Alisal area of Salinas acts as one of major drivers of economy for the city

The Alisal area of Salinas, with its neighborhoods packed with house after house, is being acknowledged for being a huge economic driver of the city.

Foot and vehicle traffic is cited as one reason by businesses in the area as the flow of traffic is almost constant throughout the day.

Numbers from the City of Salinas show the Sales Tax Revenue from the area during certain times of the year can even eclipse that of Old Town and the Northridge Mall area.

Business owners have long heard from customers and individuals passing by their shops asking about the crime that takes place in the Alisal area but shop owners don’t see it that way.

They say crime happens everywhere in town and the frequency of it happening doesn’t make a difference between the East side of town or the North side.

“They always ask me if it’s safe to be out on the street,” says Gerardo Rodriguez with Electronics Plus on East Alisal. “I say ‘Yeah, just look around there’s people walking everywhere.'”

Rodriguez grew up in the area and says his shop grew out of the hard work and effort that he says characterizes much of the Alisal community members.

He started by selling items out of a flea market booth before opening up shop on East Alisal Street.

Meanwhile J&N Collision on Commission Street is seeing a good amount of foot traffic and vehicles passing by, with a lot of folks using Commission Street as a back road to get to Market and onto the Highway.

Norma Arias is a co-owner at J&N and feels a business can still prosper in an area which has some form of negative stigma attached to it such as Alisal does.

She says for the Alisal District to have such a strong standing economically for Salinas is a good sign of that.

“You also have to have an open mind and try to see the positive of working in this kind of area,” says Arias.

The numbers provided in the snapshot above are indicative of 2018 and the first 3 quarters of the year. The 4th quarter numbers (Which may show a shift for respective areas) should be available soon.