Which cities in N.A. are urbanizing and transforming the most?

[mhays]

I noticed the damndest thing the other day. Eugene, OR, home of an obscure regional university, numbers its alleys just like streets. Like E 10th Ave is parallel to E 10th Alley and so on.

Also, the blocks, which are 300'-something and squarish, have alleys crossing in the middle. TWO alleys per block. So there are alley intersections.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.0485.../data=!3m1!1e3

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mhays

Eugene, OR, home of an obscure regional university

LOL.... I see what you did there.

Not a ducks fan, I take it?

But that is interesting about the dual block bisecting alleys.

Where i grew up in suburban chicago (wilmette), our block and many of the surrounding ones were square with "H"-shaped alleys cutting through them, so you got two alley intersections per block. Oh the young stupid fun I had in those alleys as a kid - first fireworks, first beer, first cigarette, first joint, etc.

The hidden spaces in plain sight, alleys rule!



And in the city neighborhood where I live now, most blocks are bisected by a single alley, but along the major streets, the alley bisecting the blocks along the route don't make it out to the major street, rather they get intercepted by a perpendicular alley that runs parallel to the major street, so you end up with a lot of blocks with "T"-shaped alleys.

[homebucket]

SF has a decent amount of alleys, but they all have street names. Most of them have some sort of storefront or restaurant front despite being off the main street and are still mostly accessible by car, but I like how the spaces prioritize pedestrians. Very European. I often take these as a bypass to the main arterials as an escape from the main street sidewalks for some peace and quiet, which can be crowded with slow walkers, usually tourists.

Hotaling Pl
https://goo.gl/maps/9cegmY3m7pHf5vwLA

Spofford St
https://goo.gl/maps/RfL7FrqRNFwAxmxt9

Ross Alley
https://goo.gl/maps/qXpL2z8jssAzk8fq6

St Louis Alley
https://goo.gl/maps/dXTDNMCr1HaEZJaN9

Hang Ah St
https://goo.gl/maps/nH62aEaboJR7oCbk8

Wentworth Pl
https://goo.gl/maps/m5Ca7MPiQepuG8zXA

Linden St
https://goo.gl/maps/JGtk5hSmcqXoaCdz6

Belden Pl
https://goo.gl/maps/rRxB3n6D9AFAhqum9

Isadora Duncan Ln
https://goo.gl/maps/gHELbMM38t8mUXKP9

Claude Ln
https://goo.gl/maps/CcTMCox1aNzT3fFbA

Maiden Ln
https://goo.gl/maps/3MXMm3nBcQvGc8kd6

[badrunner]

Yeah it's not unusual to have alleys that are also named city streets. There's a bunch of them in Socal beach cities: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8571.../data=!3m1!1e3

[badrunner]

Although some of those SF alleys look like actual proper city streets, they just happen to be pedestrian only, with storefronts etc.

[Steely Dan]

The only place in chicago that I'm aware of where the alleys are given names is down in the loop.

In the other 95% of the city, nearly every single city block is bisected by an alley, and all of them are nameless AFAIK.

[homebucket]

Per Wiki. No where does it say that they can't have street names. In fact, "street" is even in the definition.

The word alley is used in two main ways:

(1) It can refer to a narrow, usually paved, pedestrian path, often between the walls of buildings in towns and cities. This type is usually short and straight, and on steep ground can consist partially or entirely of steps.
(2) It is also describes a very narrow, urban street, or lane, usually paved, which is often used by slow-moving vehicles, though more pedestrian-friendly than a regular street. There are two versions of this kind of alley:
(a) A rear access or service road (back lane), which can also sometimes act as part a secondary vehicular network. Many Americans and Canadians think of an alley in these terms first.
(b) A narrow street between the fronts of houses or businesses. This type of alley is found in the older parts of many cities, including American cities like Philadelphia and Boston (see Elfreth's Alley, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Many are open to traffic.

[Bikemike]

Originally Posted by Easy

Exactly. We're just now starting to see rail lines to where the jobs are located. In any event, the fact that 91% of the people in the Bay don't use transit compared to 95% in LA isn't exactly an amazing statistic.

Where are you getting the above info? Did you see Diamondpark’s thread?

Percent of workers taking transit:
SF-Berkeley-Oakland MSA: 18.9%
LA-Long Beach-Anaheim: 4.7%

It’s not even close.

[Bikemike]

Originally Posted by diamondpark

MSAs by Percentage of Workers Using Public Transportation, 2019
31.6% New York-Newark-Jersey City
18.9% San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley
13.3% Boston-Cambridge-Newton
13.0% Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
12.3% Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
10.6% Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
9.3% Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
6.6% Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro

On a totally related note, my pick for most transformed (in an urban way) is Seattle. The above stats illustrate why. Despite starting from basically the same built environment as LA or Miami, Seattle managed to achieve relatively high (by US standards) transit mode-share, now roughy in the same league as Chicago and DC, in a very short time. The number of Seattleites driving solo fell from 53% to 44% btw 2010 and 2018, which is pretty mind blowing.



As illustrated by the graphic above, this is by no accident, but rather by choice. Seattle’s progressive, pro-transit regional planning with emphasis on multi-modal mobility (aggressively supporting bike infra, wide-scale elimination of parking mins, highest per-capita transit expenditures in the nation including $54 billion to expand its nascent rail network, reduce bus headway’s, etc - tremendous outlays for a metro of its size) as well as it’s demographics - liberal and educated folk who tend to actively pursue transit for environmental/societal reasons (as opposed to poverty) I find it very impressive that despite its much lower pop density and congestion vs LA, the general understanding of and political favorability toward pro-transit and pro-urban policies leaves LA in the dust; In contrast, the factors which should push LA hardest in that direction paradoxically tend to meet much more resistance. Values matter, and cultural component is a huge differentiator. In fact, I find Seattle to be even more welcoming of pro-urban policies than the Bay Area, which has traditionally been a leader on such issues.

Note that 15-20 years ago Seattle’s transit usage was much lower and comparable to LAs. If anything demonstrates rapid urban transformation it’s the building boom around an increasingly pedestrian-oriented economy that Seattle is PROACTIVELY building the framework for.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Ross Alley
https://goo.gl/maps/qXpL2z8jssAzk8fq6

Coincidentally there was an incident at this very alley this past Saturday. Not only is the street named Ross Alley, but the article refers to it as an alleyway as well. A real life alleyway heroic act by your friendly neighborhood Fortune Cookie Man.

Video shows Chinatown business owner flashing concealed weapon to protect tourist

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Per Wiki. No where does it say that they can't have street names. In fact, "street" is even in the definition.

Because they are streets. They're public rights of way, usually allowing both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Whether they're named or not is irrelevant.

[Easy]

Originally Posted by Bikemike

Where are you getting the above info? Did you see Diamondpark’s thread?

Percent of workers taking transit:
SF-Berkeley-Oakland MSA: 18.9%
LA-Long Beach-Anaheim: 4.7%

It’s not even close.

Thank you for the correction. I still say that public transportation in LA is a work in progress. It would be like if BART were just now expanding to SF because jobs in LA are located on the west side and trains are mostly central and East.

I wonder what the statistics would be like if LA built a metro system 45 years ago and SF started theirs 20 years ago and so far it only went to the East bay?

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ If it’s got a name and sidewalks, it ain’t no alley

Damn it!!!!

if you can drive a car through it, it ain't no alley, its a waste of space.

an alley should be thru the building where they put the trash, basement access and the super.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by badrunner

Yeah it's not unusual to have alleys that are also named city streets. There's a bunch of them in Socal beach cities: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8571.../data=!3m1!1e3

Pasadena also has named alleys; some of them are denoted with "Place," though, like Mills Place, which has a restaurant I go to occasionally; in fact, the business address is 22 Mills Place, and the only entrance is on the alley:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1452...4!8i8192?hl=en

Mills Place street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1457...7i16384!8i8192

Playhouse Alley street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1454...7i16384!8i8192

Brainard Alley street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1463...4!8i8192?hl=en

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Pasadena also has named alleys; some of them are denoted with "Place," though, like Mills Place, which has a restaurant I go to occasionally; in fact, the business address is 22 Mills Place, and the only entrance is on the alley:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1452...4!8i8192?hl=en

Mills Place street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1457...7i16384!8i8192

Playhouse Alley street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1454...7i16384!8i8192

Brainard Alley street sign:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1463...4!8i8192?hl=en

Pasadenas alley streets are great. They are usually enhanced with landscaping, lighting and seating for bars and restaurants with brick instead of asphalt

[edale]

Cincinnati also has named alleys. There's a bar called O'Malley's in the Alley that operates on Ogden Pl. But I can't think of too many other examples of businesses fronting alleys. Usually they're too narrow to realistically be viable places for businesses.

O'Malley's

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0992...7i13312!8i6656


Typical alley in OTR

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1098...7i13312!8i6656

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by chris08876

A place of murder.

Crows do congregate in alleyways.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Well, it's a public ROW, but it's not a "street" in the sense that most people view streets.

I certainly don't think in Chicago, for example, that anybody sees a random alley is something even remotely equivalent to Halsted St.

Using Chicago again as my familiar example, alleys aren't named, for one. There are no addresses linked to alleys. They don't appear on any street maps.. They aren't intended to be used as a form of transportation. They simply exist as "service roads" for trash pickup, utility work, garage access, etc. Building "front doors" are generally not supposed to face alleys or motor courts, they are supposed to face either public streets or courtyards. Thus there is a very clear delineation between a "street" and an "alley".

Counterpoint: in San Antonio alleyways are named, have addresses, and homes linked to those addresses, are (usually) paved, appear on maps.

[Echostatic]

Welcome to the SkyscraperPage thread on alleys, everyone!

[sopas ej]

What's funny is West Hollywood's "Vaseline Alley," a notorious gay cruising spot.

I always thought it was just a nickname---until I just saw this on Google Maps!
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Va...4d-118.3691374