Optimist Park / Belmont Projects

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

I thought the same thing lol

[Desert Power]

On 6/23/2018 at 8:27 PM, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Won’t ever happen unless the train lot was completely filled in and connected. There’s no road infrastructure. That’s a good reason NoDa proper doesn’t have a grocery store. Neither of those things exist in two land streets.


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Not to mention that Parkwood is slated to go on a diet too.

[SgtCampsalot]

16 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

Not to mention that Parkwood is slated to go on a diet too.

Does a middle turning lane change a two lane road's viability for a business's high traffic needs?

Eg: East Blvd has HT (though of course that was grandfathered, and Kennelworth is right there)

[kermit]

1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Does a middle turning lane change a two lane road's viability for a business's high traffic needs?

Most retail location uses a traffic count metric. They mostly just care about the count, not the road configuration (with some exceptions for left-turn access into the site)

Tall class A office space generally prioritizes visibility (not just one street, but all over town) over accessibility. Accessibility can't be crappy, but it does not need to be great since tenants generally don't care about impulse customers.

Edited June 27, 2018 by kermit

[Guest]

Does a middle turning lane change a two lane road's viability for a business's high traffic needs?
Eg: East Blvd has HT (though of course that was grandfathered, and Kennelworth is right there)

Yea that road diet there made an exception but the one way road helps a lot.


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[Desert Power]

3 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Does a middle turning lane change a two lane road's viability for a business's high traffic needs?

Eg: East Blvd has HT (though of course that was grandfathered, and Kennelworth is right there)

Obviously two of our posters who actually know stuff weighed in, but my point was that ricky said the road infrastructure already isn't good and it will get worse for cars (better for people and bikes tho!)

Parkwood is an interesting road.  There are little alternatives and the area around it is going to explode in population, but people use it like a damn highway.  Calming it will be great for OP/Belmont residents (current and future), but the amount of people using it as a through-road are a real thing.  There aren't great alternatives. 

Edited June 27, 2018 by Desert Power

[Nick2]

Parkwood really is too much of an artery to consider road dieting. Maybe an alternative of having a widened sidewalk with separated bike lanes?

[archiham04]

13 hours ago, Desert Power said:

Obviously two of our posters who actually know stuff weighed in, but my point was that ricky said the road infrastructure already isn't good and it will get worse for cars (better for people and bikes tho!)

Parkwood is an interesting road.  There are little alternatives and the area around it is going to explode in population, but people use it like a damn highway.  Calming it will be great for OP/Belmont residents (current and future), but the amount of people using it as a through-road are a real thing.  There aren't great alternatives. 

Yes it is a through road.   Used by lots of working class people. 

Providence road is also a through road.  Used by lots of wealthy people.

I wonder why the city chose Parkwood to diet instead of Providence?

[kermit]

On 6/26/2018 at 10:38 PM, Desert Power said:

 ...and it will get worse for cars...

are we sure about that? East blvd carried more cars than Parkwood before its diet, post-diet the stretch of East from South to Kenilworth increased its AADT.

How much did the East blvd diet really mess up daily commutes for people? Is Parkwood really that different?

http://www.completestreetsnc.org/project-examples/ex-eastblvdroaddiet/

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by kermit

[dubone]

59 minutes ago, archiham04 said:

Yes it is a through road.   Used by lots of working class people. 

Providence road is also a through road.  Used by lots of wealthy people.

I wonder why the city chose Parkwood to diet instead of Providence?

Parkwood was chosen because the community asked for it.   A few cyclists and pedestrians were hit and there were petitions and comments in the NECI public meetings and a review of non-auto uses of the street now that the neighborhood will be needing to cross Parkwood more to get to the Tompkins Mill and the Lynx station.  That that stretch is part of the study area for a portion of the cross Charlotte trail connections into uptown. 

Everything converged to gain the analysis, and the current understanding of urban streets is that a complete street can help calm the traffic but still serve a similar number of cars, but a much higher level of safety and lower impact on the urban environment.  It's not ideal to leave people dead or maimed.    

Parkwood is part of the grid network, so there are lots of alternate routes, but a single lane will still serve the cars, maybe just a touch lower speed, so they'll take 30 seconds longer to get through Optimist Park.  

 

[archiham04]

I understand the history of Parkwood,  I live nearby, and I will likely benefit from the diet.  I just truly believe that this is a short sighted decision that will be made to the detriment of working class people that are not civically engaged.  I think that is unfortunate, and I think that if it were a more wealthy area impacted, that there would be an uproar.

[Desert Power]

25 minutes ago, kermit said:

are we sure about that? East blvd carried more cars than Parkwood before its diet, post-diet the stretch of East from South to Kennilworth now carries more cars.

Setting aside the massive benefits the diets brought to the community, how much did the East blvd diet really mess up daily commutes for people? Is Parkwood really that different?

http://www.completestreetsnc.org/project-examples/ex-eastblvdroaddiet/

 

I don't drive East nearly as much as Parkwood, but my contention would be that Parkwood's traffic is more focused on normal commuting hours with people going to or coming from Uptown and 277.  I don't think East is used as heavily during rush hour and probably has traffic more spread throughout the day.  I don't have facts to support it, just an observation.  Functionally,  East is more like Matheson (should get a diet too) than Parkwood.   

Don't get me wrong, I now agree with the diet on Parkwood.  It is just too dangerous a stretch of road to not address.  But I also think this area is going to be very backed up during rush hour.  There just are not a lot of alternate ways from the areas along the Plaza

Edited June 27, 2018 by Desert Power

[archiham04]

I travel East from South to Queens at rush hour regularly.  It takes almost 20 minutes.  off peak it's less than 10.  I'm okay with it though.  I used to live on East Blvd, and ate lunch at East Blvd Bar and Grill patio often (old location).  I lost count of the crashes I witnessed from that porch.

[Matthew.Brendan]

Parkwood is part of my daily commute, and I can’t wait for the street diet!

[Desert Power]

Noticed that the apartments corner of 19th and Seigle have been boarded up.  I guess this will become townhomes soon?

[SgtCampsalot]

28 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

Noticed that the apartments corner of 19th and Seigle have been boarded up.  I guess this will become townhomes soon?

Haven't those been boarded up for a couple years? The identical apts next to them were renovated a few years ago, I figured both would be rehabbed.

[QClifer]

Different owners.  The boarded up complex won’t sell 

[Desert Power]

10 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Haven't those been boarded up for a couple years? The identical apts next to them were renovated a few years ago, I figured both would be rehabbed.

Didn't remember it before, but you're probably right.  I was just going around the area seeing what activity may be going on since the light rail open.ed up.  

[pgsinger]

On 6/28/2018 at 8:56 AM, QClifer said:

Different owners.  The boarded up complex won’t sell 

Do you mean the owners are unwilling to sell it?  Or they are having issues trying to sell it?  

[QClifer]

Unwilling to sell.   I called them to see if they’d be interested to sell a few months back and they said no they were going to rehab.   

[SgtCampsalot]

4 hours ago, QClifer said:

Unwilling to sell.   I called them to see if they’d be interested to sell a few months back and they said no they were going to rehab.   

So both identical apartment properties will stay? That'd a relief. That's such a valuable corner of the neighborhood for mid ranged density properties. 

If I were a childless early twenty something living in a true livable city, I wouldnt mind too badly being car free in Belmont/OP. Between the two bus lines, BLE, and a good road bike and/or electric scooter (not to mention the liberal peppering of commercial  space throughout) that would be (and will be) a premiere livable neighborhood.

Edited June 29, 2018 by SgtCampsalot

[KJHburg]

Tompkins Mills today and the new apartments up Parkwood from the mill and the new apartments by Parkwood and N Brevard and the LYNX station today. 

[JoshuaDrown]

Took a walk up to the Parkwood Station yesterday... I’m so excited about Tompkins Hall. They were hard at work, on a holiday no less. Getting some grey paint on the light rail side, but it is a bit darker than it came off in the photo below.

 

[SgtCampsalot]

1 hour ago, JoshuaDrown said:

Took a walk up to the Parkwood Station yesterday... I’m so excited about Tompkins Hall. They were hard at work, on a holiday no less. Getting some grey paint on the light rail side, but it is a bit darker than it came off in the photo below

 

What?? Why would they paint that brick?! It makes this part in particular look like any medical office down Randolph Rd.

[JoshuaDrown]

9 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

What?? Why would they paint that brick?! It makes this part in particular look like any medical office down Randolph Rd.

This is the building on the far left-hand side of the rendering, which has a more modern feel and different treatment than the rest of the structure (I think).

 

Edited July 5, 2018 by JoshuaDrown