by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Tir Na Nog

The first challenge of experiencing Tir Na Nog is learning to say it correctly. Once you’ve got it down, and are now educating everyone you know on the proper pronunciation, you can dive into the very roomy pub for a variety of entertainment. The activity surrounds a large circle bar in the center of the room with a stage on one side and bar games at the other. Tir Na Nog is a no brainer if you have a large group as they have plenty of room for those groups of bar golfers out there. Located right across the street from Moore Square, they are one of the anchors of night time activity after events in the park.

Darts
Foosball
Outdoor seating
Live music
TV’s
Late night food

Website: http://www.tirnanogirishpub.com/

218 S Blount St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
(919) 833-7795

by Leo Suarez

Public Comments Sought On Downtown Parking And Transportation Issues

The City of Raleigh will hold a public forum on Tuesday, July 29, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. regarding downtown parking and transportation issues. The meeting will be administered by the Downtown Parking Task Force in the city council chamber on the second floor of the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex, 222 W. Hargett St.

For the past several months a consulting team has been working with City staff and the Downtown Parking Task Force – whose members are appointed by the mayor — to examine parking and transportation issues in downtown Raleigh. The purpose of the study is to develop a plan for improving downtown access, including access to parking. At the public forum, the consulting team will present an overview of the study findings and provide an opportunity for input from the community before completing the report. This is a chance for citizens to see key findings of the field investigations and hear principals and strategies related to downtown parking and access that may affect future planning and policy decisions. Whether you live, work, shop, do business, or simply visit downtown to have fun, citizens are being asked to provide feedback.

by Leo Suarez

Say Hello To The 500 Block of Fayetteville St.

This past weekend, there was a small section of sidewalk that was not blocked by the white and orange barriers on Fayetteville St. I’m not sure if that means that the sidewalk is officially open but no one stopped me from walking over and roaming around the 500 block of the street. We all know that this block is only half done as the parking deck across from the Marriott Hotel is under construction, which will then be followed by Charter Square but that is still at least a year away. Here is what to expect in the near future.

Obviously with the parking deck construction, this block is pretty one sided and is dominated by the new Marriot Hotel. There are three elements to the sidewalk; two food shops and the hotel lobby roundabout. The smaller space is occupied by a Starbucks and by the looks of it, it is pretty much ready to go. The much larger space is going to be a restaurant, named Posta, which runs almost the complete length of the hotel. Pedestrians have one access directly into Starbucks or another to the lobby and into Posta. Car access to the roundabout is by Fayetteville St. only. It appears that there is a very wide pedestrian access to Salisbury, and the convention center, between the hotel and BB&T.

Wide pedestrian walkway to the convention center. It also looks like it will be very well lit.

Lots of outdoor seating on this block

Below is the much talked about sidewalk parking deck entrance. This sits across the street from the hotel, on the corner of Lenoir and Fayetteville St. The entrance is covered and provides one elevator and one staircase to the parking below ground. For added convenience, there is also a parking pay station inside.

The streetlights are ready so as soon as Lenoir St. is converted to two-way mode, the hotel will be fully up and running. I’m still curious to know if traffic will flow through the future City Plaza while it is under construction. My instinct says ‘no’ and we will have to wait until Sept. 2009 until Fayetteville St. is drivable from one end to the other.

Sidewalk fountain?

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Arena Idea

Here’s an interesting idea I had inspired by some of the recent news. Hope you’ve brushed up on your math skills.

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Both pictures are taken at the same zoom level in Google Earth.

Am I suggesting we replace the prison with an arena? Not exactly; it’s just interesting to see that an arena, even with some parking, can fit on this site. The RBC Center and prison are not going anywhere any time soon so think of it with a planning point of view. Lets bring this back up 26 years from now.