by Leo Suarez

November Poll: Things To Do In Downtown

The October poll has now ended. Most of the responses showed support for the new parking meters or toward a change in parking trends to the decks. Thanks for voting.

Now that it is November, most people are planning for the holidays. Some leave Raleigh to visit friends and family but others are coming here to visit. I would like to know what people typically do when they have visitors to Raleigh and need to show them around. When you are playing host to a first time Raleigh visitor, what sites do you show them? What does downtown have that you need to show friends the area? What is lacking in downtown that would draw more people?

Comment if you have other plans then the ones listed in the poll.

by Leo Suarez

Parking Available At City Plaza?

I took this picture on Saturday while walking on Fayetteville Street and enjoying the great weather. Cars were parking on City Plaza!

The plaza had a little activity that day because of the Home Show that was at the Raleigh Convention Center. Also, the Krispy Kreme was getting some good business and customers were sitting outside on the plaza or playing with the interactive fountain. I’m a big fan of City Plaza and would like to see more urban spaces like it for pedestrians as downtown Raleigh grows. But the fact that cars were parking on this block irked me a little. This should be a space for pedestrians, not cars.

I people watched a little while sitting at one of the several tables that have been put out on the plaza for anyone to use. I guess you could say I was car watching as well. Some cars slowed as if confused, figuring out if they could park here or not. Others parked for two minutes as they ran into Krispy Kreme for a coffee then drove off. Some were there longer then my thirty or so minute stay so its possible they used the spots for long term parking. We asked a group of downtown Raleigh Ambassadors if parking was allowed on the plaza and three of them had no idea and also don’t enforce it. I may be making this a bigger deal then it is but if cars start to park on City Plaza, in my opinion, we have ruined the intent of the entire project.

Now maybe this is a different case because it is a Saturday with slow traffic and no enforcement so why not let a few people park here, right? The work week is much busier and parking on all downtown streets are enforced so City Plaza is kept car free during those hours. I’m assuming this cause I still have not seen it for myself during a weekday. But for those that visit downtown on the weekends and are in town for a convention, why should their visit to the plaza be different?

I’m romanticizing a little and imagine the plaza to be a gathering space for downtown visitors and residents without the parking lot severing the two sides from each other. Some may not mind it but it makes a stronger statement by the city that they back the Livable Streets policy they wanted for Fayetteville Street by prohibiting parking on this block and making pedestrians come first. It may be too early to really criticize as the plaza is still brand spanking new. Either way, I’ll take notice as to how people use the plaza, in and out of their cars.


The area plan calls for forty feet between the row of bollards separating the pedestrian area and the street for cars. This is plenty of space for two way traffic and parallel parking on each side. Was this done on purpose? This may be too much room for a through street. Click for a larger view.

by Leo Suarez

New Bar Opening at 112 Fayetteville Street


Image via Flickr

The Fayetteville Street Tavern has closed but now something new is brewing in the space at 112 Fayetteville Street. I had a chance to talk to one of the guys behind the new bar and he briefly showed me around the place. This will be a huge step up from the old Fayetteville Street Tavern and downtown beer monkeys should really enjoy this one.

Zack, one of the owners, showed me around and said there would be a focus on local beer and local art. The brick wall, shown in the picture above, will be a gallery showcasing local art. The beer selection is still up in the air but there are plans to offer products from the local breweries. The bar will also be drinking only and right now, the kitchen will be closed.

Also up in the air is the name. A website does exist but the guys have a long way to go until opening and things may change between now and then.

There are many more pictures of the construction progress up on Flickr as well.

by Leo Suarez

Parking Meters For An Improved Pedestrian Experience

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.

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Wifi Is Live

The downtown Raleigh wifi, provided to you at no cost, is up and running. I’m actually writing this blog post while sitting on a bench on Fayetteville Street and the results are very satisfying. I have all my social media applications running just fine and checking my e-mail is pretty snappy. I’m actually quite impressed with the way YouTube runs and if you are patient, pre-loading HD video is not impossible. SpeedTest.net clocked the download AND the upload speed around 1 megabyte. That’s not bad at all for free wifi.

The real question is available bandwidth and how several users at once may slow down the network. A new user will find that multiple access points are spread out around downtown, the closest having the best signal strength. This should alleviate network drops during high usage but I’m curious as to how big the pipes are behind the scenes.

The wifi is available in the highlighted areas shown on this map from this pdf on the city’s website.

These areas make sense as they have lots of foot traffic already and open public spaces where people can sit down and use the internet. Fayetteville, Wilmington, and parts of Blount Street have the most walked on sidewalks. City Plaza, Moore Square, and Nash Square will always have congregations of people that can take advantage of the wifi. The Convention Center is an obvious choice as lots of business takes place here.

This is a great addition to make downtown more marketable.