Apr

Big Ideas With A Smile

Last night the Raleigh Planning Department hosted an open meeting to drum up all kinds of ideas for the future of Raleigh. In a fun night to commemorate the original planning Raleigh planning meeting at Isaac Hunter’s Tavern, ideas at Tir Na Nog flowed and ranged from totally reasonable to utterly absurd to hilarious.

The department furnished many large printed maps of Raleigh and asked participants to jot, draw, cut….whatever they wanted…to convey their ideas about what we want Raleigh to be in the year 2030. At the end of a good hour of small group discussions, participants quickly presented ideas on the small stage.

Of course, I liked my idea to urbanize the area from Lassiter Mill Road down to Atlantic Avenue by redeveloping the triangle bounded by 440, Six Forks, and Wake Forest, and connect it into new development along St. Albans with a new bridge over 440. By bringing a northern crescent rail line from Atlantic to North Hills, Crabtree, Rex Hospital, the RBC Center, and the Fairgrounds, we could have a rail system that includes many places people already want to go. I’ll discuss this idea more here later, but it was met with the flattest, deadest applause of the night (to which I laughed).

Some other good ideas included a circulating bus/trolley system between Centennial Campus, NCSU and downtown to connect with the planned rail line. This “tech tripod”, according to Dan Douglas, would allow firms to place themselves in any of 3 types of connected environments. I liked Mitchell Silver’s idea of elevated development over the railroad wye. This would allow Boylan Heights to continue with unbroken development down into the warehouse district.

The whimsical idea of the night I liked best was Sig Hutchinson’s idea to use the Duraleigh Road Rock Quarry as a giant flood control reservoir, thus allowing Crabtree Creek around the mall to be a true riverwalk. The entire area could then be focused around the walk and surrounding developments could be walkable. I also strongly advocate the razing of most buildings on the block bounded by Jones/Dawson/Lane/McDowell and returning the block to park status. It could be a fantastic place for the quickly growing residential neighborhood to the NW, and could include an outdoor amphitheater. Its proximity to the planned government stop for the rail line makes it an ideal location for some neat ideas.

Some other ideas were raised: A trolley line down Glenwood (people probably prefer the trees in the median), tearing down the N.C. Legislature to create a clean green vista north of the Capitol, a chiller plant for downtown that would turn its chill on Fayetteville St. during summer weekend days, and razing the Governor’s Mansion to reclaim the park land upon which it sits.

My only criticism of the night is probably that designs were a little too focused on specific current downtown issues and ignored the regional development issues. Nobody bothered with the maps of Triangle Town Center, Brier Creek, Southeast Raleigh, or other outlying future development nodes. Before the meeting the challenge of future traffic issues in north Raleigh was raised, but ignored. People cannot possibly expect a single L-shaped rail pathway that drags people through downtown to serve suburbia’s needs.

The Planning Department is only but a few minds, and the more minds and the more crazy ideas there are, the better the chance for some really good ones. We need to keep the ideas flowing, though. This was one discrete event, the but process is a continuum. Thanks to the planning department for being so open to us novices out here!

PS. I liked the phrase that was born out of this event: Making New History.

erin

i agree with your criticism of the night. the two areas that made me go to the charette was SE raleigh and capital blvd from the beltline to TTC. none of these areas were on the maps. its a shame that the areas where the bulk of raleigh residents live today was left out of the future plans.
http://www.raleighmsa.com Ernest

Dana,

I am not surprised with people’s focus on the more central locations. While the latter provide great opportunities for urban redevelopment, the rest of the city seems to be ignored. You and I know the potential of North Raleigh because we live there, but most of those who attend such gatherings are “the usual suspects” (not in a bad way), who constantly focus on the center of the city.

Brier Creek and North Hills have MASSIVE potential, and if the city doesn’t see that soon enough, we’ll miss out on a wonderful opportunity. The same holds true about South/South-East Raleigh, but it gets very political when the latter area is discussed. Anyway, I hope that great things will come out of this, but I would LOVE to see a similar gathering in a North Raleigh location, assuming there is a way to spread the word outside the usual crowds.

Thanks for providing us with some useful information on the meeting.
VaNC

I agree that those areas did not receive the focus as much as downtown. However, my response to Erin would be this:, rather than complaining about it, did you make a suggestion regarding that area? I know Dana did, and disagree that the light appause was because of his idea, but more due to the fact that with later presenters, many people seemed to be talking, likely generated by ideas before, and were waining in applause level….maybe caused by the beer? I know my applause tapered off after the first few…just because I kept being distracted by side comments by those around me. I think, however, that all the suggestions will be tallied and read equally by the Planning Dept, which, I think, is the point of the exercise. And it is hard to compete with the idea of the nations tallest waterfall!
Jason Hibbets

I hate that i missed this event. As I travel throughout the US and abroad, I find that a lot of major cities have a focal water feature, be it a river, harbor, bay, or ocean. This is one thing that Raleigh lacks (I guess Charlotte is in the same boat), but we have a great Greenway & Park system that can compare. Can we make a large water feature somewhere? That would be cool ðŸ˜‰

* Raleigh needs a Wavehouse: http://www.wavehouse.com/
* Why didn’t we put the ESA (RBC Center) Downtown?
* More touristy things, give visitors a variety of things so see and do (and give them some good transport options)
~ I love those buildings you can do to get a great view of the area (think rotating Acorn tower) and that nice little perch to get a great view of the skyline (Dix)
* A downtown circulater that goes both clockwise and counter-clockwise, with well-marked way-finding (once we cap 10k residents downtown)
* An amusement park might be interesting, positive economic impact, but probably not enough land – but perhaps a small full-time amusement-like park, with ferris wheel, etc. – http://www.lunaparksydney.com/
Jerry

Jason, I agree.

No signature tower, riverwalk, etc. in Raleigh (Raleigh is the capital, we need to WAKE UP!) I have been here for years, all talk and no action when it comes to signature structures (ie our own “Spaceneedle”)or entertainment for the kids (amusement parks – the one we have, in Charlotte – IS DISGUSTING – the dirtyest park I have ever experienced). No entertainment for kids. A prposal was presented 8-10 years ago (Triangle Business Journal) for a waterpark off of 540. Article surfaced with no further discussion. Projects for kids are tossed around in casual conversation, but NOTHING EVER progresses (look at the landscape, nothing for kids in the area)
http://www.jeffersonburruss.com Jefferson

Due to global warming, in 2030 Raleigh will be a port (or as it was known in Stanley Kubrick’s original script for A.I., which takes place in the Triangle, the city was referred to as “The Inner Banks.”

Was there a beach plan?
Jason Hibbets

Jefferson,

Actually, according to Dr. Stanley Riggs (I think at ECU), if all the ice caps were to melt due to global climate change, most of the land east of I-95 would be under water since it’s only 2-feet above see level. I’m by far, nto an expert in this field, however, a small tidbit of info I picked up going through the Leadership North Carolina program last year ( http://leadershipnc.org/ ). Buy your beach front property now!
http://www.newraleigh.com Jedidiah

Dana said…”My only criticism of the night is probably that designs were a little too focused on specific current downtown issues and ignored the regional development issues.”

Dana, this meeting DID occur IN downtown at a downtown establishment.

A handful of the people in my group rarely even leave the downtown area, if ever. By putting this meeting in downtown Raleigh you are going to get a crowd that is downtown based. Are you not?

There is a difference in ignoring an issue rather than concentrating on a different one. I don’t think it ignored the region, it was just concentrated on the neighborhood the attendees knew, downtown.

I would assume that if it was held in Crabtree, at say The Cheesecake Factory, there would be a completely different take on what citizens of the meeting would care about.

You come downtown, you get downtown.
Subway Scoundrel

Dana,

Per your comment

“Of course, I liked my idea to urbanize the area from Lassiter Mill Road down to Atlantic Avenue by redeveloping the triangle bounded by 440, Six Forks, and Wake Forest, and connect it into new development along St. Albans with a new bridge over 440.”

Dana, You are joking , right ???? Come on? You were the biggest supporter of the Costco when it was proposed saying “there is a need for it there”–parapharasing there. This of course was stated on that other website butyou and I got into an arguement as I was proposing urbanizing that area all the way to Capital.

Sorry, I have to call you out but that was years ago and it was one of the first things I read of yours. Porbably still in the days I thought you were a girl.
say whaaa?

i think raleigh needs a sushi bar and a place where i can socialize with MILFs.
http://lineberry.org/blogs/ Jason Hibbets

I saw the “Big Idea” book this past weekend at our District D Neighborhood Alliance meeting. Very impressive. Check it out online here: http://www.raleighnc.gov/publications/Planning/Comprehensive_Plan_Update/Big_Ideas.pdf

Posted by Dana on April 22, 2008 | Tags: Development . | ( 11 ) Comments

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