Last year, one of my friends learned in his Italian class that after dinner, many Italian families take leisurely walks through their neighborhood called passeggiatas. My friend and I started going for our own passeggiatas, and I have to say, the Italians have it right. By walking with no real direction in mind, I’ve come to see parts of New Haven that I otherwise wouldn’t have. I suggest going for a passeggiata on your own route, but if you’d like some direction for your first directionless strolls, here are some suggestions of streets to explore, and streets to avoid.
THE GOOD: St. Ronan Street/Edgehill Road
Running parallel to Prospect Street on its way north, St. Ronan passes by the Yale Farm and the Divinity School before becoming Edgehill Road near East Rock. The old colonial houses and shady trees offer a quiet stretch of New England beauty. Along with being the most scenic way to get to East Rock, there is something that sets St. Ronan apart. Maybe it is the house that had Christmas bunting on its hedges in April? A dog park also sits alongside part of the road to lift your spirits with canine comfort.
THE BAD: Prospect Street
I dread walking on Prospect, and not just because it probably means I have a “science” class. Ever since the sidewalk on the western side closed for the construction of the new colleges, Prospect has been crowded, to put it lightly. Especially whenever it snows, there is barely enough room for two people to pass each other. Sometimes I even loop around on Hillhouse just to avoid it.
THE GOOD: Crown Street
Where else in New Haven can you find a building in which a group of young, energetic people works into the wee hours of the morning to satisfy some strangely strong passion for print journalism, and probably to compensate for all sorts of anxiety?
THE BAD: Chapel Street (east of the railroad tracks)
On the way to Pepe’s or Sally’s, near Wooster Square, there is a stretch of a few blocks where the going gets a little grim. Besides the bleak empty parking lots and car repair shops, there is a line of advertisements for a dog park that looks more like an ASPCA funding campaign. Then there is the funeral home farther up the street, and the groups of adolescents on trick bikes who insist on flying dangerously down the sidewalks.
THE GOOD: Edgewood Avenue
I once saw one of the bouncers from Toad’s walking his dog here. Now I have a conversation topic for the next time I see him.
THE BAD: Lock Street
Has anyone else noticed how morbid it is that Yale Health borders a cemetery? Walking the fine line between the ill on one side and the dead on the other is just a little too precarious to be pleasant.
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