The only other message boards I'm a member of are Hotrod and Custom car boards, and they require an intro, so I'll do one here too, just in case its needed...
 
My name is Grace and I moved to Bluff Park from Fairfield in 1968 at the ripe old age of 3.  My father hand build our home and my parents still reside there.  I bought a house of my own in Bluff Park On Halloween of 1997.  There's nothing scarier than your first mortgage!
 
Generally speaking, I'm a "hate change" kind of person, and therefore, get annoyed every day at such things as:
1.  Gigantic homes built on the cliffs I used to rapel from in high school
2.  Cute little Mid Century homes being Frankensteined by home flippers, just to turn a buck.
3.  All the dang traffic on Shades Crest Rd and Park Avenue these days.
4.  Bert's on the Bluff being gone.  The new place is not in the same league.
5.  I much preferred Western to the Pig.
 
My roots have stayed deep in Bluff Park, but I've resided in other places in my life as well, such as Mobile, Pensacola, Biloxi, Yuma, Arizona, Lake Hughes, California and Las Vegas.  They all just make me love Bluff Park more.
 
I am very worried that Bluff Park is teetering on that proverbial edge, where it could go either way... to an adorable cute little villagey neighborhood, or a slum full of ne'er do wells and losers.  I fear the latter has already started.
 
If I had Bill Gates' money I'd buy up those nasty apartments near the Pig and 'doze them and let it return to the wild.  I remember when they were built how my parents b*tched about them.  Now I understand why.
 
I guess that's about it.  My only other annoyance:  Why does the Traffic-chick at Bluff Park Elementary School always stop me on the way to work?  I think she looks for my car on purpose!  

I'd like to know what you all consider to be "Bluff Par"  Where do you stop going towards 65?

"I am very worried that Bluff Park is teetering on that proverbial edge, where it could go either way... to an adorable cute little villagey neighborhood, or a slum full of ne'er do wells and losers.  I fear the latter has already started."
 
I don't have any tangible evidence to back it up, but I get the same feeling.  I have seen a lot of really scummy people in and around BP the past few months, folks hot rodding down Alford (dang that makes me sound old), and the robberies I've been reading about are concerning.  
 
My *hope* is that this element is confined to the apartments you referenced.  I think our only hope there is that someone buys the property, raises the rents, and runs out the muck, but who knows if that will happen.
 
Also starting to see more homes for rent, which is not usually a good sign.
 
I've been there for 6 years and love BP to death, but I haven't seen the positive tranformation I expected.

Hi there Grace,
you know this is a good idea, maybe we can start a different section or just add to this one to introduce ourselves.
 
So have you recently moved back to Bluff Park or been here from 97'or just new to the website?
 
I think you are going to be fun with the forum, I like spunky people who voice their opinions, but in a nice way!
 
Change is difficult sometimes but is necessary in some cases. Like the homes you were talking about being flipped, I see that that is a good thing because if houses just sit and dont sell or fall apart you get Birmingham!
 
It also helps the property values!  
I am with ya on the traffic on Park Ave! good lord!
 
Cant say I agree on the Berts, I ate at both, THe Bluff Park Dinner seems "cleaner" and more up to date. The owner is very nice and loves the community as well.
 
 
Could you clarify a few things?
I am not sure I understand this statement....or where you are coming from to think it.
"I am very worried that Bluff Park is teetering on that proverbial edge, where it could go either way... to an adorable cute little villagey neighborhood, or a slum full of ne'er do wells and losers.  I fear the latter has already started."
 
not sure I would say its going to slums and ne'er do wells with the cost of homes and the renovation in the area. Not to mention new homes being built and new businesses that are coming in the area.
 
 
DW14,
you asked what is considered BP.
Bluff Park is kind of between Shades Mtn and Greenvalley, it gets a little twisty.
BPresident can give more specifics but I know in general (and correct me if I am wrong)
I have lived all my life in Bluff Park, Greenvalley or Shades Mtn. so I am very familiar with all the areas.
Pre-this website you were Bluff Park only if you were zoned Bluff Park Ele.  
After the collapse of the original "neighborhood Association" which was where that rule was, there was the formation of the Bluffparkal.org community. We consider...
 
lets start on alford ave, The end of Alford is Shades Mtn community and all the streets running off of alford. Some of Alford is BP most the other end alford/fancher drive.
 
Chapel Road till you get to Simmons (some of the off roads on the left if you are going towards simmons from BP are Greenvalley)
 
Shades Crest till you get to the Preserve (I think after that they consider themselves Trace Crossings)
Tylor Road till you get to SMI (Shades Mtn Independent)  
 
There are a lot of subdivisions with in BP as well, martinwood, Crestwood, the new one, Chapel Creek etc.

As one who has been here all my life and also one who has been with the website I have to say that this is the only place I want to live. I think people also have to remember that it does not matter where you live you are going to have some issues. We have the ear of the City Council and the Mayors office. Here is a statistic that I did not know till recently, this area (including Shades mtn and Greenvalley) have a very high voter turn out ratio.. than anywhere else in Hoover....that speaks, but you also have to look at the the age groups we have and that we are a smaller community so our numbers are going to look better than others.
 
This is a very tight community and we do not have not taken anything sitting down. The community does not put up with crap and trash coming into this community making trouble.. the apartments have at one time or another been a problem, I remember a statement that Officer Foreman told us at a mtg that you would be surprised at the low number of incidents from the apartments, that that is not where the problems come from.
 
Remember the reason this website come to be, because of an isolated incidents in shades mtn plaza... it was cleaned up and taken care of.. they were not from Bluff Park, they were from Bessemer and came up shades crest. The word got out that this was a dark unpopulated shopping center and it was a target.... we remedied that. The site now has a really developed into a cyber neighborhood and community reaching out to other things and community events.. we have moved past the robberies but there is still work to be done.
 
The best way to keep thugs out of the community is to not let up, report everything you even think is suspicious.. Officer Foreman even said to do so.
 
 
 
I will have you an example, a month or so ago my husband and I were walking with our dog at about midnight/1am (this is normal hours for us) we saw a white truck just sitting in front of a house we passed it on our lap and when we came back around it had moved to in front of another house. My husband went up to the truck to see what they were doing. It was a group of 3 well dressed/ late high school/ early college age white guys. He asked them what they were doing and why they had moved their truck, they said they were weighting on a friend and had texted them direction to mtg them. We told them they had 10min to get out of the neighborhood or we were calling the police and giving them the tag number. the driver got all scared about the tag statement and they were gone the next time we got around the block. Out of just a thought my husband drove down to a church parking lot that is near our house and guess what they were there. He called to police and hid the car further down the road. The police called and spoke to us, said the guys were meeting some girls who were sneaking out, no drugs in the car or anything like that. The officer said, which I thought was funny, that they were trying to be all stealthy and cool! He said that reporting like this is what gets the word out that "there are eyes in the neighborhood" and people do not hesitate to call the police. Now this was minor but even something like this has to be reported.    
 
So I guess what I am saying is that you have to stay on top of things and also dont complain and not do anything.
 
about the renting houses, like Bluff Park Guy said it may be the economy. It may be something to ask a realtor. I also know there are a lot of home for rest in other areas as well so I dont think it is just a BP thing. I went with a friend who was looking to rent in Vestavia and there were plenty there also.

While my wife and I have only lived in BP for 2 years now, there are a couple of thing that definitely frustrate me.  There are quite a few houses that really just look like crap that the owners don't seem to mind.  Also, people parking cars in their own front yards and yards that have weeds up to your knees makes the neighborhood look bad as well.  I hate to say it, but you don't see this same sort of thing in surrounding neighborhoods such as Vestavia.

Quote from PharmD on 06/18/08 at 10:37am:

 
Getting a "Yard of the Month" section on the site would be no problem.  Let's hear some suggestions as to what the rules are, who the judges would be, etc.  
 
We could also have all of the winners posted on a "Hall of Fame" page on the site.    
 
 

Quote from galaxiegrace on 06/18/08 at 1:02pm:

 
 
I too live near that house, it burned right after we moved in....2 &1/2 years ago!!!