SACRAMENTO — A celebration is underway for a project that's helping improve north Sacramento, one of the capital city's most economically challenged neighborhoods.
Over the years, a lot of crimes have occurred in the dirt alleys that run behind people's homes, but those pathways now have a new look, turning blight into beauty.
Esther Tracy's home backs up to one of the alleys along Dixieanne Avenue. She says they were once a magnet for crimes like drug sales, prostitution and illegal dumping.
The problems were so bad that 20 years ago, the City of Sacramento blocked them off with iron gates.
"You would not take your children back there," said Sparky Harris, the city's principal planner.
But now there's a new effort to revitalize five of these alleys and turn them into pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly pathways.
The city is spending nearly $5 million to replace the dirt roads with decorative paver stones and public art embedded in the ground.
"My hope is that people from outside the area come to visit Dixieanne who have never been here before because of the artwork," Harris said.
The project also planted new landscaping, trees, and fixed broken fences. Tracy said that it's a big improvement and has helped her neighbors become more connected.
"Stopping to talk to each other, that's something that wasn't there beforehand, so it has definitely made it so that it's a more walkable community," she said.
A documentary about the renovation was filmed throughout the process and premiered this week in the neighborhood.
Tracy said she would now like to see this type of alley transformation spread across the city "because we're not the only undeserved community in Sacramento."
It's a new step towards transforming this economically disadvantaged neighborhood.
"Is it going to solve everything? No, but I'm excited to see the benefits that will come from this," Tracy said.
Money for the Dixieanne Alley project comes from a Caltrans Clean California grant.
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