I spent some time this week with a survey from the city about possible plans to reconfigure North West Street between Peace Street and Wade Avenue that could accommodate bike lanes, walking paths, and a different parking layout. If that excites you, jump right on over to that survey here to let them know what you think. If I still got you, I wanted to revisit the plans for more bicycle infrastructure along West Street, how it’s going, and what we might expect in the future.
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Raleigh Magazine had a great event earlier this month in downtown Raleigh. While this post is not about the event exactly, you can’t help but spot the urbanism that took place during it. A parking lot was taken over for one night to bring people together to celebrate Raleigh’s hospitality industry. Easily, over 100 people were in this space, covered by a tent, where about a dozen or so cars typically park. I attended the event and couldn’t help but notice that this space works much better for people rather than for cars.
Continue reading →Embedded above is a pretty nice looking aerial video circling the site of The Weld which sits between South Saunders Street and Lake Wheeler Road. Currently under construction, and hard to photograph from the streets, are a pair of 20-story buildings facing Hammell Drive.
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The city is making plans along Commerce Place and had it closed down for November’s First Friday to give citizens and visitors a light taste of what it could become in the future. They envision a more people-centered place where cars are either allowed as “guests” or restricted all-together.
Continue reading →Moore Square is a such a vital part of the downtown Raleigh fabric. I love the space here as it truly feels like a space for all and you can see people from all different walks of life. The square organically caters to residents who want some open space, visitors who want to linger around the city, and events, planned or unplanned, in the various sections around this park-like square.
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Just the other day, I bought tickets to an event in January and noticed the year value on the date was 2024. “The year is almost over?” I said out loud and everyone around me agreed that things are just flying by.
I haven’t been posting on the blog as frequently lately as I have plenty of things going on in that thing called, “real life.” It’s all positive actually and I’m thankful that I’ve been able to balance work, family, social, and volunteering in somewhat harmony throughout this year that I wanted to share what is going on behind the scenes.
If you’re reading this, you are at the base of all DTRaleigh operations, the place where it all started. The blog is 16 years old now and I keep adding to it as opportunities come up. The blog is here as my personal project for taking photos and digging in a little to the world that is Urban Raleigh.
I anticipate things will ebb and flow as the years go on. Lately, I’m leaning toward less digital and more real world “stuff”. That is, talking to people, attending meetups, networking, and just plain old enjoying this downtown Raleigh thing as much as I can. (as opposed to just chatting online about it)
Branching off the blog is the always active DTRaleigh Community, a place for more online discourse with the help of an improved platform compared to the comments here on the blog. That community was established in 2018.
There’s a nice balance here as the Community allows you to dive into the details of things while the blog gives you the highlights of some of the larger topics going on in our city.
Some quick updates:
After the Community got going and the COVID pandemic started to fade, there was a desire for some in-person socializing. We have since started a Meetup group that facilitates a monthly social event. We welcome anyone and while some folks meet up after chatting online, we are also getting residents and other downtown fans to come and discover all this online chatter for the first time.
These are casual meetups with no agenda and we rotate around downtown to try out some new places. Again, anyone is welcome. If you’re looking for the transit and zoning geeks, you can find them here.
In the personal volunteer arena, I want list out some things that are ongoing. If there is any interest in some of these or you want to chat about these, please reach out.
And then of course there’s all the things going on at home and the office. Generally, that looks like:
So the blog is cruising for sure but it’s certainly not out. If you’re a long-time follower I really want to thank you for sticking around. I hope this post shows that with multiple things going on, it doesn’t mean the blog is forgotten. I have been keeping a list of possible post ideas for years so do please stick around and check-in every now and then.
Hope to see you out there in downtown some time. Cheers!
It’s all going according to plan.
Straight out of the 2015 Downtown Plan, the southern end of Fayetteville Street, currently being used as surface parking and owned by the city, was to be kept for a major “catalytic” project. In 2015, it was envisioned that a major hotel to serve the convention center and a large corporate relocation would set up on the two sites. Fayetteville Street would then be extended down the middle.
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North Carolina Freedom Park is now open and it certainly looks like a stunning space. The one-acre park at the corner of Lane and Wilmington Streets is dedicated to the African American struggle for freedom. I am so impressed by what the architects, and everyone behind the project, have delivered here. It’s great to see this close to our museums as well as state government buildings.
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