Midtown, Land Park, East Sac? (Sacramento, Folsom: appointed, rental homes, home)

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by wburg

Trains to Folsom stopped at 7 PM even before service reductions. And yeah, it's pretty much to keep Those People from coming to Folsom at night.

I stand corrected--I guess I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Looking at the rail schedule, the last train for Folsom leaves downtown at 630. That's pretty ridiculous, even for a place with so many 9 to 5ers.

From the GM of SacRT:
"Folsom, CA: Is there anything the residents of Folsom can do to get later night service to Folsom? Is it in the plan to restore service that you keep talking about?
Reply: Extended night service to Folsom is not in the TransitRenewal Plan. If you would like to see more RT service to the City of Folsom, let your city leaders know by attending and commenting at city council meetings and advocating in the community. You can also attend RT Board Meetings and let your voice be heard."

But hey, at least there's service. That's better than 'burbs on the I-80 corridor. Again, GM of SacRT:
"Roseville, CA: When will light rail extend to Roseville? Rocklin?
Reply: Roseville, Rocklin and Placer County have not been active supporters of extending Light Rail to their communities. For RT to extend to these communities, they would need to take an active role in helping RT to secure the necessary resources. This is what the City of Folsom did. "

[la_cavalière]

OK... more questions on the original topic:

Can someone describe the Land Park neighborhood north of the park vs. south of the park?

How is the Alhambra Triangle?

What's the better park for (fairly) long daily walks -- McKinley Park or Land Park? How about Capitol Park?

How is the Sacramento River Trail near Land Park/Little Pocket/Pocket?

What is the best way to access the American River Trail from East Sacramento?

Thanks again to all of you wonderful CD posters!

[ryuns]

North of Land Park is generally fancier and more expensive. Big houses, tree lined, and very old. One of the original developments of the city, most of the houses are ca. 1900-1920. South Land Park is still nice but built later (post war?). It's also farther from the central city and closer to the less nice parts of town. Google street view can give you a general feel.

Alhambra Triangle is pretty pleasant, has been developing quickly, with a lot of healthcare in the area, and due to its proximity to Midtown. wburg will give you more details.

All of the ones you listed are really, really pretty parks. Capitol Park is arguably the most interesting, because there are rose gardens, lots of different trees, monuments, and of course a lovely building in the middle. McKinley is also lovely, lots of activities happening. Land Park is by far the biggest and probably the best for daily long walks. It's also the only one where you would ever feel like you're by yourself (which is good, at least in daylight hours--though it is a safe area).

The Sac River Trail varies quite a bit. It's on a levee, generally not under a canopy, but you're close to the river the entire way. The area near Pocket is nice. North of there, the freeway runs pretty close, and you hit some industrial areas before getting to the river walk area near Old Town. Still an awesome trail, overall.

Since the ART runs on the north side of the river and most of Sac is on the south, access is limited to a few places. There are a couple great ped overpasses, one from downtown at about 19th St and one on the campus of Sac State. Near Sac State, you can also get across at J St.

(FYI, you can get a cool view of some of the trails by using google maps and clicking the bicycle icon. This brings up all the bike routes in town, including ped overpasses, and the ART. The Sac River Trail doesn't show up for some reason, but its location is pretty self-explanatory!)

[NewtoSD?]

Originally Posted by la_cavalière

Thanks, wburg & caligirlz! After checking out craigslist, trulia & sacrentals.com, it seems nice East Sac rentals are few and far between and rent quickly. Hopefully more will be available when I come out for a house-hunting trip in a few weeks.

Wrong, wrong, wrong on W-burg's "stripmall" assessment of the foodie culture here. It's not limited to midtown; it's everywhere. Go up to H & 57 you'll find Crepe's, frozen yogurt, coffee, wine/dinner restaurant, bar/grill, and more. All locally owned. And that's just one small area.

In east sac by McKinley park there is ice cream, coffee, mexican food. Land park has coffee, deli's, etc. Again, all local businesses. There are endless pockets like this throughout the city - not just in midtown. The thing with Sac is, you have to live here and explore to find these areas. Why? Because they don't jump out at you - they are the antithesis of the strip mall.

[wburg]

NewtoSD: I'm not saying there aren't great restaurants, local and varied cuisine, outside the central city--it's just that most of them are in strip malls. Most of my foodie friends are constantly raving about some new discovery way down on Franklin, Stockton, Folsom Boulevard or Del Paso, mostly in funky little strip-mall spots with a convenience store and a nail salon and a spot that has been vacant since the Carter administration. Rancho Cordova has the best Korean food in the region, the "Little Saigon" district in South Sacramento has the lock on Vietnamese. But the physical form of those negihborhoods is, almost exclusively, postwar auto-centric strip malls--that just happens to be how they built things in that era. There are a few remnants of streetcar suburb construction in places like East Sacramento and Land Park, and farther out a few remnants of what were once the shadows of farm towns overtaken by suburban sprawl. But the closest thing to "urban" form is the central city and very close-in parts of the adjacent neighborhoods, which is what the OP was asking about.

[NewtoSD?]

Originally Posted by wburg

NewtoSD: I'm not saying there aren't great restaurants, local and varied cuisine, outside the central city--it's just that most of them are in strip malls. Most of my foodie friends are constantly raving about some new discovery way down on Franklin, Stockton, Folsom Boulevard or Del Paso, mostly in funky little strip-mall spots with a convenience store and a nail salon and a spot that has been vacant since the Carter administration. Rancho Cordova has the best Korean food in the region, the "Little Saigon" district in South Sacramento has the lock on Vietnamese. But the physical form of those negihborhoods is, almost exclusively, postwar auto-centric strip malls--that just happens to be how they built things in that era. There are a few remnants of streetcar suburb construction in places like East Sacramento and Land Park, and farther out a few remnants of what were once the shadows of farm towns overtaken by suburban sprawl. But the closest thing to "urban" form is the central city and very close-in parts of the adjacent neighborhoods, which is what the OP was asking about.

You are a smart guy but I will respectfully disagree with you. To me Sac is a collection of little neighborhoods, each of which are self-contained and unique. My family is always struck by the number of small businesses we continually find here when they visit. They are tucked in an alley, a converted home, a converted wharehouse; not planned developments. You find them in almost every neighborhood here. They are everywhere you would not expect them to be unless you lived here and explored.

I do agree that we have the strip malls, but one could apply a very liberal definition of stripmall to include almost any cluster of businesses. For instance, you could consider Lohman's plaza a stripmall. Technically it's not contained within any neighborhood and it was a planned retail development. Yet, it is still within walking distance or very short drive for most in east Sac, and it is filled with local businesses.

I believe the OP was more concerned with proximity, convenience, and ambience than the literal definition of stripmall. She will find all of that in LandPark. Deli, coffee, etc, along with the park and beautiful homes. When most people hear the word stripmall, they think Target, freeways, or long corridors of generic urban sprawl.

[la_cavalière]

Great discussion on local business vs. urban walkability. For me, local businesses are far better than chain restaurants and contribute to the character of a neighborhood. But I also prefer streetfront buildings rather than stripmalls behind oversized parking lots. Sometimes you have to compromise between the two ideals.

[NewtoSD?]

Originally Posted by la_cavalière

Great discussion on local business vs. urban walkability. For me, local businesses are far better than chain restaurants and contribute to the character of a neighborhood. But I also prefer streetfront buildings rather than stripmalls behind oversized parking lots. Sometimes you have to compromise between the two ideals.

I think you will find that here. It's one of the aspects of the city I really enjoy. Don't get me wrong; if you continue driving east through Arden arcade and further towards Fair Oaks you will find miles upon miles of what WBurg describes. But then you are on the outskirts of Sac, in an area most people would expect it. I just don't go to those areas.

But even continuing that direction (on the topic of Fair Oaks) you find Old Fair Oaks. It's a small township on a hill. At the bottom is a suspended walking bridge that takes you accross the river. At the top is a cluster of small deli/restaurants, coffee, etc. Again, a cluster of small businesses. And, there are chickens running everywhere. Yes, chickens. In the street, amongst the people. Check it out
Fair Oaks - My Kind of Town Sally Dunbar "Your Fair Oaks Realtor" Lyon Real Estate - YouTube

In Fair Oaks, the chickens truly are free range

Stripmall or local vibe? LOL. You decide. And this is just about 15 min from Sac.

[wburg]

"Stripmall" and "local vibe" aren't mutually exclusive. I grew up not far from Fair Oaks Village, and like that area a lot--it's one of those "former small-town" remnants that I described, you can find them on some old side streets that used to be main streets when the are was pretty much orchards except for the remnants of gold-rush boomtowns and the little cities servicing the railroad.

There used to be wild chickens roaming around Sac State too, until the current president decided they weren't classy. But the City Council recently lifted the city ban on urban chicken keeping, and you can hear chickens clucking in Midtown backyards--and occasionally run into wild turkeys!

[NorCal Dude]

People never knock a chain that sits on the grid, yet they will knock a locally owned place that sits on a strip mall. I guess that is the power of walkability...