Tag / Municipography

by Leo Suarez

Municipography: The City’s First Logo

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

The City of Raleigh government's latest logo

The City of Raleigh government’s latest logo

During this week’s city council meeting, a major update was announced and approved in the long-time process of revamping the city’s brand. The city government now has its first logo, shown above, and will be implemented across the city’s departments.

Not to be confused with the City of Raleigh seal acting as a logo, the new logo will be used in a variety of ways complimented with custom typography (Raleigh Bold) and even future icons that represent the new mission and vision statement.

The logo is for the city’s government and not for tourism.

The presentation given during the council meeting is a good one to watch for more details and I have it embedded below. If you can’t see it, click here to go to YouTube.

Social and news media certainly likes to highlight the plethora of criticism about the new logo. You can’t help but comment when you consider that $226,000 went into the process of creating it.

I don’t have the eye to criticize the logo itself but I do want to elaborate a bit on this cost, a cost that I see well worth it and there are critical things I think folks are missing.

If Raleigh wants to be a national player in business recruitment and even be well represented at some international conversations, a well-thought-out and high-quality brand is a must. To get that, a thorough process that takes community feedback to guide the design team towards this logo “package” is an equitable approach.

The cost wasn’t just for that tree at the top of this post but for an in-depth process to get the pulse of Raleighites and represent that in a simple and effective logo. The feedback collection process was actually a larger share of the cost compared to the actual design work.

For me, I felt like I saw huge value in the logo’s versatility with this video that shows how it can be used in a variety of ways. I can picture print, media, and video incorporating it in consistent yet slightly different ways than the next. If you can’t see it, click here to go to YouTube.

As the branding package rolls out, I think then that more and more people will see the value here. I’m happy to see us tackle a topic that is so subjective and come forward with something strong.

Bravo to city staff who played a role in getting this out there! (and how can I get Raleigh Bold on this website!)

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Food Trucks and Raleigh Bikeshare

title

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

No embedded videos this week as for some reason, the city’s streaming video service is auto-playing the videos. I’m not into that.

Two long-talked topics were approved at this week’s city council meeting. The food truck debate has been a long one and a new pilot program will be rolled out to see how they operate on public property in and near downtown. Also, Raleigh will get its first bike share system in the coming years.

Food trucks

To watch/hear the discussion, click here.

The latest in the food truck saga is over the mobile food businesses operating in the public right-of-way. The plan is to designate five “zones” where the trucks can operate during the lunchtime hours. (10am-3pm) First Fridays will extend those hours to 8pm.

The five locations include:

  • The Warehouse District
  • Polk Street near the State Government Center
  • South State Street near the NC DMV
  • Bloodworth Street between Martin and Davie
  • The northern end of Moore Square

At this time, the Moore Square zone was dropped due to all the construction from the GoRaleigh Transit Station and Moore Square renovation.

The plan with the four zones passed unanimously and the new food truck pilot could be in place in 2-3 months.

Raleigh Bike share
To watch the video, click here and jump to around the 48th minute.

We talked about bike share in Raleigh recently and after a work session earlier in the day, the council decided to vote on it.

The plan was approved after a few brief comments. While councilors recognized that the city has needs outside of funding a bike share, the opportunity to have 80% of the installation costs covered by a federal grant was one they felt had to be taken. There was also lots of interest from the private sector to sponsor the system and the bike community was very vocal about their support.

“It’s up to you guys to use the system,” said Councilor Thompson. After three year, the system will be evaluated. It will most likely take two years to finalize the details and roll out the bike share system.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Downtown Retail

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

Downtown Raleigh Retail

At the Raleigh City Council meeting last week, David Diaz and Paul Reimel from the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) gave a report on retail within downtown Raleigh in 2012. We’ve talked about how the retail scene has become more and more noticeable and this data from the DRA supports that.

Below is the video showing their report.

Some highlights from it are:

  • Recognized the positive reaction of the retail community to rehabilitated storefronts and that there is still a need to work on more buildings in downtown.
  • In 2011, there were 83 retail space vacancies, accounting for 10% of inventory. In 2012, 27 of those 83 are now occupied.
  • 2012 also had 38 retail openings, a 28% increase from openings in 2011.
  • With the downtown load program, 3 loans were given for $150,000 total.
  • The loan program had 25 inquiries in 2012, the highest yearly amount yet.
  • Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week continues to grow and be more popular with each year.

Downtown Remote Operations Facility

The Downtown Remote Operations Facility isn’t directly tied to downtown. This new building, planned along Westinghouse Boulevard near Capital Boulevard and I-440, will instead be the new home for city maintenance trucks. The result is that the city can then vacate the current lot along Peace Street, the site of the old Devereux Meadow baseball park between West Street and Capital Boulevard.

The council approved moving forward with the project. Details below from the agenda.

On September 6, 2011, City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Williard Ferm Architects to provide planning and design services, through 50% construction documents, for Phase 1 of the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility to be located on the city-owned site east of I-440 between Capital Boulevard and Raleigh Boulevard on the former Westinghouse property.

In addition, a Request for Qualifications to provide Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) services was advertised on October 23, 2012. Eight responses were received and three firms selected for interviews. Interviews were conducted on December 12, 2012, resulting in the recommendation of Brasfield and Gorrie general contractors to provide CMAR services. Brasfield and Gorrie has submitted a proposal of $375,000 to provide the required pre-construction level services.

A status report of the design development effort is being presented to provide an update on the project and to discuss City administration recommended actions to maintain progress related to design and construction.

Recommendation: (1) Authorize proceeding with the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility, to include the proposed facility program, site design alternatives, project schedule, and estimated costs. (2) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Contract Amendment with Williard Ferm Architects to complete construction documents and provide for construction phase services. (3) Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors, in the amount of $375,000, to provide pre-construction services sufficient to develop a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for Phase 1 construction of the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility. (4) Authorize the following budget transfer from previously approved and completed remote operations facilities to fund additional design and pre-construction services, commissioning services, environmental management, and permitting requirements.

Transfer From:
508-2210-790010-975-CIP00-99150000 $1,200,000
Wilder’s Grove Remote Operations Center

Transfer To:
508-2210-790010-975-CIP00-93960000 $1,200,000
Downtown Remote Operations Center

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Capital Boulevard and a Transit Tax

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

This week, there was action at both the city and county level. Heated comments took place at the Wake County Commission meeting over a tax increase that would support expanded transit options in the county. Raleigh city staff presented the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study, a vision to remake the area from Peace Street all the way to I-440.

Capital Boulevard Corridor Study


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City staff presented a general overview of the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study as well as some of the data gathered and citizen feedback. After some light conversation, the city council moved it to the Comprehensive Planning Committee for further review. An endorsement of the plan is needed before August to align with the NCDOT’s plans to design new bridges for Capital Boulevard at Peace Street and Wade Avenue.

Councilors briefly mentioned the topic of the at-grade intersection at Capital and Peace so I expect more conversation about it at the committee meeting. Still, city staff has added some excellent reading as an appendix to the corridor study and breaks down the metrics of measuring an intersection’s effectiveness. They explain the advantages and disadvantages of each interchange design including one type of at-grade proposal.

Wake County 1/2 Cent Sales Tax For Transit

On Monday:

In a 4-to-3 vote along party lines, members of the Wake County Commission Monday turned down a proposal to consider a transit plan and a half-cent sales tax referendum for this November’s ballot.

Commissioner Erv Portman presented the motion, at the very end of a meeting during which more than 20 people spoke in favor of putting the referendum on this November’s ballot.

Although Monday’s meeting agenda included no mention of the sales tax for an expanded transit plan in the Triangle, the topic dominated the public comment period.

Commission Votes Against Debate on Transit Sales Tax via Raleigh Public Record.

To hear/watch the public comment period, jump over to the Wake Board of Commissioners meeting agenda for June 18, 2012.

The needed 1/2 cent sales tax increase to secure a source of funding before transit in Wake County can be expanded has now been kicked down the road again. Durham County has approved it and is waiting for Orange and Wake Counties to do the same before they start collecting.

Orange County votes on the 1/2 cent sales tax increase this November.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, The 2040 Bus Transit Plan

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

People seem to love trains and feel that mass transit means having shiny trains rolling all over town. I wish there were more bus upgrade plans to share but perhaps that is because upgrades can be turned around quicker then a train so in depth plans haven’t been published yet. But today there is hope.

At the December 6, 2011 Raleigh City Council meeting, Transit Administrator David Eatman gave an overview of the 2040 Bus Transit plan. The video is below and you can read the Bus Transit Development Plan here. (pdf) We’ll save analysis on it for another time.

For anyone that is impatient hearing about trains running in a six to ten year timeframe should get behind the buses because upgrades will occur within 12 to 18 months after funding is secured. The buses seem to get little media coverage and in my opinion an upgraded bus system could make or break our investments in transit, regardless of how well the trains run.

For e-mail subscribers, watch or listen to the video on the blog here.


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by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Food Trucks Approved in Downtown Raleigh

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

Food Trucks Approved With A 6-2 Vote


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The Raleigh City Council has now approved the operation of food trucks in the city with a list of restrictions. Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin presented the issue as it left last week’s Law and Public Safety Committee but proposing an amendment to change the 1am time limit back to 3am. The reasoning was to be more consistent with the push carts that currently are allowed to sell food until 3am. A list of some of the major rules are:

  • Food trucks are allowed on private property only, no public right of way unless it’s a special event.
  • A 10pm time limit is in effect when around residential areas.
  • A food truck maximum is three per one acre lot or larger. It’s less with smaller lots.
  • A lot permit ($74) and a food truck permit ($150) must be obtained from the lot owner and food truck owner each year.
  • Ordinance goes into effect on October 1st, 2011 to allow time to create a manual for those seeking the permits.

Councilor Baldwin also proposed that at six months, a report be presented to the council about how the food trucks are doing in the city, any violations and/or any enforcement issues. Councilor Eugene Weeks and Councilor Russ Stephenson spoke up supporting the changes and the six month report.

The strongest opponent to the food trucks was Councilor John Odom, speaking up with an apprehensive tone and claiming that, “I think we’re moving to fast.” He even brought a slight reaction from the crowd after ending his talk with, “I’m not looking forward to being like Durham I’ll tell you that.” (12:32 in the video above)

Outside of the obvious inappropriate and incorrect comment from Councilor Odom, (embarrassing) I’m glad we are moving forward on the food truck issue as we can now put this behind us. I’m still worried about the handling of this issue and some members of the council may not be ready when true innovative ideas present themselves in Raleigh. Will Raleigh welcome innovation or strangle it with restrictions? This topic may be looked at further in a future blog post.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Light Rail Moving Forward in Downtown Raleigh

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

Light Rail Alternative Discussion


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The video above is not the entire Monday night public hearing but just the thoughts of each member of the council on the different light rail alternatives said at the end of the meeting. This was then followed by the council decision. Go here for the link to watch the meeting in its entirety.

Monday night’s public hearing about light rail in downtown Raleigh was short and sweet. Opening up the discussion was Triangle Transit with their pitch about light rail and the process they have been going through over the last few years. Next, the Passenger Rail Task Force (PRTF) presented their thoughts about their recommended light rail plan, the D6A plan, to the council and took their questions. Finally, members from the city staff presented their recommendations to the council, that being the D6 plan.

For some background reading, jump back to this post that talks about the two alternatives along with some good discussion afterwards from readers.

Very few citizens spoke after the presentations and afterwards each council member voiced their support for a light rail alternative, shown in the video above.

By a 6-2 vote, the D6 plan is now the city’s locally preferred alternative. The video ends with a nice quote from Mayor Meeker.

Let’s go ahead and get this system built as soon as we can.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Food Trucks Debate Continues, Rezoning for Raleigh City Farm

Food Trucks


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The food truck controversy continues with the Raleigh City Council passing the hot potato to the Law and Public Safety Committee for review. That committee’s next meeting is next week and their recommendation should go back to the city council for their meeting on August 2nd.

I felt like the tone of the meeting on this topic continues to be that of concern and fear. With the opportunity to create restrictions on this “nuisance”, the city council is clamping down on the food trucks without really thinking through it all.

The Law and Public Safety Committee is chaired by Mary-Ann Baldwin and also includes Councilors John Odom and Eugene Weeks. E-mail them your thoughts on the food trucks.

  • mary-ann.baldwin@raleighnc.gov
  • john.odom@raleighnc.gov
  • eugene.weeks@raleighnc.gov

Raleigh City Farm Rezoning


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This rezoning request is for a property on East Franklin Street, here. Basically, it’s zoned for a shopping center and the rezoning is to remove any use of agricultural purposes on it. This is where the non-profit Raleigh City Farm wants to set up and the community seems to greatly support it.

The suggestion moves to the planning commission for review.