median strip n.
Eastern, Midwestern, & Southern U.S. The dividing area, either paved or landscaped, between opposing lanes of traffic on some highways. Also called median; also called regionally boulevard, mall1, medial strip, meridian, neutral ground. See Regional Note at neutral ground.
neutral ground n.
Louisiana & Southern Mississippi
The strip of grass dividing the opposing lanes of an avenue or a highway is known by a variety of terms in the United States. The most common term, used almost everywhere except westward from the Rocky Mountains, is median strip or median. In upstate New York it is also called a mall, and in Pennsylvania, a medial strip. In the Midwest the strip is also known as a meridian or a boulevard. In Louisiana and southern Mississippi the term used is neutral ground—"as if the highway were a battle zone," observes Craig M. Carver in American Regional Dialects. See Note at parking.
park·ing (pär'kĭng) n.
The act or practice of temporarily leaving a vehicle or maneuvering a vehicle into a certain location.
Space in which to park vehicles or a vehicle: ample parking behind the building.
Upper Midwest & Western U.S. The grass strip, often planted with shade trees, between a sidewalk and a street. Also called regionally boulevard, boulevard strip, grassplot, neutral ground, parking strip, parkway, terrace, tree belt, tree lawn.
Slang Kissing or caressing in a vehicle stopped in a secluded spot.
To the majority of Americans, the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the street is called simply the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the street. However, in some parts of the country, it has acquired specific names. In the Midwest and West, it is often called the parking or parkway, and in Washington State it is the parking strip, according to the survey conducted by the Dictionary of American Regional English. In the Upper Midwest, it is also known as the boulevard or boulevard strip; around the Great Lakes and in the Midwest, it is sometimes a terrace; around the Great Lakes and in especially northeastern Ohio, it is also called a tree lawn. In Massachusetts it is a tree belt; in the Atlantic states, sometimes a grassplot; and in Louisiana and Mississippi, neutral ground. Some of these words are also used for the grassy strip in the middle of a street or highway. See Note at neutral ground.
(pär'kĭng) 