Category / Transit/Transportation

by Leo Suarez

The Rosengarten Greenway and Connecting Downtown to Dix

The Rocky Branch Greenway in Dorothea Dix Park.

The Rocky Branch Greenway in Dorothea Dix Park.

Plans are underway for the Rosengarten Greenway, a path starting from West Cabarrus Street and ending at the Rocky Branch Greenway on South Saunders Street. While neighbors in Boylan Heights and Rosengarten Park work with the city on a final plan, a walk along the potential route got me thinking about some kind of connection from downtown to the future Dix Park.

We’ll get to the Rosengarten Park greenway soon but the topic of connecting downtown Raleigh to Dix Park is laced in opinions. Of course, you are about to get one more but that’s why you come to this blog now isn’t it? ;)

I say it a lot and I’ll repeat it numerous times but debates on walking and biking routes hold very little without actually walking the areas first. Driving is of course the easiest way to get back and forth but a tight-knit urban fabric between Dix and downtown could be a huge boost to living and working here.

At this time, I’m not convinced that walking back and forth is for the casual but rather for the dedicated with time on their hands. I’m not saying it’s necessarily difficult but it’s just far enough to not be convenient and the elevation change makes it feel further than it is on a map.

For sake of argument, I’m going to define the entrance to Dix Park as the “intersection” of Western Boulevard and Boylan Avenue. For this blog post, that is the destination we’ll take a look at. Keep in mind, once you are there, you still need to hoof it up the hills into the park itself to whatever future spot you want to get to.

Without diving into the details, it’s about a 15-20 minute walk from anywhere in the Warehouse District to the entrance. We’re talking 25-30 minutes a little further out, say the Capitol building or Glenwood South. In my book, that puts the walk to Dix in the recreation category of my time. Runners might make it a frequent part of their day though.

Walking routes from NC Capitol to Dix Park entrance

Walking routes from NC Capitol to Dix Park entrance. It’s about 30 minutes from the Capitol to the entrance of Dix Park.

That’s no problem for residents but I don’t see visitors to downtown, staying in the hotels for a visit whether it be for a convention or family event, taking a casual walk out there. I’m not sure it’s enough to justify any special walking paths anyway.

It’s also not very flat.

To the south of downtown is the Rocky Branch creek. Parts of downtown slope downward towards it, dropping almost 80 or 90 feet in elevation. You’ll feel those hills on a warm day.

I’ll leave the walking piece of this to the small group of dedicated peds. It’s the cycling route I’m interested in. With a Bike Share system coming next year, cycling out to Dix would be a great to-do when staying in downtown. Cycling would be much more pleasant compared to that previously mentioned walk and drops the time down to 10 minutes on average.

The Rosengarten Greenway

The Rosengarten Greenway likes to be thrown in to the conversation of connecting downtown to Dix. You can dive into the project on the city’s website.

Rosengarten Alley, June 2017.

Rosengarten Alley, June 2017.

Starting at Cabarrus Street at Rosengarten Alley, the goal is to connect a greenway to the current Rocky Branch trail. (which is south of Western Boulevard) In the past, (2009ish) a more lofty plan existed but with new developments taking place since then the path has been modified some. Below is what we have from the past plan and the latest from the city’s website.

Downtown West Gateway Comprehensive Plan Chapter - City of Raleigh

Downtown West Gateway Comprehensive Plan Chapter – City of Raleigh

Rosengarten Greenway plan, 2017

Rosengarten Greenway plan, 2017. Originally in gray, I’ve colored it orange so it can be followed easier. Click for larger, full path map.

The latest plan is a little piecemeal, sending greenway riders on a lot of sidewalks rather than dedicated paths. When I walked the proposed route, it was pretty scenic with an overgrown stream going north/south into and then just turned into regular sidewalks.

Whatever “controversy” there is around this path, I can’t see it. It seems like a normal, everyday path to me.

It feels like standard operating procedure here from the city. If there’s an opportunity to put a greenway along a stream, then they will plan it. I think people are getting a little to hung up on the downtown to Dix connection and this greenway is getting thrown into the mix when it really shouldn’t.

The downtown to Dix connection has to be on the streets.

Bike to Dix

Dix presents a perfect use case for bike share. Steering riders easily between downtown and the park could create a nice downtown to-do for anyone in town.

[For an update on Raleigh Bike Share, hear episode 19 of Inbound Raleigh, a podcast about transit and transportation in Raleigh.]

From Glenwood South and parts of Hillsborough Street, the route is mostly obvious. (the Boylan Avenue downhill speed run)

The two-way conversion of Lenoir and South Street makes it easy from eastern downtown.

It’s the warehouse district that is tricky because of the separation around the tracks at the depot. This is where, I feel, the West Street connection was right-on with creating critical connections in the southwest side of town.

Mentioned in this 2013 post, there were plans to tunnel West Street underneath the tracks in the depot and connect the street to itself.

I haven’t seen plans for the tunnel in 2017 but I do see West Street being a pretty great street for connecting the Rosengarten Park area to the north. While the tracks are active, I imagine it possible for an at-grade railroad crossing for pedestrians and bicycles. Proper fencing and safety gates would be needed to divert bike/ped traffic from around Union Station to West Street south of the tracks.

This would be much cheaper than the tunnel option and examples of this exist in other cities. It would take coordination between the city and the state to get this done. Here’s a rough idea of what it could look like on a map.

The view from West Street just calls to be connected. Imagine riding a bike back from Dix and be greeted with this view.

South West Street, June 2017.

South West Street, June 2017. The Dillon could greet riders and pedestrians here as they come back from Dix.

Southwest downtown Raleigh is becoming a blend of neighborhood mixed-use with retail and residential. Vehicle traffic is slow and vehicle counts are low that the street space can be used for other modes of travel than a car. I’d really like to see rental bikes zipping through that area in the years to come.

by Leo Suarez

A Walk Around The GoRaleigh Station

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image. Read the post on the blog to see it.

Bus at the GoRaleigh Station

After a year of construction work, the bus station at Moore Square, renamed to GoRaleigh Station, is now fully up and running with a new look and new amenities. Having had the same basic layout and services since the 1980s, the station upgrade is very much welcomed.

With the ribbon cut a few weeks ago, it was time I walked it and snapped some photos for the blog.

The station can be entered from all different directions but for me, I consider the entrance on Wilmington Street to the be the front door. Here, you can typically hear classical music and on this particular walk, I was greeted with the sounds of tango with Por una Cabeza.

Wilmington Street entrance to the GoRaleigh Station

Wilmington Street entrance to the GoRaleigh Station

The walkway leading into the heart of the station has changed a bit with an outdoor plaza, covered in string lights, at the base of a brand new elevator shaft and airy stairwell. This replaces the former stairwell and elevator that was situated on the eastern portion of the Moore Square parking deck, having been removed during this project.

Below is a surround shot of the plaza and walkways into and out of the station. The outdoor seating of the nearby restaurant St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar is here as well.

Going into the station, we can see the brand new amenities in an updated office/kiosk as well as bathrooms. TV screens are plentiful and informative all throughout with route information and estimated time of arrivals.

Kiosk at the GoRaleigh Station

Bathrooms at the GoRaleigh Station

To the left and right are the various wait stations for all the routes. The ones underneath the parking deck are obviously covered but the ones outside have brand new shelters that help block wind, rain, and provide shade.

There are no longer any shelters along the road exiting on Blount Street and buses are coming and going from Hargett and Martin. This is a change from before where buses would only enter on Martin and exit on Hargett so I imagine that helps with route planning.

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

A big difference has been the feel and presence the station used to have along Hargett Street. The brick entrance gateway thing has been removed and with the new shelters and roadway, the entrance feels much more open.

With the new design, you can see the buses approaching and they can see you. This makes “negotiating” your way across the sidewalk on Hargett easier as before, it was always possible that a bus might jump in front of you at the last second.

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

Heading back inside, I passed back in front of the kiosk towards Wilmington Street. Wilmington and Fayetteville Streets feel so accessible with the station providing a direct shot back and forth.

GoRaleigh Station

GoRaleigh Station

Congrats to the team behind this project. I enjoy walking through the station, even if I’m not a bus rider, and hope that the people it serves are enjoying it as well. As transit in Raleigh expands over the next ten years, the station seems to be set up to handle that growth.

by Leo Suarez

Scoping Out Raleigh Union Station

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

I walked around West and Martin Streets this weekend to check out Raleigh Union Station. Photos are great but walking the area gives you a sense that it is coming together and you can feel how you’ll interact with the new train station once it is open. (as much as the construction fences would allow anyway)

Today’s update shows the entrance to the station at the end of Martin Street at West. The metal awning (better name?) is up, shown above, and to the right will be the pedestrian plaza. Currently a parking lot for heavy equipment, you can sneak a glance at the space and how it will become the gateway in and out of the city through the station.

Here, pedestrians will go underneath some train tracks and then back up into the station.

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

To the left is the street entrance for vehicles to go through, leading up to a roundabout for easy drop off/pick up. You can see the new train “bridge” that was built in order to have all the entrances separated from the tracks of the Boylan Wye. Similar to the pedestrian entrance, vehicles will go underneath the tracks, the “bridge” that was added here.

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

Finally, the end of West Street is a massive hole, going below grade in order to turn under the same tracks of the Boylan Wye in order to loop back into the roundabout. Those last few warehouses look so isolated in the photo below. I wonder if they will last much longer?

West Street at Martin, April 2017

Here are a few renderings and maps to show what is being worked on today along West Street.

Raleigh Union Station rendering

Raleigh Union Station rendering

Raleigh Union Station map

Click for larger

by Leo Suarez

Discussing the R-Line on Inbound Raleigh

R-Line Bus

I was recently invited to talk about the R-Line on the Raleigh transit podcast, Inbound Raleigh. We gathered some ridership numbers over the lifespan of the R-Line, which is approaching its eighth birthday in February, and talked about the history of the downtown circulator.

Have a listen and let me know what you think, about the episode and the R-Line in general. You can subscribe on iTunes and most popular podcast-listening apps out there.

Here are some links to the data and images (some from those links) for your reference.

R-Line Ridership Overall

Click for larger

by Leo Suarez

2016 Transit Tax Passes Along Proposed Bus Lines

Voter Distribution of 2016 Transit Tax Referndum

Click for larger

I posted this up on Twitter earlier but wanted to put it here on the blog for posterity. If you don’t know already, the transit tax passed in yesterday’s election and the graphic above shows the precincts that voted for and against it. You can clearly see that areas receiving expanded bus service were pro-tax versus areas that were not.

Maybe a little lack of support along the western edge of 540. I wonder if the presence of tolls in that area played a role in voters’ decisions?

At the same time, most of the outlying precincts in Wake were not horribly against the transit tax, only opposing by smaller margins. (some exceptions exist though)

by Leo Suarez

RalCon Supports The Wake Transit Referendum

On Nov 8, or now if you’re into early voting, Wake County residents will see this little box on their ballots. This blog, along with a list of other fine persons and organizations, endorse a FOR vote for transit and the sales tax to pay for it.

For downtown Raleigh, and anyone that wants to see the area notch it up on transit-related infrastructure and service, this is a huge addition to the central role that the area plays in the movement of people in our city. The map below shows you how key the core of Raleigh becomes in this 10-year plan.

Click for larger

If you’re looking for a summary of the transit plan that this sales tax increase will fund, along with maps, FAQs, and a breakdown of the monetary side of things, head over to the Regional Transportation Alliance’s wrap up page.

by Leo Suarez

New Raleigh-Based Podcast Focuses on Transit

Inbound Raleigh

There’s a new podcast out now and its focus is on Transit in Raleigh. I just finished listening to their second episode which is a great interview with our city’s transportation planning manager, Eric Lamb.

Called Inbound Raleigh, the podcast wants to talk about all the different ways to get around Raleigh that don’t involve a car on a street. After listening to the first episode, it really shows you how many different transit-related projects we have in the pipeline. We have bike share, a transit referendum next month, a bike plan, sidewalk expansions, a train station, and a lot more.

The podcast is run by Jennifer Suarez and James Borden, both of Raleigh Public Record fame. (Disclaimer, Jennifer is also married to yours truly.)

If podcasts are a way that you enjoy getting your media then I encourage you to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and/or listen to Little Raleigh Radio. They have been instrumental in getting the podcast off the ground and always deserve love when they help launch new projects.