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... but those long time residents who don't like the changes can sell their homes at a price far above what it would have been worth if Raleigh did not develop like it has...
And thus might be the real reason for Saturnfan/CapitalBlvd's ongoing bitterness towards growth. He's admittedly not a homeowner (and strangely proud of it), so he never benefited from the significant home equity that most homeowners in his same age range have likely realized via the increased home values.
I see comments that traffic has gotten horrible, but seriously, when was traffic not horrible? In the 30 years I've lived here, bad traffic has been the norm for an RTP commute, at least.
I remember being stuck on 40 for an hour many days trying to get from RTP to NC State as a co-op. I remember shooting all the way out to 70-to-Duraleigh or 55-to-64 just to avoid. And I remember the daily bumper-to-bumper grind on Davis Drive trying to get to the Cary Parkway area near the Y. This was in the 80s and 90s.
Oh, there'd be some relief when new lanes opened (or a new road like 540 was added), but those things always spur development and soon enough we were right back to bad traffic.
I see comments that traffic has gotten horrible, but seriously, when was traffic not horrible? In the 30 years I've lived here, bad traffic has been the norm for an RTP commute, at least.
I remember being stuck on 40 for an hour many days trying to get from RTP to NC State as a co-op. I remember shooting all the way out to 70-to-Duraleigh or 55-to-64 just to avoid. And I remember the daily bumper-to-bumper grind on Davis Drive trying to get to the Cary Parkway area near the Y. This was in the 80s and 90s.
Oh, there'd be some relief when new lanes opened (or a new road like 540 was added), but those things always spur development and soon enough we were right back to bad traffic.
Agreed, the days of expecting free flow rush hour traffic in the Triangle is long gone. I just don't understand when people move here and live out in Clayton and work at RTP (unless you can work remotely) and then complain about traffic. Traffic should be expected - it's just a matter of how bad it is.
And thus might be the real reason for Saturnfan/CapitalBlvd's ongoing bitterness towards growth. He's admittedly not a homeowner (and strangely proud of it), so he never benefited from the significant home equity that most homeowners in his same age range have likely realized via the increased home values.
And this I completely understand and would be upset if in the same situation. But going back to unfortunate truth of no place is perfect for everybody. So we have to ask ourselves what is better for the largest group of people?
In my opinion, cities like Raleigh should be fighting for all the development they can, within reason of course. The development and progress has to go somewhere, so why not continue to develop these new sunbelt high growth regions? That is smart growth in itself to concentrate the development inside NC to the 2 largest metros. Now the City and State just needs to step up to the plate and invest in the infrastructure like they should instead of using a stop-gap approach.
Speaking of traffic, I too get annoyed at the people in my office complaining about their commutes from places like Apex, Wake Forest, and far North Raleigh to downtown. There's a reason why they bought the giant new house for a fraction of price of what it would be in Raleigh or Cary. You can't have it both ways.
And this I completely understand and would be upset if in the same situation. But going back to unfortunate truth of no place is perfect for everybody. So we have to ask ourselves what is better for the largest group of people?
In my opinion, cities like Raleigh should be fighting for all the development they can, within reason of course. The development and progress has to go somewhere, so why not continue to develop these new sunbelt high growth regions? That is smart growth in itself to concentrate the development inside NC to the 2 largest metros. Now the City and State just needs to step up to the plate and invest in the infrastructure like they should instead of using a stop-gap approach.
I don't know if fighting for all the development they can is the right term - it has to be sustainable and smart development (not strip malls or the K-Mart on Western with the ugly unused parking lot). Raleigh should definitely be fighting for jobs if it doesn't want to be left behind like some rust belt cities.
I don't know if fighting for all the development they can is the right term - it has to be sustainable and smart development (not strip malls or the K-Mart on Western with the ugly unused parking lot). Raleigh should definitely be fighting for jobs if it doesn't want to be left behind like some rust belt cities.
Yes. I meant actual jobs and dense residential projects from the developers with the $$$, which opens up opportunities to justify the major infrastructure improvements.
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