Valleydale Rd, Hoover

While it doesn't seem like it sometimes, there's a lot out here. For one, there's a ton of apartment complexes, and housing communities. It's also got an ultra-rich high school, Spain Park, which is directly located next to Jefferson State Community College. Near the college, there's a pretty little pond, and in front of the school, there's a massive park, which is great for kids.

From Highway 280, Valleydale Road just looks like some little off-street with no real end in sight. But it's actually a great short-cut during rush hour if you want to get to Hoover (towards the Galleria) but don't want to go all the way to 459. Valleydale is also a good way to hop onto i65.
Towards the 280 end of Valleydale, there's lots of places to eat and a few good stores to browse. There's even a donut shop! Also on Valleydale is the Shelby campus of Jeff State, which boasts a very pretty quad and a very peaceful park/lake. There's also a lot of suburb-type houses along the road.
My main gripe about Valleydale is the school-time traffic. In the morning and at 3pm during the week, expect a long wait. Oh, and watch out for the Troopers. They LOVE to give tickets if you're going even a teeny bit over the limit. Seriously. I learned this the hard way! Heh.