goodnight raleigh needs to step it up now

1/5/2013 11:48:17 AM

The guy who runs Goodnight Raleigh just moved to Chicago.

1/5/2013 12:26:13 PM

goodnight raleigh someone needs to step it up now

1/5/2013 1:38:50 PM

http://dtraleigh.com/ has been my favorite in recent years anyway. I'm not sure if New Raleigh lost whoever wrote most of their development-related articles or what, but in the last couple of years there was definitely a drop off in that sort of content.

1/5/2013 1:49:46 PM

I'm working on something

1/5/2013 1:52:54 PM

I'm happy to announce that I have purchased http://newraleigh.com.

It will now feature a summary of the week's murders and violent crime, photos of stolen rims on craigslist, historic buildings I feel should be razed to improve parking, a Q&A with a local crackhead, and a review of the latest coffee shops.

I have a limited number of spaces available for contributing writers, photographers and people to put handmade advertising signs along city streets. Inquire within.

1/5/2013 2:35:09 PM

Fuck off already.

1/5/2013 3:23:34 PM

It seems city living has made you guys way too uptight. Some time in the country would do wonders for you.

^4 Is that blog yours, dtownraleigh? If so, I like the photography. If not...I like the photography.

1/5/2013 4:33:59 PM

I'm also a of dtraleigh.com but the content there has slowed as well in recent months.

1/6/2013 3:47:07 AM

newraleigh mostly sucked anyway

1/6/2013 9:07:04 AM

^it wasn't great and the writing was pretty bad in recent months. They were sort of mailing it in anyways. The interview they did with leo from dtraleigh sounded pretty emo and whiny to me. It wasn't "art", or anything fantastically "unique" it was just a general online place to get info about happenings in and around the downtown area. Hell, they even did terrible, generic movie reviews. I just liked it for a place to go for news, and they could have had someone else continue it or give some guest access. They made it sound like a huge burden in that interview, but in the last year or two they only posted about twice a week anyways. Shit, people with full time jobs and families post more content on facebook in a given day than these guys posted on NewRaleigh.

1/6/2013 10:00:21 AM

the content was so sparse that it wasn't really a great resource for anything

and the All Black Van... ugh

1/6/2013 10:21:44 AM

I'd love to kick a project up to replace these losses, but I'm awful at website design. I can generate a lot of writing and content, but no one would want to look at my shitty wordpress templates.

1/6/2013 5:39:50 PM

our downtown fucking sucks.....Fayetteville St, the ampitheater, City Market, Glenwood South (if that even counts) and the Capital area are the only things going for it. Greensboro, Wilmington, Charlotte, & Asheville all have it much better than we do and we live in the state capital. here's what i think could turn it around:

1. light metro rail similar to Denver's. only 2 or 3 lines. make it free of charge

2. bulldoze some of this ghetto shit around the Raleigh memorial auditorium and make it look more like Fayetteville st. add boutique stores, outdoor cafes, coffee shops. Bring in something that looks like a cross between North Hills and Brier Creek.

3. completely demolish Moore Square and that waste of space open area in front of Tir Na Nog. Convert these two into charming squares that people would actually want to visit. think manicured gardens, sculpted bushes, an over the top fountain, modern art sculptures etc.

4. we need more monuments. insert a couple of roundabouts (like Hillsborough st) and place a triumphal column or statue in the middle.

5. Raleigh's has ZERO identity unless you count the acorn that nobody knows about. by contrast Philly has the "LOVE" sign. Chicago has Buckingham fountain. Minneapolis has it's spoon w/ cherry. What we need is something original. something iconic. a big ass head coming out of a building... or a 60 ft statue of sir walter Raleigh. i dunno

1/6/2013 8:03:42 PM

Moore Square would be a lot better if they stopped charities from feeding the homeless there.

1/6/2013 8:36:21 PM

Quote :

"our downtown fucking sucks.....Fayetteville St, the ampitheater, City Market, Glenwood South (if that even counts) and the Capital area are the only things going for it. Greensboro, Wilmington, Charlotte, & Asheville all have it much better than we do and we live in the state capital. "

You're not going to find many people who agree with you on this.

Other than that you make a couple good points. Moore Square is being done. The new design is out there online and I think it looks pretty promising. Brier Creek and North Hills are not the kind of shit we need downtown. There is a lack of identity I would agree. Particularly a lack of good gateways into downtown.

[Edited on January 6, 2013 at 8:45 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2013 8:43:43 PM

We need a space needle already.

1/6/2013 8:50:50 PM

Quote :

"Bring in something that looks like a cross between North Hills and Brier Creek."

that is the worst fucking idea ever

1/6/2013 9:07:57 PM

Quote :

"2. bulldoze some of this ghetto shit around the Raleigh memorial auditorium and make it look more like Fayetteville st. add boutique stores, outdoor cafes, coffee shops. Bring in something that looks like a cross between North Hills and Brier Creek. "

North Hills? Brier Creek? What the fuck? North Hills is attractive, but it's faux urban mixed use done in a suburban area. Brier Creek is simply sprawl. Neither is what we need downtown. We do need more retail, cafes, coffee shops, etc, sure. But build it into the urban fabric (which is being done albeit slowly), don't perch a random enclave of suburban-style development on the edge of downtown.

Also, Shaw University would like to have a word with you about its entire campus (which is right next door to memorial auditorium) being referred to as "ghetto shit".

1/6/2013 9:14:51 PM

I wanna know where the utility is in two or three light rail lines that cover a grand total of two square miles (if that).

[Edited on January 6, 2013 at 9:20 PM. Reason : 2]

1/6/2013 9:19:48 PM

Quote :

" Moore Square would be a lot better if they stopped charities from feeding the homeless there."

And if they relocated the CAT bus station

1/6/2013 9:29:55 PM

They are already moving some of it away

1/6/2013 9:32:11 PM

Monorail. Monorail.

1/6/2013 10:27:47 PM

Sorry, mom. The mob has spoken.

1/6/2013 10:30:04 PM

The bus station should be an asset. Getting rid of or moving away the bus station is not the answer; making it more attractive and improving the system is.

1/6/2013 10:33:40 PM

Quote :

"I wanna know where the utility is in two or three light rail lines that cover a grand total of two square miles (if that)."

Better off putting in a moving sidewalk, there are airports larger than raleigh's downtown area.

1/7/2013 10:14:41 AM

Light rail is primarily for commuter transit, not downtown circulation.. The light rail lines will go from north Raleigh and Cary into downtown. The R-Line has downtown circulation pretty well covered.

Speaking of light rail, the new governor's thoughts on the subject:

Quote :

"If they meet the same criteria that I asked for when I mayor of Charlotte regarding federal match and also to meet the ridership potential and the right land use, I will be working with my (Secretary of Transportation) to support those types of efforts," McCrory said. "But regardless of where you put roads or transit, they have to meet certain criteria before they have my support."

[Edited on January 7, 2013 at 10:46 AM. Reason : .]

1/7/2013 10:46:03 AM

^what he said

Mass Transit would be important in this area to "promote" urbanity along certain corridors and support commuter ridership between RTP, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Raleigh, and North Raleigh.

1/7/2013 11:01:55 AM

Yes. Light rail is maybe the best tool in existence to promote growth that is focused in certain areas along certain corridors. For a city that has sprawled as much as Raleigh and is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, that is very important. I think it could be good news for the transit plan that McCrory is in office. The GOP traditionally opposes anything other than roads, but if McCrory sticks to his guns then he could help Raleigh get things moving and take away some of the needlessly partisan nature of this issue.

1/7/2013 11:10:41 AM

Quote :

"The bus station should be an asset. Getting rid of or moving away the bus station is not the answer; making it more attractive and improving the system is. "

"Improving the System" is the bugbear here, as well as addressing some fundamental issues of bus transportation--primarly the perception by folks who have the option of car transportation that "the bus is for poor people". And in most cities, it is, but it's a self-perpetuating problem. The same issue exists here in Richmond, where i've recently relocated--it seems that mostly people of lower socioeconomic status ride the bus. My fiancee takes the city bus to get to grad school, since it's an easy 20-minute ride and they issue free passes to students (similar to the gopass program with NCSU). At the start of the fall semester, several of her classmates also took the bus to school. However, as the semester went on, most of the quit riding and bought a parking pass--some due to complaints that the bus was too slow and did not run on time (improving the system) and some due to complaints that the other people on the bus made them feel uncomfortable/unsafe (low income/minority/etc--her program is about 80% white female students). Kind of a microcosm of the problems with bus service as a whole.

Even if you can get around the socioeconomic problem, the service also oftentimes just sucks for getting anywhere. When I lived in Durham, I sometimes rode the TTA bus line to work, so I looked into if I could take the DATA bus to my second job, about 6 miles from my house. I could have--but the trip would have involved 3 different buses and taken over 2 hours. That's not acceptable unless you have unlimited time. I understand taking a bus isn't going to be as quick as driving to places, but travel times like that are going to make the bus an option only for those who have no other options. Fix the service and just maybe you can start fixing the perception, but right now, they're tied together in a thorny little bundle.

All that having been said, the bus station probably needs to stay where it is, but it could be made more attractive. I think the presence of the soup kitchen is a much bigger problem when it comes to bums in Moore Square.

[/words]

1/7/2013 11:52:19 AM

Dead on. I commuted to RTP using TTA for a while when I lived in Raleigh and after a while just got too frustrated with it. I've also worked as a bus service planner here in NJ; you've definitely articulated the two biggest problems that transit agencies face, and unfortunately there is a chicken and egg element to it. "Choice riders" (those who have other options available to them) don't choose the bus because it's inconvenient or perceived as being for poor people, but this just perpetuates that very issue.

For those who are not choice riders, and rely on the bus to get to their job or grocery store or what have you, moving the transit center out of the center city because people don't want the "type of people" that use it is a massive slap in the face.

Fortunately, while the proposed transit plan is mainly talked about in the context of light rail and commuter rail, the most immediate (and maybe most important) thing it would do would be to double bus service and make a lot of severely needed improvements.

Unfortunately, with the sprawling patterns of Raleigh, making the service efficient is a tremendous challenge. Not impossible, though. This is a book I really enjoyed reading a couple years ago that challenges the notion many have that good transit requires high densities: http://spacingvancouver.ca/2011/08/23/transport-for-suburbia/

[Edited on January 7, 2013 at 12:10 PM. Reason : .]

1/7/2013 12:07:14 PM

Quote :

"Moore Square would be a lot better if they stopped charities from feeding the homeless there."

If I walk by Moore Square and I'm carrying any kind of take-out/leftovers, I always get hounded by the homeless people for whatever it is.

Best was when it was leftover hummus and grape leaves from Sitti. They took one look at it when I opened the box and walked away.

1/7/2013 12:39:42 PM

Agreed, its surprising to me that no mayor has tackled that problem. That should be a flourishing city park, not a homeless hangout. I have nothing against the homeless, but it should be moved a few blocks away, or the distributions should have to be in a different place. With the bus station, salvation army, and steady flow of tourists, visitors, bar patrons its the perfect storm for homeless/vagrant/begging.

1/7/2013 12:56:00 PM

Because the dumb hippies will get mad at you and turn it into a huge political issue and ignore the fact that we have soup kitchens and other areas those charities could work at instead, and that a park is a bad choice because of the reasons you mention

1/7/2013 12:59:05 PM

Ashley Christensen expanding her empire downtown by buying Wilmoore Cafe

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/food/raleigh-chef-ashley-christensen-buys-the-wilmoore-cafe

her track record is pretty impeccable, so hopes are high for the new joint

1/8/2013 11:55:02 AM

I like the design of that place, and the expanded hours will help. I rarely got down there unless I needed to stop by the courthouse on a weekday morning.

Nights and weekends should help. Looking forward the the AC spin on the menu/offerings.

1/8/2013 3:53:25 PM

^^I came here to post this story, damn you.

Yeah, I'm extremely excited about this. I really liked Wilmoore--the menu, the location, but their hours were too wonky, and that always confused me. Ashley will help it the energy/hours situation, and of course with her name on it there will be some new traffic going that way.

Quickly becoming the Ashley Christensen restaurant district.

1/8/2013 6:39:59 PM

Better than the Greg Hatem restaurant district.

1/8/2013 7:26:47 PM

Well, that goes without saying, yes much better.

1/8/2013 7:30:32 PM

Quote :

"Better than the Greg Hatem restaurant district."

1/8/2013 7:49:48 PM

better but a little lame from a variety standpoint

not complaining though

1/8/2013 8:54:16 PM

It is always a bit concerning when single individuals are responsible for so much of the development of an area, but that's often the case in small or mid-size cities, plus Ashley Christensen kicks ass so fuck it.

1/8/2013 8:55:43 PM

Wow, not one negative comment. Color me impressed

1/9/2013 2:30:41 AM

^Oh, oops, sorry, I mean.

IT SHOULD BE A BOJANGLES SO WE CAN GET SOME ACTUAL FRIED CHICKEN NOT THIS HIPSTER BULLSHIT THAT COSTS A THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS AN OUNCE.

1/9/2013 2:51:28 AM

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. I was starting to think I was on the wrong website lol.

But seriously, I'm happy about this. That place was never open whenever I wanted to stop by there. I'm just not downtown on weekdays between the hours of 6am and 4pm, or whatever wonky ass hours they kept.

1/9/2013 3:50:56 AM

Ashley Christensen is overrated, but Wilmoore had strange hours that I could never remember so I'm not that upset

1/9/2013 7:24:43 AM

What's the latest on when that new 20+ story building will be ready?

Im thinking about moving downtown in the spring, but I might put it off if its going to be reasonably priced or push other rents down. I only want to move once that's for sure.

1/9/2013 1:27:23 PM

what building is this?

1/9/2013 2:38:00 PM

The one by clyde coopers. Sky something

1/9/2013 3:02:20 PM

http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/do-business/developments

1/9/2013 5:04:43 PM