249 replies to this topic

[ncwebguy]

Rrrr  I meant Morgan/West/*Hillsborough*, the Marsh Woodwinds and mower/chain saw sales/repair place block NW of Mogran/West.  TTA already owns Morgan/West/Hargett, and Empire Properties owns the parking lot on the other side of the tracks between Hargett and Morgan.  The sign shop on the SE corner of Hillsborough and Glenwood is probably not historically relevant and can go.   If TTA acquires that property, then they would have a lot more space to play with and anchor the south end of Glenwood South.

[Jones133]

ncwebguy, on Jun 6 2007, 01:10 PM, said:

Rrrr  I meant Morgan/West/*Hillsborough*, the Marsh Woodwinds and mower/chain saw sales/repair place block NW of Mogran/West.  TTA already owns Morgan/West/Hargett, and Empire Properties owns the parking lot on the other side of the tracks between Hargett and Morgan.  The sign shop on the SE corner of Hillsborough and Glenwood is probably not historically relevant and can go.   If TTA acquires that property, then they would have a lot more space to play with and anchor the south end of Glenwood South.

I think concrete block was an invention due to scarce resources during WWII so buildings like the sign shop, made of concrete block, generally mean absolutely nothing historically.......have at it TTA...

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Latest story from WRAL on this topic. "Grand Central Terminal in Raleigh? City Leaders Say Maybe?"

Grand Central Terminal in Raleigh? City Leaders Say Maybe

[Gard]

DwnTwnRaleighGuy, on Jul 18 2007, 08:12 PM, said:

Latest story from WRAL on this topic. "Grand Central Terminal in Raleigh? City Leaders Say Maybe?"

Grand Central Terminal in Raleigh? City Leaders Say Maybe

Your link is broken

Found the right link:  http://www.wral.com/.../story/1608722/

Edited by Gard, 18 July 2007 - 08:09 PM.

[DPK]

Gard, on Jul 18 2007, 10:03 PM, said:

Your link is broken

Found the right link:  http://www.wral.com/.../story/1608722/

Quote

The contract is for more than $263,000, according to the city. The plan and drawings are scheduled to be presented to the council by early summer of 2008.

Looks like this topic is going to be fairly dormant for about a year then.  I'm glad there's definite progress on this though.  

[ChiefJoJo]

Well, I'm sure there will be some sort of public involvemenet effort on the city's part, at the very least for the property owners in the study area (which I am one).  I hope this isn't just another study that gets thrown on the shelf, but actually has a detailed blueprint for implementation (short of actual construction plans), including recommended Amtrak, HSR, Greyhound, CAT/TTA locations, parking decks, and car and ped access and with cost estimates.  They should also assess potential development sites for utilizing air rights above the station and parking areas to help finance the project (as is being planned in Charlotte).

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

ChiefJoJo, on Jul 19 2007, 08:18 AM, said:

Well, I'm sure there will be some sort of public involvemenet effort on the city's part, at the very least for the property owners in the study area (which I am one).  I hope this isn't just another study that gets thrown on the shelf, but actually has a detailed blueprint for implementation (short of actual construction plans), including recommended Amtrak, HSR, Greyhound, CAT/TTA locations, parking decks, and car and ped access and with cost estimates.  They should also assess potential development sites for utilizing air rights above the station and parking areas to help finance the project (as is being planned in Charlotte).

I was wondering what your thoughts were about Cherokee Partners? How much should they be involved at this point? This study is being done by the city of Raleigh and TTA? Does or should Cherokee have any part in that decision? Aren't they the company responsible for buying up that land and deciding what to do with it?

Thanks in advance!  

[ChiefJoJo]

DwnTwnRaleighGuy, on Jul 19 2007, 12:25 PM, said:

I was wondering what your thoughts were about Cherokee Partners? How much should they be involved at this point? This study is being done by the city of Raleigh and TTA? Does or should Cherokee have any part in that decision? Aren't they the company responsible for buying up that land and deciding what to do with it?

Thanks in advance!  

TTA owns the two big parcels (Dillon Supply warehouses) to the east of the tracks in the wye area, so Cherokee would potentially be invloved in the redevelopment of that area.  If you look at this post, you can see the MTC study area and below, a sketch plan of how the MTC could be laid out.  So, in answer to your question, yes, I would imagine since TTA and Cherokee have an agreement, they would be very involved in any proposals for the MTC.  The timing of this study may coincide nicely with rapid transit plans for the area since the Triangle Regional Transit visioning effort is supposed to be complete by the end of the year.

[Jones133]

There is also a bus facility over south of MLK...south Person maybe....not sure who the carrier is or if there is actual passenger loading but anyway....my main thought is that freeing up the Greyhound and CAT areas opens up space for development that may  be in demand a few years out. Moore Square and anything closee to Glenwood are potential sites going forward....

[rfburns]

That's a maintenance shop near Person St. and Bragg St.  For Trailways, I think.  There's no passenger activity at that location.

[ncwebguy]

I think the trailways repair facility between Blount and Person was the trailways terminal for the city.  When Greyhound and trailways merged, having two stations was redundant so the Greyhound terminal was kept for passengers and the other kept for maintenance.  They have signs out to hire mechanics once in a while, so I know it is somewhat active.

That kind of facility is best kept out of the multi-modal station, but I wonder if there could be any cost savings if CAT (who has a parking (and maybe maintenance) facility between Blount and Wilmington), TTA, Laidlaw/Wolfline, and Greyhound/trailways merged maintenance facilities.  Or are the different buses/carriers too dissimilar?

How much would a sale of the current Greyhound terminal and Moore Square generate?  How much would the different entities involved contribute to make a nicer, connected facility?

[phoenixnc]

Any news on this topic? It sounds like a great idea.

[NcSc74]

I'm assuming all of this is connected with the 8 billion$ transportaion study that came out today.  I saw the plan on WRAL.  Looks like the high gas prices are doing what normal citizens couldn't.  Lets hope the rail plan is truly comprehensive and not a bunch of loose talk.

[DPK]

I honestly hope prices keep going up to around $4/gallon.  I'd be willing to pay a bit more if it meant that we'd be moving to better public transportation sooner.

[dmccall]

This is why Al Gore wanted $7/gallon gas. Of course, the gas prices are just doing ducky things for the overall economy.

[Gard]

They were talking to an oil industry expert on Fox News the other night and he said that its now plausable that gas could reach $10/gallon, but that would only happen if say, a war broke out in Iran and there were some crippling terrorist attacks on oil infrastructure.  He also mention that gas was also at the equivalent of $9/gallon now in parts of Europe, BUT, its not so much a problem for them because they have the public transportation infrastructure in place that most of the US and Canada do not.  I think $10/gallon is a bit extreme and its likely the government would step in somehow to prevent it.  Letting it reach those heights would be political suicide for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Once again, all the more reason to push mass transit.  I really think that if this can't done now, it will never get done.  Rising gas prices is making all that much easier to push mass transit through as people's wallets are hit hard.

[Tayfromcarolina]

I agree, now is definetly the time. At least lay the preliminaries down and then in the future it will be easier to build upon it and modify it. It's as clear as day in my opinion.

[pack-man]

so far away from any of this happening if approved, who knows what kind of shape our economy will be in by then.  scary thought

Edited by pack-man, 30 April 2008 - 11:54 AM.

[ERJ170]

I wonder how hard it would be to make it "Green". Perhaps putting some growing areas on some of the roofs, have a couple of roofs with solar panels.  A couple of wind turbines on the area.  I think that it could work if they really wanted to.  And this system is something Raleigh needs to make it's downtown vital and the place to go.  But, most important, is the need for a non-stop downtown-airport shuttle or train or something.. buses and cabs are nice but they still use the same highways as all the cars on the street.

Just a random though from a sick individual..

[ChiefJoJo]

The city is issuing a call for ideas for the MTC.  Basically, if you have ideas for the MTC's form, what elements it should include, etc, this is for you.  Here's a brief overview of the criteria for the MTC scheme to give you an idea of what they are looking for:

Building scale and arrangement
• Create a signature building for the west side of downtown
• Maximize developable parcels
• Use airspace over railroad tracks

Relationship to adjacent areas
• Don't create a barrier between downtown and areas to the west
• Weave together convention center with Glenwood South entertainment
• Create a model for mixed-use, pedestrian-scaled, transit-oriented development
• Link development to immediately adjacent areas as well as more distant locations such as Centennial Campus, Dorothea Dix, and the Hillsborough [St] Corridor
• Establish a key focal point for the downtown circulator system
• Don't direct traffic flow through residential neighborhoods

Therefore, the creation of a FoR [Frame of Reference] begins with getting a feel for outside influences including, but not limited to:
• adjacent land uses;
• layout of adjoining developments;
• building form, character and scale;
• adjacent roads, pedestrian ways, and accessibility points;
• daytime/nighttime street life and activities;
• areas of comfort or uneasiness; and,
• sociability character.

Submissions in response to the Call for Ideas must be received on or before 5:00PM EST on July 24th, 2008.

Feel free to post ideas here, but make sure to send them in if you want it to extend beyond cyberspace.