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What I really dislike about these developments isn't so much with their styles (although how long are they going to push the industrial style? why do we need barn doors everywhere? can we please stop already with fake aged wood planks?) but the idea that all these mixed-used areas assume that as humans all we want is to be entertained by drink alcohol and eating food. That's it. It's built around the idea of brewery, distillery, coffee-shop, trendy eatery.... there is nothing for soul. I rarely find stillness in these mixed-developments. There is no place to just walk around and enjoy the view or nature.
Exactly! It's not just the aesthetics of the buildings that are tired and formulaic but the overall design and purpose of the developments. They tend to serve the same demographic and have limited value to those outside that demographic which is unfortunately creating a very homogeneous and boring urban core.
As a former public broadcasting employee, I had high hopes that the recommended article described below would be worthwhile reading. Instead, it's more developer-supported propaganda. Very sad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
This is a very good deep dive from WUNC into the housing boom in Raleigh and the subsequent gentrification issues. Highly recommend:
As a former public broadcasting employee, I had high hopes that the recommended article described below would be worthwhile reading. Instead, it's more developer-supported propaganda. Very sad.
Really?!? I did not get that at all out of the article.
Exactly! It's not just the aesthetics of the buildings that are tired and formulaic but the overall design and purpose of the developments. They tend to serve the same demographic and have limited value to those outside that demographic which is unfortunately creating a very homogeneous and boring urban core.
IMO, it has improved greatly in the last 10-PLUS years. There used to be nothing to do in DT, very few good places to eat except for the old classic Raleigh places. Nothing wrong with them, I still frequent them, but 10+ years ago you couldn't get a good bowl of Pho, you had to drive to Durham or Capital Blvd for decent Tacos, and you could forget about having Laotian Dinner, or family owned Lebanese Meal at a sit-down place. (We had Neomond, which I love, but it is not the same as places now.)
The greenway system was disjointed at best, now you can get to a lot of places.
All in all, there is more to do, more to experience, and it's just a nicer place to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danielbmartin
Our roads are inadequate and there is no realistic hope for fixing the traffic problem. Covid-related budget cuts crippled the NCDOT road improvement plans.
The North Carolina Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (NC CAMPO) ... https://www.campo-nc.us/mapsdata
... has maps of traffic forecasts. It's not a pretty picture.
.
^I semi-disagree. I mean yes, our traffic is worse as the city grows, but compared to places like Houston, Denver, SoCal, Seattle, DC, NoVa, etc., we really have great roads here. Even compared to Charlotte, traffic here is not that bad. It still sucks, but relatively, it's better than many places.
IMO, it has improved greatly in the last 10-PLUS years. There used to be nothing to do in DT, very few good places to eat except for the old classic Raleigh places. Nothing wrong with them, I still frequent them, but 10+ years ago you couldn't get a good bowl of Pho, you had to drive to Durham or Capital Blvd for decent Tacos, and you could forget about having Laotian Dinner, or family owned Lebanese Meal at a sit-down place. (We had Neomond, which I love, but it is not the same as places now.)
As it happens, this thread had got me thinking about the transformation of DTR, so I’d looked up when various places opened. I remembered generally but specific years usually eluded me. I’ll include it for anyone interested.
I moved here in the mid-80s, and there really wasn’t all that much downtown (or nearby) that used to get me down there in that first decade. Goodnights, 42 Street, Berkeley Cafe, Greenshields, West End, etc.
In the mid-to-late 90s, there was suddenly a decent amount of stuff starting to happen. Much was nightlife. Jillians, Button South/Baja V, Lakeside Lounge (would become Slims), Pour House, the original Kings. But there was a decent number of places with food here and there: Caffe Luna, 518 West, Tir Na Nog, Enoteca Vin, The Rockford, Vertigo Diner, RiRa, Southend, etc.
A definite second wave began to occur around 2006, when the Raleigh Times opened. The next year saw Poole’s and The Pit. A year later, DTR added the Landmark, Sitti, plus the Marriott opened.
Foundation, Gravy, Busy Bee and other would come in 2009. 2010 saw BuKu and Kings (in its new location), plus the addition of the big Hopscotch Music Festival. And then 10 years ago, DTR added Beasleys/Chucks/Fox and CAM.
We’ve seen some good additions in the last decade. Bida Manda in 2012. Crank Arm, Garland, and Trophy in 2013. And over the years, various others like Bhavana, Whiskey Kitchen, Ruby Deluxe, the two food halls, etc.
There’s a lot of other places, including many that have already come and gone, but that gives a feel for some of the changes and when they happened.
... our traffic is worse as the city grows, but compared to places like Houston, Denver, SoCal, Seattle, DC, NoVa, etc., we really have great roads here. Even compared to Charlotte, traffic here is not that bad. It still sucks, but relatively, it's better than many places.
The subject of this thread is "has Raleigh/Durham improved much?" Comparison with other cities does not address the OP question.
Traffic is worse than a decade ago, and will continue to worsen. That's not only my opinion, it is what CAMPO says and they have numbers to support that assertion.
The subject of this thread is "has Raleigh/Durham improved much?" Comparison with other cities does not address the OP question.
Traffic is worse than a decade ago, and will continue to worsen. That's not only my opinion, it is what CAMPO says and they have numbers to support that assertion.
I think it’s reasonable to compare. For example, if everything in the US is getting worse in a category but the Triangle is getting worse at a slower rate and staying highly ranked in that area, that’s better than the potential alternative.
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