by Leo Suarez

RDU to DTR Bus Connection Proposed by Triangle Transit

Triangle Transit is proposing a couple changes to its routes and one could result in a direct bus ride from downtown Raleigh to RDU airport. The route would also include the Research Triangle Park. (RTP) Try to keep up with all the acronyms.

Currently, the easiest way to get to the airport using Triangle Transit from downtown is to ride route 105 to the Regional Transit Center (RTC) in RTP. Then from there, you transfer to the 747 route and your way to the airport. 747, get it?

The proposal attempts to eliminate the transfer and offer a direct ride from the Moore Square station, up Hillsborough Street to Wade Avenue, and down I-40 to the airport. The route would run Monday through Saturday at these proposed times [broken link]. Check the Google map below for more details about the route and proposed stops.


View RTC – Moore Square via RDU Airport in a larger map

The current schedule of events puts this route and other changes into affect in August 2010. These changes are open for comment so click on over to their site and let them know what you think.

The frequency of trips has me most interested. A 30-35 minute ride from downtown to the airport at 30 minute intervals during the AM and PM rush hours is a nice improvement. Make a note that the bus route stops at each terminal for easy access. The downtown Marriott and Sheraton are only a five or so minute walk away and the Clarion is right on Edenton Street where the route will go. You can’t say its not tempting to spend the $2 one-way ticket for a bus ride to the airport terminals compared to a $20 taxi.

by Leo Suarez

Baseball In Downtown, Devereux Meadow Meets Progress In Raleigh


Courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives

It’s no secret but most people don’t know about the baseball stadium that once stood near downtown. That’s right, at one point in time, minor league sluggers were blasting home runs onto what would eventually become Capital Blvd. The ballpark once sat in the area highlighted in the map below and this is where I’d like to focus the conversation today.


Click image for wider view.

Raleigh’s Team
The Raleigh Capitals once played at Devereux Meadow Ballpark which was located along present day Peace Street between West Street and Capital Blvd. The stadium was built in 1938 and baseball had its up and downs here until the site was cleared in 1979. In the name of “progress”, the area was then used for city services, a parking lot for waste disposal vehicles really. I want to highlight two articles I found that mention the stadium meeting the wrecking ball, written around that time.

Sentiment Surrounds Wrecking Of Park – The Time-News June 27, 1979.

Wrecker’s Ball Puts End To Ballpark – The Tuscaloosa News June 27th, 1979.


Courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives

What is there now?
The area today contains few offices or very little of anything representing density or urbanity. The city has been using the lots for parking waste services trucks and other utility vehicles. A few businesses reside off West Street in “off the beaten path” office space with very little car and pedestrian traffic on West Street.

However, the more important resource in this area is the Pigeon House Branch Creek that snakes through the Devereux Meadow site and hides underneath certain streets in downtown. Here’s an excellent blog post tracking the creek through the site. Last I checked, the creek was on the state’s list of impaired waterways and the city is trying to remedy this. One example of a fix has been the water garden at nearby Fred Fletcher park. I bet most readers have driven or walked through this area and never knew that a creek was flowing underneath.

The Future
As far as I know, there are no plans for Devereux Meadow at this moment. Ideas of a river walk have come up but nothing has materialized from that. It’s all talk at this point but that allows the online peanut gallery here to dream up ideas for this large piece of property on the edge of downtown.

More on that later….

by Leo Suarez

Fareless Transit Ideas

Here’s an interesting read that I’d like to highlight. Aaron Renn’s blog, The Urbanophile, suggests an interesting concept for smaller cities that are trying to grow transit. Make them free. Well not exactly free but without fares. Renn states:

Why have a fare in the first place? It is odd that we pay per use on transit. We don’t pay to check books out of a library. We don’t pay to visit most city parks. We don’t pay when the police or fire department come to our house for a legitimate emergency. Most non-utility municipal services are provided for free to users and funded by taxes. So why is transit different? I suspect it is rooted in the origins of public transit systems when they were private, for-profit companies. But they aren’t that today so why adopt those legacy practices?

Read the rest of his post for some solid ideas supporting the use of fareless transit.

There’s actually nothing too radical suggested here as Chapel Hill has been fare-free for over eight years as well as downtown’s R-Line. This may or may not be something to consider as the transit section of the 2030 comprehensive plan is concerned.

by Leo Suarez

Big Drafts at Natty Greene’s In Downtown Raleigh

The landmark of powerhouse square in Glenwood South, the Raleigh Electric Company Power House building, has been empty for over a year now but that will all change soon. Greensboro based Natty Greene’s has moved in and will open very soon. The furniture is in place, the beer tanks are brewing, and staff training is currently underway.

For those that have been to this beautiful space at 505 West Jones Street when Southend Brewery was open, you will be familiar with the restaurant setup. Left of the entrance is the restaurant with space for couples, families, and large groups. To the right is the bar area with high tables and chairs. Each are separated by the huge beer tanks in the center, on display for everyone to see. The upstairs “loft” will be used for private parties or large functions. The back room through the bar is the game room with another bar, pool tables, dart boards, and a shuffleboard.

Natty Greene’s is open now but look for an official opening date around St. Patrick’s day.

by Leo Suarez

Tracking Buses Online and On Your Phone

Recently, the city has created some online and mobile tracking services for the buses in Capital Area Transit. The best part is that they all have maps associated with them. I love me some maps.

For downtown, this includes the R-Line, which is technically part of CAT and is shown on the CAT tracking page. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) tracks the R-Line on their page as well. Below is the link rundown so update your bookmarks.

DRA live map
www.godowntownraleigh.com/get-around/r-line/status

DRA live map mobile version
m.yourhere.com/rline-map.php

CAT Bus tracking
raleighrides.org/

NCSU Wolfline Tracking
ncsu.transloc.com/

I’m mentioning the Wolfline tracking system because it has been around for years and is still the better service of the few, in my opinion. Take a look at it to see what all the services should work towards becoming one day.

The R-Line mobile site is easy and straight to the point. If you have a smartphone, you can pull up the maps with the location of the buses pinpointed on the route in real time. The bus stops are marked by their appropriate names so finding where you are on the map is easy once you are at an R-Line stop. Streets and their names are also displayed so the map now becomes a personal guide to navigating downtown on your phone. It’s a great start for making the experience of riding a bus slightly easier and puts a system in place that can be easily updated and scaled out as transit in Raleigh grows.