Miles Ave, Rockridge

As a Miles Ave resident I beg to differ with the other review of our street, characterizing it as a nondescript frontage road. There is one small stretch northeast of College Ave that could be described that way, but the majority of Miles Ave southwest of College is very much like the other pleasant, tree-lined Craftsman streets in Rockridge. The greatest benefit on this stretch is Frog Park, the greenway that runs parallel to Miles, creating a fairly effective noise barrier between the neighborhood and freeway. The park runs for approximately 3 blocks and features a babbling brook in the summer, a paved trail, and is capped with high quality playgrounds on each end. On Sundays, the excellent Temescal Farmer’s Market gives this area another legitimate boost in quality of life.

As mentioned, it is true there is some noise produced by the adjacent Highway 24, but it is more of a white noise as opposed to stop-and-go traffic of a surface street. Miles Ave (west of College) is relatively quiet and not a thoroughfare.

Of course, all the other benefits of Rockridge apply: plentiful restaurants, cafés, and retail shopping, all in a small-scale pedestrian friendly neighborhood. The east stretch of Miles is right between College and Telegraph avenues, each a prime example of these qualities. This area’s only major drawback would be the lack of late-night establishments — weeknights are dead by 10:30pm. But that seems to be gradually changing, especially on Telegraph which leans to a younger demographic.

There is nothing too terribly special about Miles Avenue - it is an industrial-feeling, frontage road that parallels highway 24 in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. This means that the street is in one of the town's best areas but maintains the gritty, industrial feel that is so common of Oakland. Houses here are average sized and older for the area, but are not terrible. The lawn space is limited.

Amenities here include Trader Joe's, a Montessori school, and a barber shop that is designed especially for children. Despite the proximity to the freeway and the lack of lawn space, the street seems oddly kid-friendly.

The biggest plus to living here is that, in addition to the town's own public bus line, the Rockridge BART is right around the corner. However, this also means that public transportation makes the area accessible WITHOUT having to live here.