This is the last week to vote in our October Poll about the upcoming parking meters in downtown. Cast your vote in the poll located in the sidebar of the blog.

Parking always seems to be a huge complaint for a number of people who visit downtown Raleigh. I’ve become very interested in the city’s push for new parking meters in select downtown areas. I’ve become even more interested in the reactions out of citizens and how it may change their behavior or view of downtown. Is the city trying to squeeze more money out of current visitors or is the city trying to help boost its economy? Opinions are all over the place on this so I’d like to talk about a few ideas in favor of the parking meters. However, my opinion could change based on how the city plans to use this new revenue stream and what programs they put it toward. In my opinion, I feel that the parking meter revenue, after maintaining itself, should be put back into the sidewalks of downtown Raleigh.

The most used transportation option in downtown Raleigh are the sidewalks. Tens of thousands of people walk on them every day; along Fayetteville Street and from Moore Square to Nash Square. To encourage more foot traffic, attractive sidewalks should be built and maintained in order to encourage businesses to open along the sidewalks where people are walking. If the money from the parking meters were put into creating attractive sidewalks, the business community will take notice. The money should be used to repair cracks, clean the area, plant trees, install bike racks, paint light posts, install attractive lighting, etc. Improving the pedestrian experience will keep people walking around and browsing the many shops and restaurants that downtown has to offer. Fayetteville Street is nice but I’m sure all of you can name a couple of sidewalks that desperately need repair and therefore have no shops near them.

If the city made plans to improve the sidewalks using the parking meter revenue then this strategy would be supported by the business community and the general public. Seeing the money being spent in the sidewalks would please a lot of people because it can easily be tracked. Internet commenters are notorious for accusing the city of keeping similar revenue in a vault somewhere in city hall. All kidding aside, people will support the parking meters more if results are in plain sight, not if the money is spread out between many other public services.

Also, if there were no visual improvements in downtown, then recruiting businesses to sign leases on our numerous empty retail spaces would be even more difficult. This may be the reason that downtown Raleigh lacks a decent supply of outdoor seating or really anything more then just a bunch of tables on the sidewalks. Sidewalks that are clean, maintained, and have an established flow of cash for improvements will tempt developers to invest more in their building and business owners to raise the bar, knowing that their “front lawn” is taken care of.

The end goal is to improve the pedestrian experience in downtown Raleigh. Fayetteville Street had a makeover a few years ago and still looks great. However, the metered zone is well outside the main street and improvements should occur along those sidewalks as well.

The News & Observer has an article describing the the new art pieces coming to City Plaza and the ones that will be on display for Raleigh Wide Open 4 this Saturday. Craig Jarvis writes:

The most significant additions will be the unveiling of two new pieces of interactive art and the launching of three new sculptures in City Plaza, all along Fayetteville Street. In addition, a gallery will open in one of the four new pavilions in the new plaza and the latest round of art on the sides of city buses will be exhibited.

If you have been following the Fayetteville Street renaissance throughout the last couple of years, you may have noticed that public art for the street has been proposed a few times, each bringing with it its own drama and controversy.

In 2006, “chandeliers” were proposed for the street but were never approved because of a lack of community acceptance. The vista between the Capitol and the Performing Arts Center was seen as too grand to intrude on and talk of Las Vegas style lighting was frowned upon by the community. The privately funded chandeliers were voted down.

That same year, the Raleigh arts community was deep in another controversy, the Jaume Plensa Plaza proposal for the space that is City Plaza today. In early 2006, reports of his hiring to design a public plaza here in Raleigh were circulating. His design, shown below, for the space was bright with LED lights, moving with a wall of water, and open with a grassy field. Again, the grand vista of Fayetteville Street took priority and after the city council paid to create a mock up to see it for themselves, the project still was not going anywhere. Finally, the generous donation by Jim Goodmon of $2.5 million was pulled and that was the end of that. Read this article for a nice wrapup of the “fiasco”.

Click for larger, via newsobserver.com

Was Raleigh lacking vision in these two situations or does public art not have the support of citizens and therefore turned down because of that non-acceptance? Lots of private funds were being collected for these pieces so use of tax money could not have been the issue here. I’ll admit, I was a huge fan of the Plensa Plaza in its early days but looking back that was only because I supported something new for Raleigh from someone with a big name. But should we really just approve everything that is proposed without taking careful consideration of it? Lots of commenters on this blog say that they are tired of the city council approving every “weak” development project that is presented to them. In my opinion, I now support the the current City Plaza design better then the Plensa Plaza. (even if Jim Goodmon thinks I’m stupid, video below) We all have our different opinions and I respect those that have a valid argument, for or against mine.

The art on City Plaza is a step up from what we had before on Fayetteville Street and the discussion on the “lost opportunity” of the chandeliers and Plensa Plaza could go on forever. Check out the art installations after the grand opening this weekend and make up your own mind.

Durham’s unveiling of Plensa’s light tower for the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) via GinnySkal

I was having a conversation two nights ago with a good friend while admiring the view from the patio at the Boylan Bridge Brewpub. Most of it was about downtown and what we “needed”. While drinking some beer, we painted a picture of Raleigh in the future. I, like most, seem to get carried away with grand plans for the city that realistically will take decades to be seen. I always have to drag myself back to earth, however, and when I do, I focus on the near future. I think about the kind of things we can start today or can change in 12, 18, or 24 months from today.

Ever since I got into this whole downtown Raleigh thing, one of my top online sources for information was the city’s Livable Streets site. A key page I would like those interested to see is the Five in 5 Strategy. Even though there are about 130 strategies to the Livable Streets plan, these five:

were chosen because of their ability to be a catalyst for others, to build momentum and to excite all members of the community. One or more of the Livable Streets Partners has agreed to accept responsibility for each of the five. Each has already begun moving toward completion. As one is finished, others will be undertaken until we have the vibrant, active and livable streets that we all desire.

Does City Plaza mark the end of the revitalization of downtown? I certainly do not think we have achieved livable streets in Raleigh. The idea also should not be limited to this area as the rest of the city should have elements of what livable streets are. The Livable Streets website states:

We believe that people make a city great. Yet, so many of the world’s great cities dedicate too much of their precious, limited public space – their streets – to motor vehicles rather than people. We are working to redesign our communities around public transportation and walkable, bikeable streets. We are transforming parking lots into public plazas, busy intersections into town squares, and congested highways into bike paths.

What is urban about a surface parking lot a block away from our second tallest building?

The Five in 5 strategy lists:

1. Complete a Fayetteville Street Renaissance
2. Fund and build a new convention center and hotel
3. Improve the pedestrian environment
4. Undertake regulatory reform
5. Expand downtown management

The Fayetteville Street renaissance will be complete with Raleigh Wide Open 4 on October 24th and the opening of City Plaza. If you read this blog, I should not have to prove to you that point number 2 has been complete for over a year now. The next three tasks, I believe, need to work together in order to achieve true livable streets.

City Plaza is a good start to a better pedestrian experience in downtown. The area will have wide, safe sidewalks and approachable retail spaces for people on foot, bikes, rickshaws, anything other then a car. Cars cannot park in the area and can drive through only. The curbless “road” is flush with the sidewalks which will naturally calm traffic down and force drivers to look out for those walking by. I see it as a major sense of place and possibly the most urban block in Raleigh.

The livable streets mentality must emanate from here and throughout the downtown streets. Roads should be made bike friendly and riding should be encouraged, for example with more bike racks, discussed in a post one year ago here. (coincidence, I sware) There should be well paved sidewalks from all the neighborhoods around downtown that make it easy for people to cross streets.

I honestly could go on for hours on this topic but I’m sure most of you have heard most of this fluff about transit and biking and blah blah blah already. The thing is, I believe it is important to keep bringing it up in order to get more people behind it and to make sure our city leaders continue to stick to these values. If you want that dense, tall tower or that twenty-four hour diner or lots of shopping in downtown, it starts with getting people to live their lives in and around the area, OUTSIDE of their cars.

Lots of life on the sidewalks outside of Raleigh Times.

I may turn this post into a yearly thing so that we can follow the retail scene in downtown Raleigh. About a year ago, I posted a list of ten empty spaces that should be filled with retail or office space or something. In my opinion, they were the top ten spaces that get a lot of exposure and should be contributing to the downtown sidewalk culture. Now, we can take a look at the progress and see what else has changed in a years time.

The 2008 top ten list:

1. Progress Energy II
2. Wilmington and Martin Street
3. 14 West Martin Street
4. 114 Fayetteville Street
5. The Raleigh Sandwich Shop
6. Odd Fellows
7. Commerce Place
8. Boylan Pearce
9. The Depot
10. City Market

Unfortunately, there is not much to report. The current state of this list is very similar to the state it was in about a year ago. The old Music Hall at 14 West Martin street now has Club Fourteen and the City Market building has on-going construction work in the half facing Martin Street while the back half sits empty. Jibarra has opened in The Depot space but the rest of the building still sits empty. The emptiness at 114 Fayetteville has spread next door with the closing of the Fayetteville Street Tavern.

New Additions:

• RBC Plaza – This tower offers three retail spaces to the core of downtown. Unfortunately, they have been empty for almost a year.
• Hargett Street – The intersection of Hargett and Wilmington streets has become one of downtown’s busiest and the empty spaces along the 100 block of East Hargett street is missing out on the action.
• The Hue – The condos are for sale and so is the empty retail space along Dawson and Hargett.
• Joe’s Place – Who will add more neon to the now closed Joe’s Place at 301 Martin Street?

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.