Chandler Park, Burbank, CA

Chandler Park covers a wide swath of central Burbank, from the edge of Magnolia Park's shop strip east toward downtown, and much of its character comes from the Chandler Bikeway and a handful of well-used city parks. Homes in Chandler Park run from small postwar houses to larger remodels, and some blocks have homes on unusually narrow lots, so a single street can hold quite different house sizes. Townhomes and apartment buildings are common near the main avenues. George Izay Park on West Olive is the big neighborhood park, with a ball field, tennis and pickleball courts, and the Olive Recreation Center beside it. Abraham Lincoln Park sits next to the Buena Vista Branch Library. The Chandler Bikeway gives walkers, runners and cyclists a 2.2-mile route on the old rail line, with no cars to dodge. Food here is casual and long established. Tony's Darts Away is the sports bar people recommend for its bar food, and Three Sisters Coffee and Tea, a family-owned shop that opened in 2021, is a few doors down. Donut Hut on West Magnolia keeps a walk-up window open around the clock. Errands are unusually easy for a residential area. Aldi, Grocery Outlet and Smart & Final all sit inside the boundaries, and downtown's shops and Metrolink station are a short drive or bike ride east. Traffic is the flip side. Victory, Olive and Burbank Boulevard carry heavy cross-town volume, and the blocks along them feel busier than the interior streets. One block in from those corridors, the streets turn quiet and residential again, and that is where the bikeway and the parks get used most, from early runs to evening dog walks.