[skybrian]

What do you mean no limits? Building housing north of 101 has been entirely blocked until recently.

[bagels]

What's north of 101? The freeway generally runs north/south, so there'd be an east/west division.

[nostrademons]

Not in Mountain View & Sunnyvale. The peninsula curves around at the bottom, so north/south routes like 101, 82 (El Camino), and 280 go mostly east/west, with 85 branching off as a north/south spur. The "north" side of 101 is the side closest to the Bay, where Google is. Throws a lot of visitors for a loop.

[toast0]

Through the peninsula, especially in mountain view, it runs from southeast to northwest, north is towards the bay; south is towards the mountains. ca-85 is much closer to north/south through mountain view.

[DrScump]

... until it's East/West from Saratoga on.

It gets more fun in the East Bay: you can be going Eastbound on 580 and Westbound on 80 at the same time (it's a shared road)!

[DrScump]

101 is more East/West at that point, until it bends around the bay at Whipple.

That whole area is direction-impaired. The city of East Palo Alto is northwest of Palo Alto and in a different county!

[throwaway60453]

Yeah, San Carlos air traffic controllers get pissy when you announce northbound over the 101 and you're really flying due west, with the sun in your face even.

[DrScump]

If you really call it "the 101", they will peg you as being from SoCal.