http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/ The Latest in Retail, Entertainment, and Development in Raleigh Mon, 24 Aug 2015 02:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3
http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-67349 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:20:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-67349 Most of these seem like things that would be ‘nice’ to have but are not essential needs.
Raleigh *needs* a couple supermarkets downtown, bike lanes on a lot more streets, more housing options for the non-ultra-wealthy in and around downtown, light rail service, more and better hotel accomodations for the convention center–which should be expanded to the second block in the next ten years perhaps, and Dorothea Dix does need to become a park (which I agree with you on though I find the suggestion to slap an amphitheater on Dix Hill completely wrongheaded)
I do agree with the idea of a ferris wheel in Pullen Park though–or really in Dix Park if that gets going. I’ve always thought the concept of a ‘Bloomsbury-style’ small local amusement park was very appealing. A rollercoaster–maybe a retired wooden one from a large park that the city could get a good deal on, plus a wave-swinger as you suggested, a log flume, and a ferris wheel–just a small-ish collection of rides with no gate to the public, you just pay for the rides as you go. Pullen obviously couldn’t hold all of that mess, but putting it in Dorothea Dix seems very logical. I’d also like to see the train at Pullen extended so that it goes through Dix Park as well.
A big issue with the Triangle is the lack of any amusement parks, and the three hour drive to either Carowinds or Busch Gardens is just not appealing. At the same time, I kind of dislike the tacky atmosphere of the big parks. Something small-ish, sort of like Tweetsie Railroad, seems very Raleigh-like. A small park really wouldn’t be enough for the Triangle’s population so in addition to that, I think a waterpark sort of like Waterworld in Denver, CO or Emerald Point in Greensboro (but larger) would be a logical addition. The main thing in the back of my mind that makes the water park idea appealing is the hot summers.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-50031
Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:01:44 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-50031
orulz,
Thanks for the heads up about the move toward integration. That will be a major factor, I think, in making the Triangle-wide transit easy to do.
I wish that TTA would run some buses to the Dean Dome on nights of home basketball games.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-48329 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:22:02 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-48329 Guess I’m late to this party, but on item #1:
Regionwide transit route planner integration into Google Maps is in beta and very, very close to launch. I’ve tested it and it seems to work well.
Also, Triangle Transit just signed a contract with Digital Recorders (a Durham-based company) to install tracking and locating systems in all their buses as well as DATA’s. This is the same system that is used in Raleigh for raleighrides.org. As a previous poster said, the data is nice but the presentation is not sexy at all. However, the contract with Digital Recorders seems to mostly be for their hardware and their backend systems.
Perhaps more importantly, though, they also contracted with Transloc from Raleigh to do a unified system that merges the tracking systems from all seven transit systems in the region (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Triangle Transit, Duke, NCSU, and even Cary) into one unified user interface that not only tracks bus locations but also does trip planning and arrival time predictions. This seems to be the biggest project Transloc has ever taken on, but they do have experience pulling data from multiple different sources and combining it into a single system, so I am confident they can handle it. Transloc already has IMO the best looking, most usable user interface. Plus they already have an iphone app, and I can only assume an android app won’t be too far behind.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-48041 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:28:19 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-48041 For public Art, I think a big Sir Walter Raleigh in the middle of the round about would be good. LOL I have spent to much time in paris where the round about art is great I guess. A simple fountain would do the trick over on the Roundabout at the Bell Tower.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-48014 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:50:48 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-48014 Dana – interesting post with lots of gems in it!
#12 A ferris wheel and wave swinger in Pullen Park…nice idea!
#20 Renovate Nash Square as well as Moore Square…very good point…definitely needs to be done!
#14 JAZZ and WORLD MUSIC concerts…YES! The concerts should be presented in the downtown Raleigh Amphitheater, and should be subsidized by businesses, governmental entities, and other organizations with an interest in bringing people downtown and/or contributing to our community cultural enrichment. Letting that amphitheater sit dark on many nights is such a wasted resource.
#27 Drum corp and marching bands…passing a gauntlet of judges and spectators along Fayetteville Street, finishing in front of temporary bleachers in the parking lots in front of the Performing Arts Center…great event idea that would bring crowds downtown.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-48009 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:31:59 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-48009 Re #24: I love public art too, but I hope you’re suggesting putting art on the outsides or edges of the roundabouts and not on the center islands. One of the design features that makes roundabouts work is that drivers have good lines of sight across/around the intersection. This is why good roundabouts only have minimal shrubbery that’s kept trimmed low. Art is good, but safe intersections are better, and it’d be great if we could have both!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47993
Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:29:10 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47993
Chris,
I thought about doing raleighsoups.com or something of the like, but the time when restaurants would publish their soups would be right when I’m seeing patients on most days. The other thing is that it might be like herding cats as far as getting restaurant owners to send info in the morning. (sigh).
Perhaps a twitter hashtag?? I dunno. All I know is that if I had some soup other than chicken noodle or clam chowder, I’d want the world to know about it. As a consumer I am sitting here wanting chicken gumbo. I could drive around to 5 Bruggers and Village Deli. Might find it…might not. It’s frustrating.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47992 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:13:52 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47992 I would add a bypass on the west side of Raleigh to this list. Or more bypasses in general. It is really difficult to get from North Raleigh to downtown. I end up going to Durham because it is easier to get to on 147.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47983 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:38:30 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47983 Yeah, I went to Mami Nora’s and it was fine. I think they need to serve that Durham menu over here in Raleigh, because I thought the selection was kind of limited. Also my entire table was full and brown and white. The rice was pretty boring and every type of food or drink on my brown table and tray was brown.
Fresh _corn_ tortillas like at Rosa Mexicano and Frontera Grill? (they go stale within a few hours). Flour tortillas are just alright.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47981 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:58:33 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47981 Dana, if you want chicken like El Pollo Loco, try Mami Nona’s. Its awesome.
Also, there are tons of places that make fresh tortillas, just ask for some to take home. I once got a big pitcher of homemade horchata for a party from Birria Fonda. Of course, I had to supply the pitcher! You know bourbon and horchata…mmmmmm.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47942 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:54:49 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47942 I want to thank ALL of you who responded. I should have noted that these items are in no particular order.
Kevin, the DOT speaks out of both sides of their mouths all the time and it drives me crazy. The answer I’ve always gotten regarding off-time flashes is that they want situations to be consistent, ie a traffic signal is always a cycling set of full-ROW chances. They think that introducing a flashing yellow during some times of day will confuse people, yet they go and introduce the most counter-intuitive signal ever made; the flashing yellow arrow.
When a road has 10 cars per hour, there is NO REASON to have a fully-functional signal unless there is a blind hill (Peace and Boylan, for example). If they want to use the argument that a handful of people have been killed because of signal confusion, then perhaps they need to look at all of the other situations they create where they are happy that HUNDREDS of people die each year. Try dropping the speed limit on I-95 to 55mph. Try encouraging I-40 traffic to maintain their speeds up hills (like Harrison Ave.). DON’T try to tell me that the vast majority of our society cannot handle a flashing caution or flashing stop when traffic loads are far lighter then the threshold that required the placement of the signal.
One factor the DOT cannot measure is the amount of road rage caused by their heavy-handed rules. If safety is such a high priority, then perhaps they should quit forcing unnatural behaviors and work on realistically correcting their dangerous situations.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47909 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:11:40 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47909 Regarding flashing traffic signals, I had this out with the DOT a while ago. When they redid the signals on 64W in Apex, they removed the night time flashing mode.
Their new policy is that all traffic signals will be moved to R/G/Y mode when replaced. They will only be migrated to an off-peak flash mode after a traffic study has been conducted to show that mode is safer. Of course that’s impossible demonstrate. I hate this idea that safety is the only consideration.
I believe all this came after some sheriff in rural NC ran one of these signals and killed someone.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47908 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:05:05 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47908 CAT Tracker ( http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-oakcity-bus-raleighcat-qwDDm.aspx ) is available on Android, but the fragmented local bus systems (NCSU, TTA, DATA, CAT) means that none of them share the same data system. You’re only going to get CAT with this one.
The raleighrides.org website is a great start, but there’s nothing sexy about the presentation, only the data.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47893 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:01:18 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47893 Just wanted to correct one item in #2, Parking is $10 at the RBC Center for almost all events.
That being said more free transportation to/from downtown would be great.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47889 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:10:23 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47889 I’d love to see #30 closer to the top, as this is a huge problem in our area, especially around RTP. I routinely travel Alexander Drive on nights and weekends (I live in that area) and I can sometimes get stopped at every single light along the way, even though there is no traffic at the cross street!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47857 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 03:32:03 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47857 #26 is a great idea. Let’s build it.
iPhone/Android app?
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47848 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 23:44:59 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47848 Let’s start with #1, #10, #26 and #28
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47824
Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:15:31 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47824
#1 – Regional Rail
#2 – Light Rail
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47802 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 05:11:53 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47802 #30—what? you don’t like sitting in rtp on a weekend at a red light, when there is NO ONE around???
#27—i couldn’t agree more. cary band day gets crazy busy, so that should show our love of marching bands.
#14—i haven’t been to walnut creek in years because of those very reasons. thats all they ever have, country or rock bands that are 30 years past their prime. they need variety like booth amp in cary, they have great variety.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/comment-page-1/#comment-47785 Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:02:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/11/26/raleighs-biggest-needs/#comment-47785 #4 is a new concept to me. I LOVE it for all the reasons you stated.
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