on the same side of a street. Beacon Street near the State House and Tremont Street along the Boston Common have both even and odd numbers on the same side.

3. Just because a street ends doesn't mean it's finished. Although some streets in Mattapan appear to stop when the road ends at the woods, it actually continues on the other side of the trees. Same for Dorchester -- some streets look like dead ends. Technically they're not.

4. Look for house numbers in obscure locations. In many areas, house numbers are posted on side doors. At the Franklin Housing Development in Dorchester, numbers are posted on the front door of most residences, which do not face the street.

5. Keep a positive attitude. Inch closer to your destination, asking people along the way where to go. "I tell 'em people in Boston are really, very friendly," Madden said. "Don't get discouraged."

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