World's Steepest Street is called Baldwin in New Zealand
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Gps Coordinates / -45.8487307,170.5336193
Steepest Street In The World Weird Strange VR Locations
41 Baldwin Street, North East Valley, Dunedin 9010, New Zealand
A straight street a little under 1,150 feet long, Baldwin Street runs east from the valley of the Lindsay Creek up the side of Signal Hill towards Opoho, rising from 98 feet above sea level at its junction with North Road to 100 m (330 ft) above sea level at the top, an average slope of slightly more than 1:5.
Gps Coordinates / -45.8494705,170.5346301
Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, New Zealand is located in the residential suburb of North East Valley, 2.2 miles northeast of Dunedin's central business district. Guinness World Records calls it the steepest street in the world, meaning no street gains more altitude in 10 horizontal meters, measured along the street's centerline.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -45.8492787 / Gps Link -45.8493414 / Gps Link -45.8494059
Gps Coordinates / -45.8492787,170.5343691 / -45.8493414,170.5344533 / -45.8494059,170.5345412
The lower reaches are only moderately steep, and the surface is asphalt, but the upper reaches are steeper and surfaced in concrete 660 feet long for ease of maintenance in either chip seal or asphalt would flow down the slope on a warm day and for safety in Dunedin's frosty winters.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -45.849535 / Gps Link -45.8496002 / Gps Link -45.8497271
Gps Coordinates / -45.849535,170.5347172 / -45.8496002,170.5348019 / -45.8497271,170.5349696
The street's steepness was unintentional. As with many other parts of early Dunedin, and indeed New Zealand, streets were laid out in a grid pattern with no consideration for the terrain, usually by planners in London. In the case of Baldwin Street (and much of the Dunedin street plan), the layout was surveyed by Charles Kettle in the mid -19th century. The street is named after William Baldwin, an Otago Provincial Councillor and newspaper founder, who subdivided the area.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -45.8498762 / Gps Link -45.8499994 / Gps Link -45.8500623
Gps Coordinates / -45.8498762,170.5351463 / -45.8499994,170.5353344 / -45.8500623,170.5354151
In 1987 Baldwin Street was recognised as the world's steepest street by the Guinness Book of Records following a two-year campaign by the broadcaster Jim Mora. At the time, Baldwin Street topped two competing streets in San Francisco, which hitherto had held the title of being the steepest streets in the world.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -45.8501287 / Gps Link -45.8501953 / Gps Link -45.8502601
Gps Coordinates / -45.8501287,170.5355007 / -45.8501953,170.5355905 / -45.8502601,170.535678
The street is the venue for an annual event in Dunedin, the Baldwin Street Gutbuster. Every summer since 1988 this exercise in fitness and balance involves athletes running from the base of the street to the top and back down again. The event attracts several hundred competitors annually and the race record is 1:56.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -45.8503266 / Gps Link -45.8503876 / Gps Link -45.8504369
Gps Coordinates / -45.8503266,170.5357638 / -45.8503876,170.5359054 / -45.8504369,170.5358207
In March 2001, a 19-year-old University of Otago student was killed when she and another student attempted to travel down the street inside a wheelie bin. The bin collided with a parked trailer, killing her instantly, and causing serious head injuries for the other student.
Gps Coordinates / -45.849218,170.5342692
On 26 January 2018, 11-year-old Harry Willis raised over $11,000 NZD for the Ronald McDonald House in Christchurch by ascending the street on a pogo stick. The climb took around ten minutes. Willis's effort has since been commemorated with a plaque at the top of the street.
Welcome To Baldwin Street The Worlds Steepest Street
Gps Coordinates / -45.848014,170.532596
On 10 January 2019, a man rode a Lime scooter down Baldwin St, the same day that the scooters had been introduced to Dunedin and a week after Dunedin's mayor, Dave Cull, had said he was relying "on people's common sense" not to take the scooters down the world's steepest street.