Alleys serve an essential function in residential neighborhoods. They house the less attractive, but essential, necessities: garages, utility poles, trash cans and more. If it weren’t for alleys, these would all be fronting the street. This alley a block from my house has to be one of the nicest in the area. Nicely paved and well kept by residents, it isn’t a bad place at all to take a stroll for a change of pace.
Most of the garages are meant for one car:
They can also provide a canvas for cool urban photography.
I grew up in a place that had no alleys, so my first experiences with them came from Indy. Alleys can be a really great feature because they keep all that clutter and utility space away from the front of the house, which means no power/utility lines and everyone can have tree-lined sidewalks instead. Alleys make the best neighborhoods possible, even if you never see them directly.
Too bad there isnt an alley that they can stuff all the Keystone Ave utility poles/lines into 😉