Author / Leo Suarez

by Leo Suarez

Public Comments Sought On Downtown Parking And Transportation Issues

The City of Raleigh will hold a public forum on Tuesday, July 29, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. regarding downtown parking and transportation issues. The meeting will be administered by the Downtown Parking Task Force in the city council chamber on the second floor of the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex, 222 W. Hargett St.

For the past several months a consulting team has been working with City staff and the Downtown Parking Task Force – whose members are appointed by the mayor — to examine parking and transportation issues in downtown Raleigh. The purpose of the study is to develop a plan for improving downtown access, including access to parking. At the public forum, the consulting team will present an overview of the study findings and provide an opportunity for input from the community before completing the report. This is a chance for citizens to see key findings of the field investigations and hear principals and strategies related to downtown parking and access that may affect future planning and policy decisions. Whether you live, work, shop, do business, or simply visit downtown to have fun, citizens are being asked to provide feedback.

by Leo Suarez

Say Hello To The 500 Block of Fayetteville St.

This past weekend, there was a small section of sidewalk that was not blocked by the white and orange barriers on Fayetteville St. I’m not sure if that means that the sidewalk is officially open but no one stopped me from walking over and roaming around the 500 block of the street. We all know that this block is only half done as the parking deck across from the Marriott Hotel is under construction, which will then be followed by Charter Square but that is still at least a year away. Here is what to expect in the near future.

Obviously with the parking deck construction, this block is pretty one sided and is dominated by the new Marriot Hotel. There are three elements to the sidewalk; two food shops and the hotel lobby roundabout. The smaller space is occupied by a Starbucks and by the looks of it, it is pretty much ready to go. The much larger space is going to be a restaurant, named Posta, which runs almost the complete length of the hotel. Pedestrians have one access directly into Starbucks or another to the lobby and into Posta. Car access to the roundabout is by Fayetteville St. only. It appears that there is a very wide pedestrian access to Salisbury, and the convention center, between the hotel and BB&T.

Wide pedestrian walkway to the convention center. It also looks like it will be very well lit.

Lots of outdoor seating on this block

Below is the much talked about sidewalk parking deck entrance. This sits across the street from the hotel, on the corner of Lenoir and Fayetteville St. The entrance is covered and provides one elevator and one staircase to the parking below ground. For added convenience, there is also a parking pay station inside.

The streetlights are ready so as soon as Lenoir St. is converted to two-way mode, the hotel will be fully up and running. I’m still curious to know if traffic will flow through the future City Plaza while it is under construction. My instinct says ‘no’ and we will have to wait until Sept. 2009 until Fayetteville St. is drivable from one end to the other.

Sidewalk fountain?

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Arena Idea

Here’s an interesting idea I had inspired by some of the recent news. Hope you’ve brushed up on your math skills.

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Both pictures are taken at the same zoom level in Google Earth.

Am I suggesting we replace the prison with an arena? Not exactly; it’s just interesting to see that an arena, even with some parking, can fit on this site. The RBC Center and prison are not going anywhere any time soon so think of it with a planning point of view. Lets bring this back up 26 years from now.

by Leo Suarez

What Should The Multi-modal Transportation Center Be Like?

Mentioned earlier in The State of The Warehouse District post, there is an opportunity now for anyone to submit their ideas about the Multi-modal Transportation Center (MTC) by July 24th. I think this is a big topic that is not talked about enough so in an attempt to get the conversation going, here are some ideas for what should come to this area of downtown over the next decade.

Background Info

The highlighted area in the map below is the core target where the MTC will go.

I’m not sure if Amtrak is in on this but they should so I included the station in my red area. Amtrak and Norfolk Southern trains are, I believe, the only real activity that comes through here currently. In the near future, we may have regional rail that goes north toward Wake Forest and West toward Cary and the rest of the triangle. There may also be a high-speed rail line that continues north toward Richmond and west toward Charlotte.

Build a Transit Center

With lines coming in from around the area and out of state, the MTC should be the hub of travel outside of RDU. Passengers that arrive should have the option to get a taxi, transfer to another train or bus, rent a bike, get picked up by a friend, or walk off in a pedestrian friendly environment. I’m still debating whether a car rental service would be needed but this can be avoided with good planning; some people still need to drive to get to where they are going.

Warehouse Renovation

Rather then build the entire MTC from scratch, we can always use what we have. The warehouses along the railroad tracks offer a perfect opportunity to bridge the old with the new. Heavy renovation could turn this into a shopping center for travelers arriving or departing the area. We’ve heard of plans for residential infill within the warehouse district so that will only fuel the activity even more.

The MTC Does Not Need To Be Tall

This area is a little tricky because of the transition between residential neighborhoods and downtown. Would a 10 or 20 story building fit in here? Would you protest if a truly iconic skyscraper was on the table and would block your view from the Boylan Brewpub patio? I may change my mind later when the proposals come in but for now I think that a tall development would be out of place. Low rise office and condos that blend well with the warehouses and Boylan Heights is key. The area is about transit and focus on the pedestrian should be point number one.

Plan For The Future

The population figures I keep reading say that Wake County will have another million people over the next 25-30 years. The MTC should be built for this population boom as well as expandable for even more traffic. I think space for an extra track or two should be saved, another site saved for a potential downtown rail circulator, and would it even be way out there to plan the MTC so that a subway could be built underneath? We are definitely years from that but considering it and engineering the building around these may be worth a small cost now rather then a huge redevelopment later in the future.

…..ooh and we also need an awesome name for it.

by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Deep South

Deep South sits at the end (or the start?) of the warehouse district on Dawson and Cabarrus Streets. This cool bar has a rock attitude and the walls are covered with legendary quotes of some of the most famous rock songs out there. They have all your beer needs covered as well as the cheapest specials I’ve seen in town.

The location seems to be a little off from the current downtown watering holes but Deep South is ahead of the curve. I think that once the Raleigh Convention Center is up and running as well as the downtown amphitheater, this area will buzz with activity.

Sells cigarettes
Pool Table
Live music on select nights
Small outdoor area
TV’s
Wifi

Website: http://www.deepsouththebar.com/

430 S Dawson St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
(919) 833-1255