Alley


al·ley [al-ee] noun, plural al·leys.
1. a passage, as through a continuous row of houses, permitting access from the street to backyards, garages, etc.
2. a narrow back street.–Dictionary.com

Back before fire engines achieved the leadership role in urban design, back when streets were a part of the public commons, there were alleys. In Charlottesville several neighborhoods established before the apotheosis of the Automobile have alleys. The alley above is in Belmont, parallel to and north of Hinton Avenue.

Dear Charlottesville Planning Commission. Please consider the reintroduction of the alley into the urban form.

Author: WmX

I stumbled off the track to success in 1968, started chasing shadows that summer. Since then, In addition to farm-laborer and newspaper photographer my occupational incarnations include dishwasher, janitor, retail photo clerk, plumber, HVAC repairman, auto mechanic, CAT scan technologist, computer worker and politico (whatever it takes to buy a camera.) I am on the road to understanding black and white photography.

One thought on “Alley”

  1. Y’know, in other jurisdictions where developers have encountered static when attempting to incorporate alleys into
    new urbanist flavored neighborhoods, they have simply denoted them as “walking trails’ on their plats…
    This after learning that modern zoning doesn’t allow alleys…

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