I’m slowly reading through some of the plan but the quick guides are keeping me busy for now. They help get the idea across pretty easily so I would start with those first. Downtown Raleigh is heavily involved in the document and if all goes according to plan downtown will grow larger and become the transit hub of the region.
Jump right into the online material
I was first interested in the “What will Raleigh look like in 2030 and how will the plan affect me?” guide. Here are some interesting bullet points.
The size of the downtown will grow in size southward toward I-40 with new office buildings, residential buildings, shops, parks and entertainment venues.
Raleigh will have public transit such as high-speed rail, commuter rail, streetcars, bus and express bus routes that connect the entire city and region. Getting around the region without a car will be much easier.
The City will hold itself accountable by updating the public on the plan’s progress annually.
The southward growth of downtown makes sense since I-40 has the heaviest traffic and is probably the easiest route to take when heading downtown. There is also a lot of room along South Saunders for more office and residential towers. I’d like to see the side streets to South Saunders, Hammond, and Wilmington become a north/south grid and extend the current grid of downtown. The side streets can become neighborhoods with mass transit moving along the major roads to move people in and out.
“Getting around the region without a car will be much easier”
What a great quote. If you look at the “What places may change over the next 20 years?” guide, you will see a list of areas that are planning to change as well as some roads that may become huge transit corridors. Downtown is all over this list and many of the roads mentioned go through or near downtown. Connecting these high-growth centers is very important so it is good to see that there are plans for transit between these areas.
The plan does a great job pushing urban values all over Raleigh. It is still important for everyone to realize that it is just a plan or guideline and not what WILL happen in Raleigh’s future. If you support this comprehensive plan, or have any input at all, please leave feedback for the city. The city is taking input through January and only by commenting can we let the city council know what aspects are important for Raleighites. If you support it, so will the city decision-makers.
Similar Posts:
- None right now. Must be a new project.
Comments
Comments are disabled here. That's because we're all hanging out on the DTRaleigh Community, an online forum for passionate fans of the Oak City.
Summary of 20 year plan: Work needs to start yesterday. Projects move too slowly around here. Transit projects and corridor projects need to start NOW (look at Hillsborough Street, if this is the pace of things to come over the next 20 years, this plan will be a laughing stock). Enough lip service, tax payers are tired of the SLOW progress downtown, it’s getting old (start a real light rail system NOW (anothe example, too much talk and no action – how long will it take to transform DIX?).
Tony – I have to agree 1,000%…I lived in 4 major cities on the east cost and you really need an act of God to get something done around here. It’s understood that our government leaders want to do things right but we are tired of waiting…downtown Raleigh has no nightlife and our hockey team suffer because of it. We either need a different administration or better developers. At this rate, I will have to die of old age be reincarnated to have an ideal night in downtown Raleigh. PLEASE no more talk and more action…the people of Raleigh are tired of waiting. We are a BIG city…let’s act like it.
“downtown Raleigh has no nightlife”
Are you kidding me? I beg to differ. Thursday through Saturday night there are tons of people downtown on Glenwood, Fayetteville Street, and the Warehouse District.
Glenwood is “THE” entertainment district downtown.
I could understand complaints about downtown lacking a grocery store or retail options, but nightlife? That and dining options are the two things we have in abundance.
Dan, our hockey team doesn’t suffer because of it. You should have seen Glenwood South when the canes won the Stanley Cup, it was out of control.
I feel that the nightlife scene is pretty solid in Raleigh. Different then Charlotte to the west, on par with Wilmington to the east and you can’t find anything better between DC and Atlanta, in my opinion.
I agree that talk only goes so far. I think its time for Raleigh to hire a new city manager as Russell Allen has been instrumental in maintaining Mayberry-like status.
The plan looks great. Of course, I’ve read a lot of great looking (and expensive to produce) plans put out by the city. I like the greenways, green streets, retail streets, and TTA systems. But to be successful, the city either needs to fund these improvements, or at least devise and execute plans that build on the existing strengths of the area, and let others take the ball and run with it. The redevelopment of Old South Saunders Street North is currently being stalled because they never funded the improvements or executed the recommendations of the Downtown Western Gateway and Saunders North Area Plans of 2004. Now, the planning department is delaying our citizens petition asking for the implementation of those recommendations while they wait for the MTC 2.0 plans and the review process of the new COMP plan. Everyday bad things happen in and to this area, the community is tired of waiting for the city to act on its own plans and asked us to try and find a way to do it through private funding. Our privately funded, community based, redevelopment is exactly what the city has asked for. BUT, we can’t do it unless they execute their own plans. If your interested, you can learn more at http//:www.RosengartenPark.com
[…] The Raleigh Connoisseur talks about how the plan would change transit through the city. « Raleigh City Council takes a look at the evolving public safety center, puts one Hillsborough Street roundabout out for bids Change is in the air » […]
we need a sports venue downtown.
Time for city officals to retire and leave office,and let young people with drive and the guts to make Downtown Raleigh a city to talk about.Gas is near the $4.00 mark,upgrade CAT Buses to run 24/7.Folks do work well after 6:00pm.When the All-Star Games came to Raleigh where were your Hotel rooms,Downtown Only has Four or Five Hotels.God man C’mon.You Need more Hotels Downtown for vistors to stay.The RBC Center should of been in Downtown Years ago.Again You got to drive and burn gas to get to Hockey/Basketball events,if that’s what you want,go right ahead.”Mayberry”.
[…] are generally advisable bring. Related Posts: Centauress by Murat Asthma and allergy clinic The Raleigh Connoisseur (December 1, 2008) – Transit And Downtown A Big Topic In The Comprehensive P… Blog : Lolas Boutique NYC, New And Vintage Clothing, Jewelry, Shoes Accessories and Home Goods […]