Submitted by Petra Spiess, Dec 21, 2007 10:22

I live in a new urbanist neighborhood in Colorado. Last winter on this date we had 30 inches of snow in one storm. We have alleys. Our HOA pays a contractor to plow them, which they managed to do before the city plowed the streets. Without plowing they would be a nightmare, as a driveway with that much snow would be also. However, the design of new urbanism isn't at fault here, foresight is: if the city doesn't plow then someone else needs to.

Having an alley means every day I see my large front porch twinkling with holiday lights, the front of my home (and my neighbor's) warm and inviting instead of miles of huge concrete slabs and blank garage doors. This pleasant view and the neighborhood interaction it encourages is one of the reasons homes in my neighborhood have much higher appreciation than homes in the mcmansion subdivision next door--even in this crappy real estate market. People love living here, and alleys are part of the reason.

Happy holidays! Ask Santa for a snow plow : )

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.