If you can’t see the embedded video, click here.
During the November 8, 2017 city council meeting, city staff and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance gave a nice update on plans to bring interactive wayfinding kiosks to downtown Raleigh.
Negotiations are ongoing with Orange Barrel Media, producers of IKE, an “interactive kiosk experience” and if all goes well, the rollout of the system could take place in Spring 2018.
The presentation to council is embedded above for your viewing pleasure but some of the highlights include:
- The kiosks may be between 7.5 to 12 feet tall
- All kiosk designs can be customized
- The kiosks can show general wayfinding to retail, transit and event info, and even art
- No city funds to be used to implement or maintain this system
- The kiosk vendor is responsible for maintenance
- The DRA will provide the data however there will be national advertising
- The ad policy will mimic the one currently in use for the GoRaleigh buses
- 15 locations initially but want to ramp up to 25 down the road
Since downtown Raleigh doesn’t have a designated shopping street these kiosks can only help direct folks to the right places or even find ones they didn’t know about. With transit info alongside this information, it may make users aware of the system and consider an alternative method.
The kiosks may be outside as well as inside some locations including the convention center and union station. Other proposed locations include City Plaza, Moore Square, Seaboard Station, and Shaw.
Council approved the proposal and we just might see these pop up in 2018.
Similar Posts:
- Municipography: Downtown Wayfinding Kiosks | November 10, 2021
- Downtown Raleigh Wayfinding | November 10, 2021
- Wayfinding signs are popping up around downtown. | September 6, 2009
Comments
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Thank you Leo! I actually utilize these in malls, so from personal experience I think that they could have a lot to offer. I wonder if they have considered installing video cameras with these?
I don’t care about video cameras being required. The city isn’t paying for these so it’s up to the vendor to protect their investment. What I do care about is that they are maintained. They should be functional and kept clean. If they fall into neglect, it reflects poorly on our city.
There’s a lot of tiny stores all over Downtown Raleigh that the average visitor doesn’t know exists because they’re scattered everywhere. This will help them bring in more shoppers. When I visit a new city I really want to know where I can get the best coffee and pastries in the morning and didn’t google it ahead of time–I would use this.
Seems like it would be better to have an app on your smartphone in conjunction with these.
Once you leave the kiosk I’m sure you’ll get lost trying to get to the place the kiosk mentioned.
And will the kiosk company charge the local businesses for a listing?
That’s what QR codes are for right? ;)
Also, the DRA supplies the data so their members will probably be highlighted more than others I’m sure. This isn’t new though.
This should be a great addition to Downtown Raleigh. The ‘interactive’ aspect will hopefully allow arts, culture, and social activities to be highlighted in addition to maps, transit, and ads.
I hope that I have got this location right. Yesterday , council voted Yes for the rezoning of a 12 story project that The Planning Commission voted 7 to 1 against . I think that this project is the one at Dawson St./ Davie St. location ! Great to see this !
Wow. That’s quite an unexpected reverse turn of events. I believe Empire owns that lot and perhaps the council still bends over for them. I’m all for it in this case.
I’m the Marketing Director at DRA, and I’m so glad to here the excitement for these kiosks! For those who may not know, we do have a Downtown Raleigh App (http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/get-around/app) with parking information, street closures, retail and restaurant information and more available for free! The kiosks will absolutely be very well maintained, and users will be able to text themselves directions if they need to. Businesses will not be charged for their listings, and all businesses in downtown will have equal exposure!
News and Observer posted an article regarding Weaver St. Market becoming a tenant at The Dillon. Awesome addition, their locations in Carboro, and Chapel Hill are amazing stores. Really looking forward to 2018 in the warehouse district with the Union Station, Dillon, Father and Son, Morgan St. Food Hall.
Indeed, 2018 is teeing up to be a tipping point for DTR. Can’t wait to see cranes at FNB tower and 400H, the opening of Dillon/union station, one Glenwood coming up, and more retail opportunities downtown. We really do have some cool stores already!
I spent a lot of time at Weaver St when I was in college. I hope the balcony they’re referencing offers the same kind of experience as the front lawn in the Carrboro location. It should be a good compliment to Morgan St Food Hall.
Dwight, which corner of Dawson and Davie will the 12 story building be on? Looking at a map, it looks like all 4 are fairly open with the NW corner having the largest open lot unless they are planning on demolishing something.
If it’s the Empire property, it’s the southwest corner, and they aren’t planning to demolish anything.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article149274024.html This is the story from May about the rezoning.
@Daniel,
It’s the dirt lot by Crankarm Brewery.
I just checked the Agenda and it doesn’t mention the zoning was approved unless I’m reading this wrong:
Agenda Item Details
Meeting Dec 05, 2017 – REGULAR MEETING – FIRST TUESDAY – AFTERNOON & EVENING SESSIONS Category MATTERS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Subject Rezoning Case Z-12-17: S. Dawson Street, at the southwest corner of its intersection with W. Davie Street (Central CAC) Type Action Recommended Action Conduct the public hearing. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may choose to act on the request, refer to committee, or defer for future discussion.
Bynum Walter, City Planning
Z-12-17 404 S. & 406 S. Dawson Street, at the southwest corner of W. Davie Street and S. Dawson Street, being Wake County PINs 1703576333 and 1703576349. Approx. 0.18 acres are requested by Empire Consolidated Development LLC to be rezoned from Downtown Mixed Use – 4 Stories – Shopfront (DX-4-SH) to Downtown Mixed Use-12 Stories-Shopfront-Conditional Use (DX-12-SH-CU). Conditions dated November 3 prohibit certain uses, require certain exterior materials, prohibit EIFS, and require a cornice or change in materials between the first and third floors.
The Planning Commission finds the request is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Downtown West Gateway small area plan and will have a significant impact on the character of the Depot Historic District. Planning Commission recommends denial of the request with a vote of 8-1. The dissenting vote was based on a desire to see additional density in Downtown instead of more greenfield development.
The Central CAC voted 28-0 to approve the case on June 5, 2017.
Oh wow, ok thanks! That will be a small footprint if thats the case.
@ Fran , Councilor David Cox voted Yes for the rezoning & he posted this morning on FB that the rezoning did pass !
@Fran – the information you posted looks like the agenda details instead of the decision reached. I’ve never been able to find a written reference detailing hearing outcomes until well after the fact. I think it must take a while for support staff to get meeting notes typed up and published?
@Dwight – If you know of a way to quickly read about the outcome of council meetings I’d love to know it.
@ Dwight So how do these things get decided? The Citizen Advisory Council voted for the rezoning unanimously, while the Planning Commission voted nearly unanimously to “recommend” against it. Are these merely recommendations brought before the City Council who has final say regardless of any recommendations?
Mitch, good question. I was under the impression that it has to pass PC before going to council.
@ Stew , I don’t do this anymore but I use to watch The Raleigh Live Video of the council meeting to hear the verdict ! Also , I would email Senior Planner bynum.walter@raleighnc.gov & she would let me know ! She is super nice & has always got back quickly to me !
@ Mitch , As far as I know , council makes the final decision ! When I went before council to get some land rezoned , The CAC voted against the rezoning but council did approve the rezoning , but this happen in 2000 !
Smokey Hollow , ( Peace & West ) is suppose to start construction in January ! @ Mitch , Council minutes are posted on line in 1 to 2 weeks after the meeting !
Council can overrule any planning commission decision.
Perhaps some of you might be interested in Raleigh’s Neighborhood College course? If you want to be active in the going’s on around here this course might be a great way to start.
https://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/CommServices/Articles/NeighborhoodCollege.html
There is also the Citizen’s Leadership Academy
https://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/CommServices/Articles/CitizensLeadershipAcademy.html
Kudos to the City of Raleigh for offering programs like this!
Way off topic, but I was curious about West St. There was talk about extending it under the tracks to connect the two ends. Is that supposed to happen? Or did I just dream that up? haha
@Steve Thank you for sharing these. Kudos, Raleigh!
@Will, connecting West St. would be a huge win for the west side of DT but I certainly wouldn’t hold my breath. One could presume that, if it were a priority, it would have been done as part of the Union Station project as they dug one tunnel under the tracks then for the station itself.
As it stand, the only way a car traverses from the other side of the tracks is to go through The Depot parking lot. I’d suspect that some already do this during the day, but they really can’t do it when the lot becomes a pay affair on busy nights. When that’s the case, one has to leave the Warehouse District to move north and south. At least pedestrians can move through the parking lot 24×7.
Money was approved from this year’s transportation bond to study the West Street extension. More money will be needed to actually build the thing so it’s moving but not close.
@Leo, that’s good to know. I’d suspect that this could be a decade or more from being a reality in any likely case scenario. By that time, I’d suspect the southwest corner of DT will have significantly evolved from where it is today with all of the new construction happening and things on the drawing boards.
I know this is a Raleigh blog, but I thought this was interesting. The same team that’s building the Fairweather in Raleigh is building 62 (presumably Modernist) townhomes near American Tobacco in Durham. Site is currently single family and empty lots. I’ve been waiting for downtown Durham to add townhomes, and this is almost as many as all the new townhomes near DTR.
https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2017/12/07/raleigh-developers-have-big-plans-for-downtown.html?ana=fbk
Not that I didn’t believe you but now I’m interested in how many townhouses are being built in Downtown Raleigh right now. Between Hargett Place, Stones Warehouse, 10Arros, West + Lenoir and The Saint my count is 80 townhomes. Not sure if we can count Oakwood Townes but that’s another 37 also under construction.
I actually didn’t know about Oakwood Townes, but I was estimating there were 70-80 under construction. I suspect we’ll see hundreds more of them near both downtowns over the next few years.
I had not seen Oakwood Townes before, and now I am kind of sad I have. Those look like generic suburb townhouses like you would find in Cary.
I am excited about the ones in Durham. There are some new renderings of the fairweather on their website, and if the townhouses in Durham are of a similar style, they will be real nice.
Yeah, and the Durham development is basically sandwiched between the soon to be redeveloped Police HQ, and the also soon to be redeveloped Crowne Plaza, and the giant 12 acre University Kia that Jim Goodnight bought to (presumably) expand American Tobacco.