by Leo Suarez

Raleigh Greenway Access From Downtown, Current and Future


Chavis Way, entrance to the greenway off the 500 block of East Martin Street.

I just did some online searching for information regarding the Raleigh Greenway system. It’s pretty sad that there isn’t an informative, well designed page dedicated to educating people on the expansive network of trails that go all over Raleigh. If you know of one, PLEASE share it.

The city’s website has only a small blurb about it here and you can download pdf maps of the parks and trails too. (links below) The maps are not up to date and the enormous file is cumbersome to navigate without a gigantic, high-resolution monitor.

Capital Area Greenway System Map (via raleighnc.gov)

Park And Greenway System Map (via raleighnc.gov)

The best resource out there is a real map of the network which you should be able to pick up at any bike shop around town. The adventurous will learn by just jumping onto the greenways themselves and picking them up as you go.

How does Downtown Raleigh fit into this network of trails? Looking at a portion of the map below, we get…. (click for a larger view)

Great Connections

The southern portion of downtown, highlighted in purple in the center, has pretty good access to the greenway trails running along southern Raleigh. If you work your way into Boylan Heights, West of downtown, you can get to the trails that run along Western Blvd very easily, marked by #34 on the map. This is a perfect way to get to Centennial Campus and the rest of NC State University without battling car traffic.

Trail #7 begins on Martin Street to the east of downtown. This trail will easily get you to many different parts of southeast Raleigh. It is possible to use this trail to get to the NC State Farmer’s Market while heading east weaves through secluded woods and wetlands.

But what about going north?

The long trail that runs along the northern arc just inside I-440 is a beautiful path to ride or walk on. I’ve ridden on it many times from one end all the way to Shelley Lake and back. I highly recommend getting out there and seeing it. Here’s the trail: (click for larger)

This is the trail to get to if you want to ride out to North Raleigh. I went shopping once at Crabtree Mall, getting there by bike on the greenways. Also, North Hills is a quick detour on Lassiter Mills Road but I’ve never tried it.

Conversely to the southern trails of Raleigh, the northern trails are harder to get to and is a little intimidating to the average rider. That may change in the future as a few ideas are being thrown around to run a greenway right through the middle of downtown.

Downtown trails for more connectivity

Right now, there are two developments that Raleigh Connoisseurs like yourselves should be aware of; the South West Street extension study and the Capital Blvd corridor study. We will get into the specifics of those topics, especially the West Street extension because I haven’t mentioned it here on RalCon as of today, at a later date but for right now let’s look at where the word ‘Greenway’ comes into play here.

Prerequisite Reading: Union Station – West Street Extension Alternatives.pdf (via raleighnc.gov)

In short, this document has some great details on how planners are thinking about having West Street, which currently dead ends at the railroad tracks after crossing Martin Street, connect to W. Cabarrus Street to support the future Union Station. A planned greenway is drawn up, running along West Street and ending at the current trail near Lake Wheeler and South Saunders Street. Picture below.

This portion will most likely be much more urban then the other trails around the city and the documents suggests that the greenway will be implemented with wider, multi-use sidewalks.

The Capital Blvd corridor study has talks of a possible greenway as part of the new additions to that area. Jim Belt of the Raleigh DLA wrote up a great review of the recent workshop and mentions that a greenway route is on the table. This map shows what a connection from the existing trail on Raleigh Blvd to downtown Raleigh could look like. The trail ends near the intersection of West and Peace Street but hopefully can be shot straight down West Street and into Union Station.

Putting the pieces together

If you add a greenway trail along the Capital Blvd corridor and another along the West Street extension, we now have penetrated downtown Raleigh with a trail and the rest of the network is easily accessible in all directions. Running it right by Union Station is a huge plus for the future of alternative transit around Raleigh as well.

Related Links:

Capital Blvd Corridor Study: RaleighNC.gov

by Leo Suarez

Frozen Yogurt and Mediterranean Coming Soon To Glenwood South

I spotted these two signs in the 222 Glenwood building on Glenwood Avenue. The large retail space in this condo building has always been empty but hopefully that will change. Zaky and Tutti Frutti will take up some space here but still leaving some room available for one more at the end of the building facing the intersection of Lane Street and Glenwood Avenue.

Very little work has taken place inside so we’ll keep an eye on this new addition for now.

by Leo Suarez

Salisbury Street Bicycle Lane

I stumbled upon this new bicycle lane on Salisbury Street yesterday. The lane goes from Peace to Lane Street which, right now, is not much but the Green Square construction kind of gets in the way. In the end, the bicycle lane should continue south down Salisbury and end at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

This is the beginning of some of the priority bicycle lanes that will be installed around Raleigh and you can see the plans at RaleighPedBikeMap.com.

by Leo Suarez

Walkways and Seating Coming To The Moore Square Bus Station

I have seen this work going on at the Moore Square bus station for a few weeks now but it was only today that I noticed the signs around the construction fencing. They say that new lighting, walkways, and seating will be put into this area.

As someone who walks here a few times a week to ride, the added room is welcome. At certain times of the day, the sidewalks are jammed with people. Hopefully this is one of many future additions that Raleigh’s central transit station should have in place.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

I just want to warn you that this is a weak post but either way, there is construction happening on Progress Energy’s land on Lenoir Street near the intersection with Dawson Street, to the west of the rail tracks. I’m not sure what is being built but my guess is that it is the power station that they wanted to build to support the power demands of downtown.

I do remember this was an issue a few years ago but cannot find the articles online at all. I’ll keep attempting to locate something but comment if you recall any details.

The short version of the story is that Progress Energy wanted to build a power substation where Union Station would go now and that caused some controversy. The story never really seemed to end, unless I missed it in the news or no one was talking about it but now Progress Energy is working on something. Is this the same power station?

by Leo Suarez

Happy Birthday City Plaza!

On October 24th, 2009, City Plaza was officially opened during Raleigh Wide Open 4. The open space towards the southern end of Fayetteville Street was called downtown Raleigh’s living room and for one year today it has served a unique purpose for downtown.

City Plaza has hosted a plethora of events from music and art festivals to the downtown Farmer’s Market and Winterfest. The plaza is a great gathering place in the core of the city and with the scenic Fayetteville Street view, it’s one of the best places to host an event in an urban area.

City Plaza is also about the pedestrian first. The plaza has fluid interaction with cars and people because of the flush street and sidewalks. It is easier to move around when on foot because there are no curbs, signs, or parked cars in the space. The fountain, the numerous tables and chairs, and lots of seating around the planted bushes and flowers makes it very inviting, open, and uncrowded.

The pavilions in the plaza also make it a destination. The four shops have been open for some time now and soon a fifth will open in the One Bank of America Plaza tower.

City Plaza is one of the most urban places in the city. here’s to many more years of hanging out there!