North vs. South

The Southern Side of Rancho Cordova is where most of the newer homes are being built and the school system is even part of the Elk Grove school system as opposed to being included within the Folsom Cordova system as is the Northern (older) side (that's another conversation to have, but there are actually some decent points in understanding why that went down). The newer (Southern) side has a budding massive development known as Anatolia and a few other newer communities also. The Northern side was recently dubbed as "Riverside" since it is on the side with the American River (clever, huh?). The Northern side consists of older houses and communities, with quite a few rentals also. The Northern side is patchy for sure, with some neighborhoods being vastly better than others. This is the side where the police cars and helicopter travel to most frequently, but it does happen to be the side on which we live too (and we absolutely love it and our neighbors are amazing!!!).

Folsom Blvd. in Rancho Cordova has been an issue for the city. It has really been a sore thumb so to speak because it is full of check cashing businesses and random stores that do not have the draw for many folks within Rancho, not to mention, businesses that have not been operational for years and are simply sitting vacant. It really has the appearance of being run down with older stores in need of revitalization. It has long been needing an overhaul, and so it is exciting to see that the city is beginning to take measure to "clean things up" so to speak. Click HERE to read more information and even fill out a survey and also give your two cents for what Folsom Blvd. should consist of.

Lastly, this makes me think of how crucial it is for a city to have a solid planning department in order to promote equality, cleanliness, and opportunity. Sure, this is not just the job of a planning department alone, but if Planning is not careful, then you can end up with a "rich side" and a "poor side". Maybe that is inevitable in some senses, but with good planning, some of this can likely be avoided. I am grateful that Rancho is moving forward to not only improve its image, but hopefully get rid of some of the dilapidated businesses and breathe some vibrancy into our city and hopefully promote change of business type and local ownership, etc... And my vote is to have a stellar coffee house off of Folsom Blvd.