The City Council voted unanimously today to adopt a new long-term planning document that will shape future development in Raleigh for the next two decades.
The vote means that the document, called the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, will officially go into effect Nov 1.
via Council adopts new vision for city’s growth – Local & State – News & Observer.
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- None right now. Must be a new project.
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2030 plan, that means we will all be dead before we see any progress (night life or more towers).
Time for a WAKE UP! Do not mention budget or economy (cities across the country have development activity – Birmingham, AL of all places just paved every road in their downtown – looks great – and their sidewalks are level and walkable). Are we seeing progress here and there? NOT! We have done little to nothing in the past 20 years for downtown. One tower in 20 years (RBC). It will be another 20 for another tower and a downtown Sports Arena. The Convention Center is not attracting people to downtown. It’s time to focus on an Arena (that is the only thing that will create activity). Get your heads out of your 1900’s thinking.
Cambell Law School makes a committment to downtown Raleigh, what do we do for their students? Supply them with no amenities what-so-ever around the school).
Has anyone driven through Raleigh lately and REALLY looked around. Wow, garbage on city and county roads, ugly vines and trees cover a beautiful brick wall all around 440 (get rid of all the weeds), downtown streets and sidewalks are pathetic and Salisbury and Wilmington Streets are a complete eyesore from one end to another (never noticed how ugly these two streets are/the structures digusting).
When is Raleigh going to wake up? Pave ALL the downtown roads and re-do all the sidewlaks (make the sidewalks look the same – by the way, the outdoor seating is laughable, the sidewalks are not wide enough anywhere, your eating next to a parked car).
City Council and DRA need to walk and drive downtown streets, they will be embarrassed they are running this city!!!!!!!!!!
what do we need to do to get some type of sports venue in downtown. stadium/arena and hotels should be first priorities.
Matt,
I loved your post :) No really, I did. I understand your frustration and you may be right on many issues, but let me add my comments on some of the points you raised:
1. It is 3 “towers” in 17 years (Two Hannover Square and Wachovia Capital Center were completed in 1991, while RBC Plaza was finished in 2008). Still, it is frustrating to see our skyline grow very slowly, mostly with buildings below 20 floors :(
2. The streets may not all be something the city can handle. There are MANY state-owned roads and this is where the problem lies when it comes to Raleigh. Not to mention that there are other, large municipalities that complain about the state spending too much for Raleigh. Go figure. You are right about the trash :(
3. The sidewalks of downtown are not the main issue, more than the actual appearance of streets like Salisbury and McDowell. Wilmington has gotten much better, and The Edison will definitely do a lot to improve that area, but Salisbury needs a lot of revitalization before becoming an attractive street.
4. The new Comprehensive Plan was much needed, but I am not sure it will be implemented. We could have done the right thing even without it, in most cases. Bad planning was obvious before this plan and it will continue to exist afterward, I am afraid. It is better, of course, to have this plan than not and I hope to see some improvements in the nearest future.
One of the issues that bothered me was how the West side of downtown area was treated, if I recall another recent N&O article. That is an area where we need to know precisely what we should do, NOW, but was left for a future study. I need to go back and re-read that article, but I was a bit disappointed that the city is not certain about that area’s future… Oh, yes, there are elections coming and certain council members do not want to lose support from the nearby residents. Afterward we shall see the plans ;)
I am very hopeful about the changes coming to Raleigh in the next decade or two thanks to the Comprehensive Plan. One MAJOR difference between this Plan and the previous 20 year plan was that THIS TIME the City Council chose to include a land use planning map for the entire city which will (hopefully) establish the rules/expectations for what sorts of properties can be built where and how. This is one area where Raleigh has been sorely lacking in the past and, as a result, the city’s current land use has been extremely haphazard. That created a ripple effect when attempting to build out a remotely useful public transportation system. The next twenty years is all about trying to correct the mistakes which, unfortunately, were made during the previous forty years.
Public transportation is crucial to the future of Raleigh’s development. Even if things do not happen fast – I hope light rail gets on the top of the priority list – we can at least create packets where good urban communities may flourish. While I do like traffic circles where they make life easier and safer, I cannot say I am happy about the ones they place on Hillsborough Street. That corridor has MASSIVE potential, particularly when connecting the university district with downtown becomes crucial; some day in the future, of course.
Again, all the excitement we feel will be well justified if the urban guidelines are followed. If I see any more crap being developed, I will definitely scream. I have a question for y’all: What will happen if a site plan is resubmitted for approval, particularly as pertaining to large communities like Olde Towne? This is probably a dead project now, since the official web page is no longer showing anything, but I am sure it will be resurrected by someone, in the future.