I’ve been out of town for almost a week so I went on a walk around downtown yesterday for some blog content. I did notice that RBC Plaza is growing at a steady pace. If anyone is unclear about what floor we are on, this may shed some light on things. Only 5 more to go!
This may just be the largest Lego set I’ve ever seen. The parking deck is going up very fast. This picture was taken yesterday, Jan. 16th.
To further my point, here is the picture from a previous post, taken on Nov. 29th. Only 46 days later!(including some holidays)
It is a Raleigh tradition to drive downtown and lose your way at least once in your lifetime. I still remember a drive downtown many years ago. I was trying to find the Lincoln Theatre, not knowing that east and west Cabarrus Streets do not actually join. When I did realize this, I still had trouble getting over to the west side when on the east. I mean whose great idea was it to build One and Two Hannover where a street should be? I was just a youngling back then and now know the downtown Raleigh streets.
One of the biggest complaints I hear about downtown is how hard it is to navigate and find your way around. I honestly have not been to any city, of significant size, where the downtown area was ‘easy’ to navigate so this complaint does not quite make as much noise too me. However, downtown is changing and is trying to improve this, which is good for any visitor to the area. The plan is to change many one-way streets to a two-way design. We have already seen this occur with Martin and Hargett St. in 2006. Later this year, Lenoir and South Street will be converted as well.
The initiative for this change is outlined on the city’s Livable Streets website:
One-way pairs were at one time an innovative way to increase the traffic-carrying capacity of dense urban streets, but in the age of ring highways and major thoroughfare corridors, the need for traffic capacity on secondary downtown streets is not as great as in the mid-20th Century when most of these one-way pairs were implemented. One-way systems also increase traffic speed at the expense of pedestrian safety and also make it more difficult for the first-time visitor to navigate. Several pairs of streets are under consideration for return to two-way travel, and each will be re-designed as this change is implemented to maximize the efficiency of the street while emphasizing the comfort and convenience of the pedestrian.
Once these changes have taken place, Salisbury St. opens back up, and Fayetteville St. is finished up to Lenoir, we will have a solid street network for visitors to roam around.
I’d also like to point out a little flaw within our streets that I do not see any plans for change. What is up with the one-way to two-way to one-way fiasco on Morgan St.? It is dominantly one-way with a five block two-way stretch between St. Mary’s and Dawson St. Does anyone know how this came to be?
I know some readers were with me on Saturday night and were able to hear my raw, un-edited, and passionate (not so sober) rant about the need for late night pizza in downtown Raleigh. I wish I had that recorded so I’m now bumping an HD camcorder up on the toys-to-buy list. I’ve mentioned this before but every time the topic comes up I usually start ranting. I believe that pizza is a market that has not been fully tapped.
Moonlight Pizza and Mellow Mushroom are great but the type of place I’m talking about will specialize in staying open all the time and slaps the pizza in front of you the moment you order it. I can imagine this hole in the wall pizzeria, with huge ovens and counters taking up most of the space. The people running it are so busy that they come off as being angry at the world; if you’ve ever ordered a cheese steak in Philly, you know what I mean. There are very few tables, but lots of standing room. The line forms out the door and people wait even in cold weather or rain for a slice. You are not supposed to be comfortable, you just get a slice and find some space on a high table, bench, curb, car, anywhere and enjoy. Walk and eat if in a hurry, the pizza is travel friendly.
The cut and dry version of what I am proposing is a by the slice pizza place, open for lunch, dinner, and especially for late night strugglers trying to close the night out. Right now I’m asking for Friday and Saturday nights but if it was every night, I’d buy stock. A place like this could easily set up shop in City Market. I can just imagine a bunch of people at lunchtime or 3am sitting on the street, benches, standing around with slices in hand.
I am patiently waiting for this to open and of course you’ll see it right here on RalCon. Too bad I do not make pizza and am a horrible cook or I’d open it myself.
I like following the transportation issues of the triangle because I believe we are very close to approaching a point where adding more highways and parking decks will only delay problems and not fix them. To stay competitive and maintain quality of life, Raleigh and all the other triangle towns and cities must work together to provide alternatives to driving. The latest reports from the News & Observer: Streetcars, express buses may precede regional rail. Some highlights:
Triangle residents will need good local streetcars, trains and express buses before they need a proposed regional rail link between Durham, Research Triangle Park and Raleigh.
In Raleigh, the short list might include trains running from downtown to northern Wake County, on former CSX tracks that parallel the city’s crowded Capital Boulevard.
In February, the 29-member advisory panel is expected to give local officials its priorities for transit improvements to be built by 2020, and a second list to be built by 2035.
York said trains on the old CSX tracks could ease congestion on the Capital Boulevard commuter corridor, and the transit service would stimulate an urban mix of commercial and residential growth along the line. The TTA’s long line from Raleigh to Durham would not be as successful, he said.
It sounds like they want to build good transit networks within our cities before linking them across the region. I’m not an expert on the subject but do have some thoughts and support the idea of streetcars in Raleigh. The main sources of traffic in Raleigh are people going to or coming home from work. If the city can offer people a way to get to the office with the car still sitting at home or at a park and ride lot, then we are on the right track.
Here is a list of a couple areas in Raleigh that are growing and should have access to a streetcar system.
The beltline is not getting any wider so as these areas grow around it, there has to be another way for people to get around. I found the Wikipedia entry for ‘streetcar’ or ‘tram’ interesting. Here are some advantages of it over a bus system.
Let’s also consider the disadvantages of a streetcar system over a bus system.
There are others listed in the Wiki article but these are the ones relevant to adding them to Raleigh streets and assuming the money is there for them. Of course, we all know that a streetcar will cost more and is harder to implement but the benefit can be outstanding once it has been absorbed by the population and becomes part of the local culture.
City leaders should encourage denser growth around the main streets in north Raleigh, ex. Glenwood, Creedmoor, Falls of the Neuse, Capital, etc., as well as near downtown so that a streetcar system is feasible in these areas. We can also assume that with a link downtown and along all the major roads in north Raleigh, a significant amount of office space is reachable by streetcar. Many residents will have access to work by this network and can leave their car at home. Remember that downtown is the largest employment center in Raleigh and with all the new growth, parking decks are filling up and NOT being replaced.
Like I said, I’m not an expert. But if the city is serious about stepping up and getting a transit system in place, a deal between some big developers and the city is needed. All the potential corridors for the streetcars need to be revamped by the city and the developers need to provide dense housing, taller apartment buildings, and a more efficient use of any available land. With the population increasing, these homes will look more attractive because of the convenience to a transit line. It does not need to come all at once, each corridor can be rolled out in phases and if the early ones are successful, Raleighites will accept and support it. After that we can then move on to linking ourselves with the rest of the triangle, that discussion I leave for another day.
In case you have not seen it yet, here is the flattened construction site at 301 Hillsborough. The Hillsborough’s final rendering has not been released it seems. Until then, Dawson residents can enjoy their new view.
The Hillsborough site with Bloomsbury Estates in the background
Something different. Taken from the Harris Teeter parking lot.
This may or may not be news to you but it is to me. I was not aware of an official opening date for the new convention center but it is posted on the Raleigh Convention website, shown in the pic above. Here are some details from the webpage.
Come September, be the center of attention at the new Raleigh Convention Center. Join tens of thousands of your friends and neighbors at the Raleigh Convention Center Grand Opening.
Just what are we celebrating? First, the new 500,000-square-foot convention center will be a state-of-the-art stunner. It will bring people from near and far to Raleigh where they’ll discover a dynamic downtown surrounding a rare array of convention attractions – the new center, the new Marriott City Center, the Sheraton Raleigh and the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
It looks like we have about 8 months to go. Click here for the rest.
Click here for old news on convention center bookings.