Crescent Park, Salinas, CA

Crescent Park runs along North Main Street on the north side of downtown Salinas, where the older grid gives way to the city's long commercial corridor. It is a practical stretch of groceries, parks and everyday restaurants, with the train and bus station near its southern end. Behind the commercial frontage, Crescent Park's side streets are residential. The Rossi Rico Linear Parkway gives walkers and cyclists a route through the area, and Laurel Park and Laurelwood Park offer lawns and play areas, with Laurelwood also listed on trail sites for its walking routes. The Monterey County Vietnam Veterans Memorial also sits within the neighborhood. Taqueria 3 Hermanos at 154 West Market Street opens at 7 for burritos and fresh tortillas, and it is the breakfast stop for people heading to work downtown. Over toward Davis Road, Noodle House at 1022 North Davis Road serves pho alongside Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, and Haiku Hawaiian BBQ at 1253 North Davis Road does plate lunches. Viva Espresso Organics at 1552 North Main handles organic coffee and tea. Grocery Outlet at 1415 North Main is the discount grocer on the corridor, the Salinas Intermodal Transit Center at 28 West Market Street offers rail parking, and Vallarta Supermarkets is the other major store. City buses run along North Main, and the Amtrak station on Station Place gives a train option, since the Coast Starlight runs daily between Seattle and Los Angeles and the Salinas stop is one of its central coast calls. North Main carries steady traffic, and the corridor is built more for driving than for walking, with parking lots between many of the storefronts. Even so, the parks and the rail station give the corridor a few things most commercial strips lack, and Oldtown's Saturday market and Hartnell College are a short drive south.