Alley: Encyclopedia - Alley

Alley

An alley or alleyway is a type of road found in densely populated urban areas. Alleys usually run between or behind buildings to allow for delivery and collection. Originally they were required for waste collection, delivery of coal (before the widespread adoption of central heating), or rear access for fire engines and parking. Blind alleys have no outlet at one end.

The reduced usage of alleys has resulted in their decline. Under use, poor maintenance, poor night time illumination and narrow width has contributed to an increase in anti-social or illegal activities such as:

• dumping of rubbish
• sexual assault
• consensual sexual behaviour and/or prostitution
• urination
• burglary
• robbery
• illicit drug use
• murders (See Gail Miller)

Modern urban developments rarely incorporate alleys. Installation of gates to restrict alleyway access have significantly reduced burglary rates.

Andrés Duany, American architect, urban planner and a leader in the New Urbanism movement, an effort to end suburban sprawl, has long espoused the use of alleys as leading to a better integration of automobile and foot traffic in a neighborhood. His firm Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) included alleys in their design for Prospect New Town, a New Urbanism project.

The term service road is also used in the United Kingdom for alleys which are roads. Alleys which are narrow pavements between/behind buildings are known as alleyways or ginnels. In Australia the terms lane, laneway and serviceway are used. In the United States alleys are sometimes known as rear lanes because they are at the back of buildings.

A bowling alley is a straight narrow lane or track used in the game of bowling.

Category: Road transport

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Alley", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alley, used and available under the GNU Free Documentation License.