Bike parking at Citrix along Hargett Street. While private, this is probably the peak of bicycle parking in downtown Raleigh.
Category / Transit/Transportation
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.
New Raleigh-Based Podcast Focuses on Transit
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.
Raleigh Union Station Construction Update
Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016. Click for larger.
We haven’t visited the construction site for Raleigh Union Station in a few months and this weekend, I went out to catch up on the progress. The weather was nice and the clouds were amazing, helping me land some great exposures of the site.
The photo above is the “money shot” of the station, taken from the Boylan Avenue bridge. A lot has happened since I grabbed a photo from the same spot in April.
Looking around we can spot a few things taking shape. Check the above photo out on Flickr so you can zoom in, out, and around.
In the foreground in front of the Dillon Supply Co. sign, the ticketing and baggage claim area is coming together. This area will also house Amtrak offices and general operations rooms.
The station will actually be bigger than the old warehouse that was at this location as this kind of exoskeleton of steel is starting to wrap it.
Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016 as seen from Hargett Street.
It wasn’t much of a renovation but rather a reuse of some parts (and that’s still a stretch) as the building was gutted to the bones. This new framing should create the spaces for the new retail and restaurant space and their outdoor balconies and walkways.
I can probably guess that the mound of earth around the site came from the Union Station project as lots of land had to be moved for the parking lot and the new entrance along West Street.
West Street being lowered to go into the parking lot of Union Station.
Above, you can see what the end of West Street looks like today. This mess will eventually have West Street going underneath the rail line and into the station. For additional reference, I’ve thrown up the site plan, with a few minor edits, which you can see how vehicle traffic is supposed to flow.
Raleigh Union Station site plan. Click for larger.
The last major thing I noticed was the process of working with the tracks themselves.
Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station, near Cabarrus Street. Click for larger.
Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station, near Cabarrus Street. Click for larger.
Looking at the station from Cabarrus Street, you will notice that only the active line to the current train station is intact. The rails on the left in the two photos above serve the station today while the rails on the right end before the construction site. It looks like that line is down for awhile until the bridge is built over the lowered West Street.
There also used to be other rail lines, two of these offshoot kind of tracks, in this area but those are gone now. Here’s an aerial shot from Google Maps to show you the four tracks mentioned here.
Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station. Click for larger.
No doubt, this track rearrangement is making room for the new platform that will take passengers through a concourse underneath and between two new tracks. You can see that if you jump back up to the site plan.
Here are some other photos from my walk around the site.
Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from Hargett Street.
Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from West Street.
Weekend Video: Capital Boulevard Makeover
From the meeting this week hosted by NCDOT, the video above was being played on a loop at the Borden Building in Fred Fletcher Park Thursday evening. If you can’t see the embedded video, go here.
The video is a great watch for those following this project and construction starts on Wade Avenue first this Fall.
You can find more on the NCDOT’s project website.
Save The Date, November 8, 2016, For A Vote On Transit in Wake
The Wake County Board of Commissioners are in on the recommended transit plan for the county and they want voters to approve a tax increase in order to pay for it.
This week, the vote passed and on the November 8 ballot, we’ll have an opportunity to approve or not a 1/2 cent sales tax increase that will be used for transit. A similar vote has taken place, and passed, in Durham and Orange counties so now it is our turn.
You can read more at WakeTransit.com.
We’ll cover more parts of the plan here on the blog leading up to the vote as downtown Raleigh’s central location and urban nature is poised to be a hub of bus and rail activity if voters approve the tax increase.
Stay tuned.
Completing the Lenoir and South Street Two-way Conversion
South Street at South Saunders Street
The two-way conversion of South and Lenoir Streets have begun. You could loosely call this a phase 2 project as parts of Lenoir and South were converted to two-way years ago when the Raleigh Convention Center opened. Now, the city is finishing the conversion so that the streets operate as two-way from end-to-end.
For all the details, jump over to the Lenoir & South Street Two-Way Conversion project page on the city’s website.
Going west to east, South Street is two-way in Boylan Heights but flips to one-way (east bound) at South Saunders. Shown in the photo above, utility work is taking place and throughout the year the street in this area will contain bike lanes, landscaped medians, and travel lanes going in both directions (of course) up to Dawson. At Dawson is where South flips back to two-way.
Along South through downtown, the street flips back to one-way (east bound) at Wilmington Street. There will be one travel lane in each direction from here all the way to East Street. The traffic light at Bloodworth Street will be removed and replaced with a four-way stop.
Lenoir Street looks less complicated. No conversion work is needed on the west side of downtown and the work begins at Wilmington Street. The east bound one-way street between Wilmington and East will be converted to one-lane in each direction. The traffic lights at both East and Bloodworth will be replaced with four-way stops.
Click for larger
As someone who travels in this area by car and bicycle, this conversion is very much welcomed. It’ll also be a nice alternative when Fayetteville Street is completely closed during event season.
Pic of the Week
The future Raleigh Union Station has been stripped down to its steel bones. The renovation of the former warehouse building for Raleigh’s new train station is creating a flurry of activity at the south end of West Street in the Warehouse District.
The new station is scheduled to open in 2017.