bprat

If you're new to Santa Rosa, you might wonder: Just where is 2nd Street, anyway? It is a discontinuous stretch of roadway that gets truncated by the State Building, Transit Mall, and then Santa Rosa Plaza (what people here usually mean when they refer to "the Mall"), and at last by the freeway. In fact, even when it finally continues for a short distance on the west side of the freeway, it is basically in name only, since it is mostly a large parking lot.

Second Street proper, then, is located to the north of all this, in the lush Brookwood neighborhood, mostly between D St. and Brookwood Ave., and parallel to Sonoma Avenue.

One of the things I love about 2nd St. is the presence of honest-to-goodness redwood trees! So it is one place in Santa Rosa where you can live or at least stroll amongst these majestic giants without having to visit a park. The buildings themselves are a mixture of upscale private homes and small businesses such as medical offices, social agencies, and at least one restaurant.

Ca'Bianca, a northern Italian restaurant (at 835 2nd), is located in a beautifully restored historic house (white; Ca'Bianca means "white house") from 1876. A complete meal will set you back about $50, but you can do it for less by sticking to fewer courses.

As an added bonus, 2nd St. is on the edge of Santa Rosa's "medical row," so there is quick and easy access to a wide range of medical care.

I suppose every city in northern California of a certain size has a busy and wide main drag like Santa Rosa Avenue. You could compare it to Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose, for example. I believe this was the original Highway 101 -- a long straightaway with abundant shopping centers, nowadays featuring most of the big-box names you know. As you drive or take the CityBus through the southern part of town here, you can find everything from Toys 'R' Us to Cost Plus to Costco, along with all the usual eateries (including a Krispy Kreme), gas stations, banks, and so forth.

Speaking of buses, Santa Rosa's lovely Transit Mall is downtown along 2nd Street, between Santa Rosa Avenue and B Street. It offers two other bus systems besides CityBus: Sonoma Transit (county-wide) and Golden Gate Transit (connecting to the rest of the Bay Area).

Between Sebastopol and Sonoma Avenues lie Juiliard Park (on the west, along Juiliard Park Dr.) and the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens (on the east side, between Charles and Tupper Streets).

Further north, Santa Rosa Avenue melds into Mendocino Avenue, which contains the acclaimed Santa Rosa Junior College, then continues to the north end of town.

Sebastopol Road parallels Highway 12, also known as Sebastopol Highway. It is a long, basically commercial street with a fair number of stoplights. Plenty of gas stations, including some economy places where you might save a few cents per gallon. There are some older residential areas with small houses and yards just off Sebastopol Road.

There are quite a few Latino businesses along this strip, including some decent Mexican restaurants -- low-rent atmosphere, nothing fancy, just good eats. One example is La Fondita Restaurant (at 816).

A lot of Santa Rosa's bargain shops can be found along this stretch, including Goodwill (at 680) and Dollar Tree (at 777), and Salvation Army (at 1290), next to a big cheap-imports store.

Continental Lanes, Santa Rosa's only remaining bowling center, is at 765 Sebastopol Road. You might miss it because it is hidden behind Dollar Tree. Like a lot of centers nowadays, it has gone the club atmosphere-black light route on weekend nights and draws a younger crowd. During the week, however, it is a great place to improve your game, drawing lots of regulars, and weekday bowling is very affordable, with plenty of lanes available.

Note that the large shopping area that contains the Dollar Tree, Goodwill, and Continental Lanes can be spooky at night, with gang types congregating periodically, so be sure you are alert as to where you park and who is around.

Moorland Avenue is in the southern part of Santa Rosa and parallels US 101 (Redwood Hwy), less than a mile to the west, between Corby/Bellevue Avenues and Todd Road (both of which are exits off 101).

"Upper" Moorland has gone the way of the subdivision, but the street south of W. Robles Avenue is still green and dotted with older homes, some of which might even still be farmhouses. I don't know for sure, but I always get a peaceful feeling driving through this part of town. Not real upscale, just down-home and lushly green.

If you are looking to relocate to Santa Rosa and want to get away from the standard suburban tract-home, mini-mall feeling, check out this area, off the beaten path in a very unpretentious part of town.

Airport Blvd. is the route to the Sonoma County Airport. The airport serves the northern Bay Area counties (Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Marin). Currently its commercial carrier is Horizon Air, which flies nonstop to LA, Portland, Seattle, and Las Vegas.

Sky Lounge Steak House is the airport restaurant. It fixes a pleasant lunch in attractive surroundings, including a bar. There is lots of parking at the airport, starting just across from the restaurant, which makes this an easy choice.

Tierra Vegetables is a local institution, down at the junction of Airport Blvd. and Fulton Rd. It is a fancy produce market with a huge array of fresh and raw food. Always a great place to shop. They've even got a website so that you can check out what's in stock before you drive out.

This area is on the northern edge of things, toward Healdsburg and close to the River Road area (State Highway 116), which is always a great getaway.

Aviation Blvd. intersects Airport Blvd., the road to the county airport. Aviation has the area's fast-food type establishments, plus Funky Monkey (for pizza, at 397 Aviation, suite E) and Kal's Cafe Mocha and Grill (also at 397, suite A). There is also a good Vietnamese restaurant, My Ha (at 385, suite B).

Lots of development is happening out toward the airport these days. Airport and Aviation is a growing high-tech and industrial park zone, so enjoy the area while it's still somewhat remote! Already there is the usual array of sandwich chains, national coffee house chain, nice gas station (clean, with a car wash), and other services in the area. Expansion plans include more of the current mini-mall at 269 Aviation, a Hilton, and other amenities.

There are some county agencies in this area too, including the Sonoma County Water Agency (at 404) and the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner's Office (at 133, suite 110), which deals with agricultural regulations, quarantines, or permits in Sonoma County).

Fulton Road kicks in at the current end of the freeway section of Highway 12. Heading toward Sebastopol, you make a right at the first light. Miles long, Fulton Road wends its way past a number of subdivisions, as well as a number of area parks, and across the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel.

For most of the route, it parallels Highway 101, which lies several miles to the east. Since the speed limit on Fulton Road is around 45 for much of the way, it provides an excellent alternate route to the congestion of US 101. And it is a pretty drive, to boot! That it passes through such a well-populated area, yet somehow never seems like a safety problem, must be a testament to the area's good layout and design.

There are mostly newish homes along the way, too -- typical subdivision styles but nice enough. Apparently this area used to be mostly orchards. Even now, the further north you go along Fulton Road, the less congested it gets, until at last you reach the farming town of Fulton, where it passes under US 101, and finally ends at the Old Redwood Highway. This means that it is also a swift and pleasant gateway to the River Road wine region.

All in all, this is a great way to get across town.

This is the "other River Road," and you might not even know about it unless you took that last Santa Rosa turnoff for River Road, heading north out of Santa Rosa toward Healdsburg. Make a right, instead of a left, at the end of the offramp, and you are pointing down Mark West Springs Road.

What is so nice about this drive? The scenery. Initially, it passes by a shopping district, a gas station or two, and a few subdivisions such as Mark West, but then it becomes a lovely drive across the top of Santa Rosa, bordered by forests and fields. It meanders enroute to Calistoga and St. Helena. Alternately, you could take Highway 12 heading east, but you would have to drive across metropolitan Santa Rosa. Try this as a leisurely, lovely back road route into Napa County.

The Wells Fargo Center for the Arts (known as the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts before the era of corporate branding) is just off the freeway on your right. Home to the Santa Rosa Symphony, the venue hosts an eclectic mix of events, mostly musical. It is a nicely appointed space at 50 Mark West Springs Dr. The Mark West Union School District also has its offices on this road, at 305.

Old Courthouse Square is on the eastern side of town in the area that locals call "Downtown." More of a promenade than an actual street, it is a great shortcut for walkers who want to avoid the noise and traffic of the busy streets. It has a lovely park with comfortable sitting benches amidst lots of big trees. A lot of downtown workers eat lunch on the benches or sprawled along the grassy, rolling hillocks.

There are 4 PM concerts in the park on each first Friday from May through September too, along with a nearby arts and crafts fair.

One landmark is the main Santa Rosa branch of U.S. Bank, whose ATMs are placed along the walkway. If you drive to the Square, you can park in the garage; otherwise, be sure to bring plenty of change for the parking meters, which are vigilantly patrolled.

While the title says it all, this street features the lovely Old Courthouse Square, and some broad sidewalks, as well as Santa Rosa Plaza (usually called "The Downtown Mall," which runs between Morgan and B Streets). Third Street Cinema multiplex is across from Courthouse Square, too, as is the festive 3rd Street Aleworks Brew Pub.

Third Street "proper" runs from Highway 101 (where it continues as WEST 3rd, all the way to Fulton Road!) up to Mendocino Avenue, where it continues as a quieter residential street. Third Street can become a bit of a wind tunnel through downtown, due to the tall buildings and passing cars.

One of the tallest downtown buildings along 3rd houses the main Santa Rosa branch of U.S. Bank, where there is garage parking till fairly late in the evening. There is street parking, too, but take care to bring change for the meters during the day -- the meter patrol is swift and merciless along this stretch!

I grew up just off this street. The park at Blackstone and Ferry Lane was always a fine place for kids to meet and hang out. There are also other smaller playgrounds to explore inside the common areas. Nowadays I'd be careful about traffic and such if I were riding a bicycle, which was one of my favorite things to do down Blackstone Way. In Fremont, though, the intersections are well-marked and properly outfitted with safety signage. The off-streets have speed bumps, too.

There is a fine shopping center nearby, featuring a major supermarket. Overall, though, this now feels like a somewhat marginal neighborhood surrounded by nicer, larger homes. The Northgate townhouses were built in the early 1970s and have not been that well-maintained, which is disappointing to those of us who were raised there.

Decoto Road runs through northern Fremont and connects Union City to Newark (where it merges into a full-blown freeway, 84). It also connects directly to BART and Interstate 880, making it a popular commuter route. Crossing into Newark, where the street portion becomes Jarvis Ave., it leads right to the Dumbarton Bridge and the Peninsula. This is nearly a complete straightaway, so it offers driving convenience and connects to multiple area neighborhoods.

Decoto Road itself is a well developed area with shops and a number of major intersections, including Fremont Blvd. So it is definitely in the thick of it all, and thus not recommended for those who want to be off by themselves! It is primarily a commercial zone with relatively few homes, so it is more a place to shop or pass through than to rest. However, there are a lot of residential developments just off Decoto, such as Cabrillo Park and Northgate.

This is the street that old-timers called Durham Road. Nowadays the Auto Mall / Grimmer zone is your entryway to the most newly built part of Fremont, which is primarily commercial. This area includes a Costco, upscale restaurant chains including a Claim Jumper's and a P. F. Chang, along with every imaginable chain outlet, ranging from In-N-Out Burgers and Wendy's to Lowe's to Fry's Electronics. If you can mention it, it's probably here. This is also where the Oakland A's stadium is planned to be built.

There is also a mobile home park called Southlake, the only mobile home park in Fremont, along with Durham Greens, a wonderful development with nearly endless amenities, right across from it. One relative calls this the most complete housing complex in Fremont, for you can get any kind of housing configuration at Durham Greens.

There is a complete Fire Department training center a block from Durham Greens, so EMTs and fire personnel are readily available.

Last but not least, this street also offers easy access to Fremont's two Interstate freeways, 680 and 880.

Gallaudet is in the very center of Fremont, right across from the Police Department; thus, there is little to no crime. The state School for the Deaf and Blind is on Gallaudet. All the traffic lights along this stretch have safety provisions for the blind. Gallaudet Drive runs between Stevenson and Mowry, two of Fremont's major thoroughfares. Also nearby are the animal shelter, a golf course, and BART (on Walnut, which also has a large shopping complex). A major hospital complex, Washington Hospital, is less than a mile away, five minutes maximum.

There are several apartment communities and a range of condos, thus making it ideal for singles and young couples. There is also some very nicely done low-income housing a block from Gallaudet Drive, right off Stevenson. Overall, this is an agreeable melting pot of various groups across the economic spectrum.

Cabrillo Drive runs through an older but nice neighborhood, Cabrillo Park, built in the early 1960s. It is a good connector route between Thornton and Decoto, two major arteries in the original center of Fremont, the Centerville District. There is a walking trail nearby -- a catwalk -- from Cabrillo to Fremont Blvd., where there is the Brookvale Shopping Center as well as Patterson Elementary School. A lot of long-term residents live in the area, and it is an excellent place for families, with plenty of three to four bedroom homes -- 1000 to 1600 sq ft., modest.

This is a lovely street lined with greenery in an older section of Fremont's Irvington District. It is walking distance from John F. Kennedy High School and Irvington High School, and not far from shopping, including a major supermarket chain. One nice thing about Hilo Street is that it connects fairly directly to both Blacow Road and (via Sundale Dr.) Stevenson Blvd., two major thoroughfares. The homes tend to be well maintained with nice landscaping, white picket fences, and the like. This is a very agreeable walking neighborhood.

Also, there are several elementary schools in the area: Blacow Elementary (off Sundale and Hilo), Horner, and Hopkins.

I am posting this mainly for the Fremont newbie who has little to no idea of the city's layout. Paseo Padre Pkwy has the distinction of winding through practically every major district in town. It is over ten miles long. It runs past any number of housing developments, as well as some notable city landmarks, including the Central Park area, which includes the Hall of Justice, Lake Elizabeth, and the main branch of the public library. It also intersects with practically every major freeway and highway in town at some point.

While most of "Paseo" is quite wide (and even scenic in places), often it is not the most direct route for getting around, due to its meandering direction and length. So you don't want to get on Paseo and drive somewhere without having a good sense of where you are starting and ending. Thus it is a good idea to consult a GPS, a paper or online map, or simply to ask a native for the best route.

That said, often it can be a lovely alternate route during peak hours. Driving down Paseo when you are not in a hurry can be a pleasant way to get to know the town, too -- Fremont is nothing if not a vast and varied series of neighborhoods! If possible, check on any road construction projects that may be underway, to avoid delays.

Paseo also crosses Alameda Creek several times, and crosses Mission Blvd. twice, once at each end. A section of it borders a very long, highly scenic bicycle trail that runs all the way to the bay, miles away. Also, it ends near Mission Peak, which is the highest point in town, and has an excellent parking lot and hiking trail. If you want to see how the rich live in Fremont, this end of Paseo is also where the most lavish homes are located.

I used to have family living here and it was always a great place to visit. This is a very well developed residential neighborhood with great walking -- lots of trees, with nice gardens and other greenery. It is conveniently located, not too far from the main drags (so shopping, schools, and services) but far enough off the beaten path to be quiet and restful.

Visitors may note that these courts just off Hilo St. (De Silva, Ives, etc.) tend to fill up with cars and can be extra-crowded during the holidays. These houses and their lots are fairly big, the kind of place where family, friends, and relatives tend to spend major holidays such as Xmas together. So you may have to park out on the main drag (Hilo, etc.). However, this is a pretty safe neighborhood; just take ordinary parking precautions.

De Silva COURT is the continuation of De Silva Street. The court is especially nice for young kids because it has the dead-end. You can also put up a fence for them to play in, as some of the neighbors have done. Just a terrific area on many levels, offering a good balance of convenience and peacefulness.

I don't live here, but I used to visit, when I knew someone who rented (happily) for many years. What this area has is great access to Interstate 680, as well as being right near the intersection of Mission Blvd. and Paseo Padre Pkwy., two major arteries through town. It is also less than a mile from 880 and several hotels, along with convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, several salons, and clothing stores such as Ross.

Big houses and well-tended yards, many with pools in the back. So this is an area for upper-income families. An upscale part of town to rent in too. Also, I have heard that the local schools, including Mission San Jose High, are considered the most desirable in town. also It is a couple of miles to Ohlone Junior College. There are excellent buses that run on time.

Superb access to Silicon Valley via the two major freeways mentioned above, and all the infrastructure you'll need , make this a highly desirable area.

I always think of Alder Avenue as a comfortable residential street. It runs past American High School where it intersects with Fremont Blvd. The Fremont Parents' Nursery School, a 2007 Bay Area Parent Family Favorite winner, is at 4200 Alder. Oliveira Elementary (Fremont Unified Public School District, grades K-6) is at 4180 Alder. There is also a Baptist church in the same block.

Along with the high school, there is fast food, a mini-mart, and other conveniences such as a tire service center and other dining at or near the corner with Fremont Blvd. Moving across to upper Alder, there is a city playground at the corner with Nicolet Street (Los Cerritos, at 3377 Alder Ave.).

Well-kept lawns, bushes, and hedges; all around, a pleasant family neighborhood. If lots of kids and cars coming and going from school tend to annoy you, just be aware of how close you are to the schools before you rent or buy.

ZOOM! Thornton Avenue is a straightaway that intersects and has an off-ramp with Interstate 880. It heads for the Dumbarton Bridge (to the Peninsula) once you cross 880 into Newark. So it makes for a super-convenient commuter route, although there are a lot of stop lights through Fremont.

Thornton Avenue passes by at least one elementary school, a junior high school (an aging eyesore), and it crosses Fremont Blvd. about halfway between two of the area high schools, American and Washington. There are lots of fast-food eateries on Thornton, including a pizzeria. Many are clustered around the intersection with Fremont Blvd., along with plenty of convenience stores and gas stations. So there is a lot of pulling on and off the street, pretty much all the way along, and thus it is very much a defensive driving zone!

There are a lot of homes and apartments on streets just off Thornton. Due to the noise related to the high volume of traffic, I would avoid living right by the street unless maybe you are in an apartment complex and set back from the street a fair amount. So check the noise factor when you are looking at property in this area, especially if it is near any school (kids coming and going), and be aware of any safety issues regarding traffic if you have small children. Consider how quiet is it indoors, and whether you spend a lot of time outside.