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Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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Originally Posted by iamweasel
Correct me if I'm wrong but that only applies to the stretch of Capital north of I-540. So the stoplights at Durant, Burlington Mills, etc, would go away.
Capital will still remain a congested mess between I-540 and I-440. Not much they can do their now as they've got no more land to work with.
I'm not in the position to correct anyone. But that sounds correct. I also think they are considering changing the part below somewhat as well. I can't think of the term used but it's when the roads don't have all the left turns on them. Hopefully I can look up and edit. However even though someone mentioned being alone driving that Northern stretch I'm willing to bet it wasn't peak times. That area near Wakefield becomes a parking lot during commuter rush.
This is the first time I can recall a discussion of growth in the Triangle, that took a tone of concern rather than enthusiasm. Many of the rational voices on this board have contributed to this discussion, which IMO needs to happen and happen more often.
With that in mind, below I've pasted a Letter to the Editor from the News & Observer that I cut out, probably at least 10 years ago. I found it very thought provoking. Perhaps you will to. I was not the writer. I share in the interest of contributing to the conversation.
Let’s look to the future for guidance to our growth problems. In 20 years or less the great exodus from the Triangle will have begun. Citing overcrowding, pollution, traffic, lack of open space, crime, deteriorating infrastructure and the depressing mediocrity of urban sprawl, masses of people will leave for the latest trendy “best place to live in America” – a small town in Nebraska.
Nebraskans, striving to compensate for a history of being dismissed as “backward,” will offer tax breaks to any and all corporations, and subsidize developers with tax money. How can I be sure that this will happen? Because the exact same sequence of events has already happened to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Bolder, on and on. The Triangle is currently being subjected to this hit-and-run destruction orchestrated by carpetbagger developers and their sycophants in politics. Why don’t we ever learn from others’ mistakes? We easily could if development were a democratic process instead of a free-for-all mix of greed, ignorance, and rationalization controlled by individuals with a vested economic interest.
Like an unsupervised child sickened by too much candy, the Triangle will realize its mistakes and regret them.
I'm a transportation engineer and follow development and road construction in the area pretty closely. Let me address two points in this thread.
Capital will be upgraded to a freeway from 540 north to Wake Forest. Interchanges are planned at Durant, Burlington Mills, and Main St/FON. Highways should also have parallel arterials to them for local traffic. FON and Ligon Mill will serve as these roads. Eventually Gresham Lake will probably bridge over Capital and connect to Triangle Town. It will be interesting to see how and if Capital is connected to Gresham Lake.
US 64 through Cary is currently planned to have roundabout interchanges (like ones in Carmel IN) at Lake Pine and Laua Duncan. East of there to US 1 it will be a supersteet. Supersteets are not popular but can roughly double the capacity of a road without widening it. The alternative would be to widen the road to 8 lanes. I have a very long range plan to get all of the local traffic off of 64 and also shift it away from MacGregor. It's an adaption of a plan I saw on another thread on here. Give me some time to draw some maps and I'll post it later.
I mean, I like progress, but I don't like the way we're heading. If people want to move into trendy apartments and high rises in downtown Raleigh, that's cool with me. Downtown Raleigh is going down that glitzy/trendy path, which I don't really mind as long as they preserve historic sites and keep some local Raleigh/NC flavor (as opposed to going "anywhere USA"). What I don't like, and I mean hate, is ripping down the beautiful NC countryside to build nonstop suburban sprawl and places like Chatham Park (which I hope doesn't get built). We'll turn into the Atlanta metro if we're not careful. So yeah, if you want to look into the apartments at North Hills, that's fine with me and I'd prefer that. Ripping apart some rural area in Granville County, I'd rather not.
Super streets are the worst concept ever. They make it easier for the long distance commuter while making it dreadful for the people that live nearby. If someone is a visitor and new to the concept, the Super Street intersections are confusing and potentially dangerous. I pity the large trucks with a large load that need to negotiate these turns. So sorry to see them coming to NC 64. Nothing like making drivers p'd off on their daily drives.
I mean, I like progress, but I don't like the way we're heading. If people want to move into trendy apartments and high rises in downtown Raleigh, that's cool with me. Downtown Raleigh is going down that glitzy/trendy path, which I don't really mind as long as they preserve historic sites and keep some local Raleigh/NC flavor (as opposed to going "anywhere USA"). What I don't like, and I mean hate, is ripping down the beautiful NC countryside to build nonstop suburban sprawl and places like Chatham Park (which I hope doesn't get built). We'll turn into the Atlanta metro if we're not careful. So yeah, if you want to look into the apartments at North Hills, that's fine with me and I'd prefer that. Ripping apart some rural area in Granville County, I'd rather not.
i dont really think Chatham Park qualifies as suburban sprawl. I mean supposedly its slated to be all inclusive living, work, and entertainment district. That seems like good development.
I mean if we had projects like that, urban density, and some sort of public transit we would be in good shape.
i dont really think Chatham Park qualifies as suburban sprawl. I mean supposedly its slated to be all inclusive living, work, and entertainment district. That seems like good development.
I mean if we had projects like that, urban density, and some sort of public transit we would be in good shape.
I'm not sure what I think about these work-live-play developments. How many people who live in North Hills actually work in North Hills?
I'm not sure what I think about these work-live-play developments. How many people who live in North Hills actually work in North Hills?
I don't believe that North Hills and the like are intended for people to do "everything" in one place but rather link life activities to others in ways that hadn't been provided in disparate suburban models of the previous 50 or 60 years.
In North Hills, some may choose to play where they live. Others might choose to shop where they work. Yet others might choose to shop where they play. In some cases, there will be people who will choose to live where they work. There a multiple combinations of lifestyle choices that a tight infill development like North Hills supports. It's not the same animal as the monstrous development in Chatham.
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