Raleigh was always destined for greatness!

[architect77]

I just emailed the entire Raleigh City council about the sad state of Raleigh's sagging wire-hung traffic signals.

Raleigh deserves better, and I'm hard-pressed to think of anywhere worse than Raleigh's visually-cluttered and primitive-looking intersections. Here is what I suggested:
__________________________________________________

Raleigh's Sagging Wire-Hung Traffic Signals

Hello,

On a recent visit to the Triangle (I am a native), I was very disappointed and embarrassed by the look of Raleigh sagging traffic signals citywide. Every traffic signal looks like it’s hanging on a clothesline. The attached street signs are sometimes angled 30 degrees or more.

I know you’re probably de-sensitized to this and consider it a normal city aesthetic, however for a city and state so recognized as one of the best and most attractive places to live, Raleigh’s visually cluttered and primitive-looking intersections are a HUGE shortcoming.

I’m hard-pressed to think of anywhere in America where sloppy street infrastructure looks worse than Raleigh.


1) At the very least, the wires holding the signals could be tightened so that the street sign is horizontal as it was intended. Cost is virtually nothing.

2) Raleigh could start slowly replacing wires with mast-arm poles one intersection at a time. Cost would consist of pole and re-mounting sign and signals, $50,000 per intersection? You’ve got to admit Cary’s mast-arms look a thousand times better.

- All of Virginia now has mast-arms which are cleaner-looking and more attractive.
- Wilmington, NC, most of Florida, and much of Atlanta (where I live) are installing mast-arm poles. It looks so much better, but even Georgia’s wire-hung signals don’t sag like Raleigh’s.


You should propose that businesses get together on main thoroughfares and spearhead streetscape renovations. I read that Glenwood Ave at Crabtree wants to become more pedestrian friendly. They should implement the strategy used by businesses around Atlanta’s Lenox Square Mall. It has been a beautiful and successful transformation. If left to the City of Atlanta or the state DOT, none of this would have ever happened. Here is a link:
Peachtree Transformation Project | Road Improvement | Buckhead CID


I know that a few streetscape projects are happening in Raleigh, but it will be decades before a significant number of Raleigh’s thoroughfares will be improved.


Replacing a few sagging signals with mast-arm poles would exponentially improve the look of Raleigh.

[rnc2mbfl]

Originally Posted by mlhm5

Raleigh really does not stand on it's own. Raleigh feeds off of Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill and the RTP. If those cities and the RTP were 50 miles away, Raleigh would be just a sleepy Southern capital.

Raleigh doesn't feed off of Cary. If anything, that one is vice versa. Raleigh also doesn't feed off of RTP either. If anything, RTP does't exist without Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. In fact, RTP probably would have puttered out and died if it weren't for IBM operations that were based in Raleigh in the mid 60s. As for Raleigh feeding off Durham and Chapel Hill, that too is wrong. While there may be some sort of dependency argument to be made about the relationship of Chapel Hill to Durham, it's not the same animal as the relationship between the east and west sides of the Triangle and among its various municipalities.

It is fair to say that, in order for the Triangle to work, the three named municipalities have a relationship that bolsters and elevates the region to another level. However, that doesn't mean that they each don't stand on their own. In fact, since the former MSA was split in two more than a decade ago, Raleigh has done a rather fine job of standing on its own in growth, business development, accolades, etc.