House with a back alley (housing, properties, contractors, state)

[manekeniko]

A neighborhood that I'm interested in has many homes with dirt alleys in the back. It's an older part of town with small bungalow homes, and I could describe it as bohemian rustic. The state is way out there in the old west.

Having an alley out back is interesting and exotic to me as a girl from the NY 'burbs. I'm used to paved roads, lawns and sidewalks in front of the tract housing.

What's it like living in home with an alley in the back? What purpose does the alley serve, and do these properties belong to everyone, or no one? I see no garbage or cars in the alley using Google Maps. Can I walk in it, or should I fear it?

I will probably have to build a garage and the car would back out into the alley.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Although my last house did not have a garage on the alley, many others on my block did. Mine was torn down way before I bought the house. They used them. It was asphalt as I remember and I drove it once or twice, out of curiosity. Seemed safe enough, as was the neighborhood.

[beckerd2]

I grew up in a area where there were alleys. All the ones that I know of can be used by anyone. Most of the time they were used by the people who owned houses that butted up against the alley as a way to get to their backyards.
I have also seen it where garbage service is picked up back there. The power lines usually ran along the alley, so it would be used by the electric company or phone company to do maintenance on their lines.


I never thought about it being different or anything having an alley in the back of the house. It had gravel laid down on it and I think the town probably laid it down many, many years ago. Nobody maintained it...it maintained itself by the occasional person driving down it. Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing huge weeds or anything growing so I guess the one I had was used often enough for that not to happen.


You can walk in the alley all you want to... as long as you feel comfortable....its up to you... nobody on here knows what area your considering so can't really help you with that question. Just be aware of anybody having a big dog in their backyard. A lot of times fences don't hold them back.


As for the alleys that I had growing up, we had no problem walking down them. Used them as shortcuts to get home from school and to friend's houses.

[BirdieBelle]

I grew up in a house with an alley too. It was a non-issue because the neighborhood was generally safe.

Some people walked their dogs back there, sometimes kids ran through it. Its main purpose was for the city trash trucks to collect all the garbage. It's where we kept the cans.

[OscarTheGrouch]

I hugely prefer houses and neighborhoods with alleys. It gives the neighborhood a much nicer feel not to the have the front of the house dominated by garages and driveways, and keeps all the services (rubbish collection, power poles etc) out of the streets.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by OscarTheGrouch

I hugely prefer houses and neighborhoods with alleys. It gives the neighborhood a much nicer feel not to the have the front of the house dominated by garages and driveways, and keeps all the services (rubbish collection, power poles etc) out of the streets.

Me too. My street has a back alley. Love it.

[cully]

I've lived where there were these alleys in cities like Alexandria, Va., Georgetown, DC, a few smaller cities, etc.

They were sometimes worn asphalt, sometimes well kept asphalt or concrete, sometimes just soil and any grass that could grow.

They were sometimes recorded as owned by the City, sometimes the gis map was blank on that.

Sometimes in more modern day they were the only way the residents on those streets accessed their parking areas. Some people built garages behind their homes, some made parking pads, some threw down gravel for parking, some did nothing but did park there. Sometimes that was where the trash was picked up.

Some put a patio or studio back there if there were parking available in front created in a more modern time when sidewalks and wide roads were developed.

For some very high end homes, that back alley is still where the trash is picked up and where staff and contractors come in and where deliveries are made...through the back door. And it was the same back in the day when they those alleys were put in.

But it is always understood it was some version of easement and to be left clear as a pass through.

That said, I have known people to pile a mulch delivery in their dirt alley...and then a neighbor nicely reminds them it is to be left clear.

I have known someone to park in the alley, not their back yard, and no one cares.

Depends on the neighbors and on the muni you are in.

Ask a city/down office or a historic board if there is one.

[Okey Dokie]

If you access your garage from the alley, and you live in a snowy area, find out if it is plowed, and by who. My sister used to have a alley, and apparently the homeowners were responsible for snow removal. Fortunately there were a bunch of retirees living there with big snow blowers who actually enjoyed doing the whole thing.

[germaine2626]

Originally Posted by Okey Dokie

If you access your garage from the alley, and you live in a snowy area, find out if it is plowed, and by who. My sister used to have a alley, and apparently the homeowners were responsible for snow removal. Fortunately there were a bunch of retirees living there with big snow blowers who actually enjoyed doing the whole thing.

That is an excellent point.

I have seen alleys where that is how every single homeowner had access to their garage, put out the trash, went to and from their property, etc. and I have also seen alleys that were basically used for nothing at all anymore.

[AlaskaErik]

An alley gives criminals a second option when casing your home and when removing your belongings. I've never had a house with one and I don't feel like I missed out on anything special.