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Nobody feels threatened but we understand it's a feel good knee jerk reaction. This isn't coastal CA where a lot of people legitimately can bike or walk to work year round.
Honestly I'd rather see downtown completely closed off to traffic altogether and using electric shuttles to get people to and from destinations. The cities in Europe with limited car traffic in city centers are pretty nice.
Well the city recently did this on Blount/Person Street if you’ve driven those roads recently. Most often it’s a reduction in on street parking instead of lanes (but even that can be a challenge when it comes to getting the public on board).
And I agree that it’s not feasible to make it safe for a 5 year old to go everywhere but I think it’s certainly worthwhile if there are destinations such as schools/parks that can be linked to neighborhoods. Also, there’s a safety problem with on-road bicycle unprotected lanes where the speed limit exceeds 35 mph. The fatality rate if a bicyclist is hit by a vehicle going over 45 mph is very very high (over 50%) so I personally wouldn’t recommend an on-road option on 45/55 mph roads unless there are barriers. (There is a bicycle advocacy group in Raleigh called Oaks & Spokes who generally agree with this)
I have been on Blount & Person, and the bike lanes are great. And I'd be fine - pending further consideration - of taking on-street parking away from one side of one-way streets, and some other plan that allowed a protected lane downtown for all bikes and non-auto transportation (that includes the scooters). I do think we need - probably has been done - to know how many spaces we lose, and what
parking garage spaces are available and their utilization rate from 8-6.
from recent numbers, 48,000 work downtown. Only 10,000 live downtown. Surely, we can figure out how many residents work there, and how many other workers live within say 4 miles of downtown. Surely, there's a way to measure how many of these people do or would be biking to work or riding a bus.
I think that's actually a pretty clever & cool logo. you pay for branding consulting, it's not a shock. The expense seems pretty much what I'd expect.
What is clever about the logo? I ask this sincerely. If cleverness was measured on a scale of 1 - 10, then, personally, I could justify giving the logo a score of 2 to 3. I must say that there might be a whole lot that I am not aware of, and things unknown to me could have a significant impact on my scoring if I knew them.
- Why the different shades of green? This isn't a bad thing, but I just wonder why. Sunny side, shaded side?
- Why the different shape of leaves on the left vs right? Again, not bad, but why? The experts who were payed a lot of money to design the logo must have had a reason.
- Simplicity in design is good, but what about the design, besides the word "Raleigh", says Raleigh?
- Green is green and green is good, but why does the tree look more like a lollipop bradford pear tree (widely
considered the crappiest of trees) instead of an oak tree?
- Why do I imagine this logo on one of those envelopes that you get at a bank for holding cash? Ok, that
one's just me.
- It would also look perfectly appropriate on the side of a recycle bin. Again, just my opinion.
- What does that logo tell me about the "brand" of Raleigh?
- Why not make a contest and offer a prize to citizens of Raleigh to come up with a logo? Many cities have
done this. Big companies are doing this more and more using the imagination and artistic talent of their
employees while creating fun and encouraging community involvement.
- Why is the logo worth what was spent on it when it did not actually solve a problem while there are so
many real problems that could use additional funding? Or, any funding at all.
And, I have no idea why Raleigh has a city logo, but every city and town, even small ones, do, so I won't question why. Only why it has to cost so much money.
And, I have no idea why Raleigh has a city logo, but every city and town, even small ones, do, so I won't question why. Only why it has to cost so much money.
For the same reason my client pays 3M a year for their crappy CRM when they could have gone to a different vendor and got a better CRM for a third the cost.
Everyone, whether it's a private company or a government entity, has favorite vendors even if they aren't the cheapest or offer the best value proposition.
I'm not defending it, especially when a government entity should be more mindful with financial resources than a private company, but this isn't exactly uncommon.
For the same reason my client pays 3M a year for their crappy CRM when they could have gone to a different vendor and got a better CRM for a third the cost.
Everyone, whether it's a private company or a government entity, has favorite vendors even if they aren't the cheapest or offer the best value proposition.
I'm not defending it, especially when a government entity should be more mindful with financial resources than a private company, but this isn't exactly uncommon.
Sure, I get that. I see it in every place I have worked (especially where I work now), but I think it is a little different when we are talking about tax payer money.
Sure, I get that. I see it in every place I have worked (especially where I work now), but I think it is a little different when we are talking about tax payer money.
Absolutely, 10000%.
I have no issue with a city doing such a thing; for better or worse we live in a time where the value of marketing is astronomical (see the money sports leagues make as a result of it), so if Raleigh wants to market themselves with a logo like other big cities may, go for it.
But, to your point, in a government context, where the funds are coming from your citizens, the RFP process should find the best balance of cost and product. I wouldn't say they should go with some college kid's proposal at $30/hr, but going with a super expensive proposal equally doesn't make sense.
It wouldn't shock me in the least if someone in city government had a buddy who worked for the vendor who won the work, or worked with the vendor in the past.
I have no issue with a city doing such a thing; for better or worse we live in a time where the value of marketing is astronomical (see the money sports leagues make as a result of it), so if Raleigh wants to market themselves with a logo like other big cities may, go for it.
But, to your point, in a government context, where the funds are coming from your citizens, the RFP process should find the best balance of cost and product. I wouldn't say they should go with some college kid's proposal at $30/hr, but going with a super expensive proposal equally doesn't make sense.
It wouldn't shock me in the least if someone in city government had a buddy who worked for the vendor who won the work, or worked with the vendor in the past.
I understand what you are saying, and I get the cost and value of marketing for some things, but I just can't see the value of a city logo. Seeing that logo doesn't make me proud to live in Raleigh, and seeing that logo probably doesn't make somebody living in San Antonio, TX want to visit Raleigh.
I see a lot more value in a slogan like, "Virginia is for lovers" than any logo.
The whole RFP process could be bypassed if the city made a contest out of the logo creation like I mentioned in an above post. Other cities and towns have done it. The results are often very good, and the cost can be very little. I feel confident that Raleigh would have gotten a better logo.
And, the idea that there is any corruption or buddy-back scratching in Raleigh is just absurd! Isn't it?
I understand what you are saying, and I get the cost and value of marketing for some things, but I just can't see the value of a city logo. Seeing that logo doesn't make me proud to live in Raleigh, and seeing that logo probably doesn't make somebody living in San Antonio, TX want to visit Raleigh.
I see a lot more value in a slogan like, "Virginia is for lovers" than any logo.
Very true. I don't know what the ROI would be for a logo, but I guess it wouldn't be much. To your point, I don't see a logo as a driver for tourism or private/corporate relocations (or any other revenue driver).
Quote:
Originally Posted by carlito2002wgn
The whole RFP process could be bypassed if the city made a contest out of the logo creation like I mentioned in an above post. Other cities and towns have done it. The results are often very good, and the cost can be very little. I feel confident that Raleigh would have gotten a better logo.
Again, don't disagree here given the context of the discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by carlito2002wgn
And, the idea that there is any corruption or buddy-back scratching in Raleigh is just absurd! Isn't it?
Ha! For better or worse, human frameworks are only as good as the humans within them. But to steal a couple of lines from sources that aren't mine own.
"You want better government? Be better citizens".
"Where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families and American homes and American schools and American churches and American businesses and American universities and they're elected by American citizens....This is what our system produces folks. Garbage in, Garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you are going to have selfish, ignorant leaders."
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), but I think it is a little different when we are talking about tax payer money.
