I'm all about pedestrian bridges (I think there could be one over Western Blvd connecting Mission Valley and Central Campus), but I'm not sure how they could make this development work.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/14/3862004/real-deals-texas-developer-unveils.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

Quote :

"Traffic is always a concern when any new project is proposed in the Crabtree area, and Trademark plans to conduct its own traffic study. But Montesi said, based on the initial studies conducted by EYC, the property owners are confident they can make it work. 'We’ve studied it ... we think it can work out very nicely,' he said."

It's not working out very nicely as is.

5/16/2014 11:22:46 AM

i want a damn monorail

5/16/2014 11:24:14 AM

Oh good! I was just thinking about how easy it is to drive through there.

5/16/2014 11:27:50 AM

Great

That area is already a traffic clusterfuck...incredibly over capacity

They better fix the fucking roads first

5/16/2014 11:28:44 AM

They should look at making Glenwood 2 separate levels through Crabtree; one inbound, one outbound.

5/16/2014 11:32:21 AM

^ this.

Would be expensive as all hell, but 2/3 of the traffic through here is people passing through not trying to get local businesses. They had a bunch of vacant land that could have had a bypass built on it but now its all gonna be apartments.

5/16/2014 11:34:43 AM

Didn't they just do some traffic study for that area? How does that mesh with this?

5/16/2014 11:35:39 AM

They probably had to do a traffic study when they were rezoning the land for this project and approving the permits/development.

That being said, I'd like some of the drugs the traffic people must have been on when they gave this the green light.

5/16/2014 11:38:14 AM

I despise going to the mall. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why some people want to live a life surrounded by one.

5/16/2014 11:51:45 AM

So they can walk to that shithole called The Flying Monkey or the nearly equally shitty Cheesecake Factory?

At least living at North Hills seems somewhat attractive.

5/16/2014 11:54:28 AM

did anyone mention how bad traffic is there now and that this would only make it worse? because traffic is already bad in this area and this new development would make it worse.

5/16/2014 11:56:49 AM

I think i remember reading a while back that they had plans to eliminate some of the stoplights on glenwood by routing some of the roads (leadmine/creedmor) over glenwood.

5/16/2014 11:58:15 AM

^^That is what's under discussion...

[Edited on May 16, 2014 at 12:15 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2014 11:58:28 AM

nobody said that...

5/16/2014 12:02:29 PM

^^ i didn't see that anywhere in this plan

5/16/2014 12:06:27 PM

Malls are dying, this seems like an idiotic idea that only someone from Texas would think could work. I think this will have as much impact on traffic near the mall as the illustrious Soleil Skyscraper.

5/16/2014 12:09:56 PM

but this isn't a mall, it's shops in the style of north hills and streets of southpoint with open space and those are doing really well

5/16/2014 12:17:21 PM

While some malls are vulnerable, I don't think Crabtree is going anywhere anytime soon.

5/16/2014 12:17:30 PM

Crabtree's doing well enough. This new development will be interesting though. I'm surprised this is going across Glennwood though. There's a shitton of land/space back behind the mall.

5/16/2014 12:26:31 PM

They need a pedestrian bridge on Western.

5/16/2014 12:28:39 PM

They need about a billion other things besides this development.

5/16/2014 12:31:14 PM

They need a beltline ramp on Glen Eden Dr and I really wont care about this at all.

5/16/2014 12:35:12 PM

Quote :

"Other options for the city include building a highway overpass or creating a road that connects I440 directly to the mall. But the city says those road projects could cost up to $100 million. So instead, the city is considering a short-term fix by limiting the number of retail stores. "Rather than promoting more retail, that is the highest trip generating use, let's look at other highly desirable uses that will generate fewer trips," explained City Council member Russ Stephenson."

http://abc11.com/archive/9174273/



http://www.raleighnc.gov/content/PWksTranServices/Documents/TransportationPlanning/CVTSDocuments/CVTSFinalStudyDocs/CrabtreeValleyReportFINAL.pdf

5/16/2014 12:49:01 PM

Quote :

" While some malls are vulnerable, I don't think Crabtree is going anywhere anytime soon."

That may be the case at the moment, but so much of Crabtree's (and 99% of the country's malls) business is reliant on big box stores as anchors. Its a big reason why so many other malls across the US are failing. Once they lose one or two of those anchors, the rest of the mall collapses.

And it won't matter if Macy's or JC Penney is doing well locally, if the companies start hemorrhaging money in all their other locations, then they'll fold and leave Crabtree with vacancies that it can't sustain.

5/16/2014 1:05:45 PM

You mean like Sears? Sears is circling the drain.

5/16/2014 1:08:18 PM

Quote :

"Once they lose one or two of those anchors, the rest of the mall collapses."

You mean like in 2006 when they lost Lord & Taylor?

If Sears left I'm sure they'd be able to fill the space

5/16/2014 1:22:26 PM

Quote :

"They need a beltline ramp on Glen Eden Dr and I really wont care about this at all."

Do this & eliminate the Ridge Rd. connection/ramp. Instead, route Ridge Rd to Crabtree Valley Ave.

5/16/2014 1:24:45 PM

I wouldn't exactly call Lord & Taylor an anchor for a mall like Crabtree. I'll take that back, I forgot it was more than just a clothing store.

And yeah, it was easy to replace an anchor in 2006 because consumer confidence was at an all time high.

When the market takes another hit, which it will in the next few years, you'll see the already shrinking list of big box stores get even smaller. It's no secret that they're suffering, and its not just one or two.

I'm not arguing that Crabtree is going to go belly-up at any point in the near future, but its not exactly a horse I'd want to hitch my multi-million dollar wagon to.

[Edited on May 16, 2014 at 1:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2014 1:37:37 PM

They should put Brendle's and Steak and Ale back if they are not gonna do anything there.

5/16/2014 1:57:31 PM

I wish they'd put more entertainment options in. Whatever happened to arcades and laser tag?
I'm pretty sure the only reason the owner's of Cary Town Center haven't burned it to the ground for insurance money is because of Dave and Buster's.
Seems like a similar venue at Crabtree would be a good option. I'd definitely go back if it meant I could play video games while a waitress brought me beer.

5/16/2014 3:06:12 PM

Just open another Jillian's

5/16/2014 3:10:41 PM

Haha. That place was both awesome and awful. What group of stoners came up with the business idea behind that?
"I want a pool hall"
"Well I want a volley-ball field"
"I really want an arcade"
"Screw you guys, we should open a dance club"
"I need a place to invite my brother's shitty garage band"

Then, in dark smokey corner of the room, a low raspy voice emerges from the shadows of a Bob Ross hoody. "Dudes.....what if we did all of that?"

5/16/2014 3:20:12 PM

I already avoid this area as much as possible, but this might bump it up to OTB Capital Blvd status in which I avoid it completely.

[Edited on May 16, 2014 at 3:36 PM. Reason : foo]

5/16/2014 3:35:43 PM

fuck my lifecommute

[Edited on May 16, 2014 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2014 5:14:40 PM