What’s the big idea? On Tuesday the Raleigh planning department released a fantastic Big Ideas book (.pdf) which compiles all the dreams put forth by citizens during a few meetings in the spring. July marked the 220th anniversary of the city’s first “planning meeting” which was held at Isacc Hunter’s Tavern. Accordingly, the first of the open anniversary meetings occurred on April 21 at Tir Na Nog. Citizens toasted the future (complete with Cherry Bounce drinks) with a room full of big ideas.

One of the biggest self-help books out there right now is David Allen’s excellent Getting Things Done . The book contains a chapter on brainstorming where Allen advises a simple download of ideas without contamination of value. To Mitchell Silver and the planning department’s credit, that’s exactly what the city got.

From streetcars to riverwalks to giant squirrels, the ideas put forth at several meetings has been compiled into a fun book produced by the city. There are some nutty ideas (that was acorny joke), however the ones earning near future consideration are:

• Redevelop Capital Boulevard as a real boulevard, using Pigeon House Creek for a river walk.
• Build light rail to run through the Glenwood Avenue corridor, connecting downtown with airport, RTP and Durham. Glenwood Avenue outside of Beltline to become a high intensity mixed-use corridor “Glenwood North.”
• Extend the downtown grid southward. Replace freeway aspects of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard with walkable streets. Designate a location for a new arena.
• Create an “emerald necklace” of parks and greenways, including “urban greenways.”
• Redevelop Five Points with mixed uses/entertainment, traffic circle, iconic sculpture in a roundabout.
• Emphasize the natural terrain of the city. Daylight all streams and use these and ridges as a natural conduits of health and creativity.
• Use trolley cars to connect Glenwood South, Five Points, Crabtree, Brier Creek, North Hills and beyond (on Six Forks) and Fayetteville Street.
• Reinvent the edges of downtown. Avenues should connect downtown with neighborhoods.
• Develop a transit/green print/sustainable village across rail tracks from State Fairgrounds.
• Illuminate and define downtown with LED lights.
• Create a manmade lake west of the performing arts complex, ringed with an esplanade or boardwalk and a mix of uses (nightlife, restaurants, retail, and housing).
• Build “Triangle Towers” monument project: group of three tall landmark structures to mark downtown, using light and having an observation deck.
• Make the squirrel the city mascot and scatter squirrel statues (all very eclectic) around the City of Raleigh.
• Reestablish downtown library and grocery store. Arts initiatives: installations and murals. Distinct downtown districts.
• Erect a giant digital screen for outdoor video gaming competitions.
• Build a pedestrian and bike-friendly loop road around Crabtree Valley.
• Install a giant digital screen announcing all cultural events.
• Erect a ferris wheel or world’s first ferris wheel/roller coaster combination.
• Build a doll house village.
• Create a theme park near I-540.

Only one chapter of Big Ideas is closed. The city needs more, however, so feel free to keep the creative juices flowing.

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