nowensone

Nice Mo, the first and last are incredible.

I am impressed with this document though of course I get the feeling that it is a wish list, never-going-to-happen-as-planned kind of thing, but I'll happily hold my breath. Especially love the proposed street additions (I19-21), the idea of connecting/making a traverseable grid is really in tune, also curving the NE Line off of Tryon to create a station that is actually in the UNCC campus. But I wanted to comment on the timing of the 29/49 bypass removal - 2012 is a long time to hold off on the redevelopment of many sections in the MSD that depend on it's removal, could this not happen irrespectively of the NE line plan (in other words, sooner)? Seems to need this to happen today, regardless of LRT plans.

^ Initially I was also crossing my fingers hoping the news-comedy outlets would overlook this, until it hit me that this kind of thing is pretty common everywhere, and perhaps the NASCAR angle is becoming too mainstream to be satire-worthy. Otherwise it seems Jon Stewart and Conan [at a minimum] should have blitzed us already. Or perhaps they're waiting on something... As far as Mayberry, perhaps in terms of smaller towns, but not a southern thing, I have been on the research end of "courting" small towns across this country and others. Or is it that Bruton Smith bears an uncanny resemblance to Boss Hog?

^ Maybe, but the process would have taken 6 months longer and he would probably not have gotten so much in concessions. Smith made it unmistakably clear that Concord needs him more than he needs them. I am rather shocked at the speed and sincerity with which Concord caved in to his threats of leaving.

Agreed on some way of addressing the main streets. BTW, that's scary, I actually wrote the wrong street above - Guilford College instead of New Garden - but you knew what I was talking about anyway. Or was the train-wreck reference that obvious?

That's it right there, my dream place, high cliffs that meet the ocean. Great pic.

Yeah, but I

Almost without exception, any American city that was large by 1900, say 100,000+ in population, has a dense/compact downtown today. This is due to that pre-automobile phenom in which people had to stay close for cities to be effective. (Notably, Denver was larger than Los Angeles up until this century which partially explains why LA's DT appears smaller than Denver's, though LA's earthquake proneness is another factor).

Integration seems to be hit or miss, I've lived in several of Texas' largest cities and even several generations doesn't always do it, not sure what dynamic is different now than in earlier decades and centuries. Perhaps it was the same then too. And in all fairness, I'm not just referring to Mexican-Americans, I've seen the lack of integration in Houston's large Vietnamese community as well. Hell, there are even pockets of "home grown Americans" that haven't really integrated into mainstream America, I won't cite examples, but I think we've all noticed this before...

Crosswalks are not enough, I think what JerseyBoy is referring to is a true melding of the commercial and residential aspect of things, and one very much focused on a person, not the automobile. Simply having a crosswalk across a busy thoroughfare is not at all pedestrian friendly. Strip Centers adjacent to housing neighborhoods are also not necessarily pedestrian friendly or urban. It is the human scale and human orientation that makes something pedestrian friendly, one in which the automobile driver is at best frustrated, at worse prevented from access. Crossing seas of parking lots are not pedestrian friendly, and definitely not human oriented or scaled. Also at issue is the level of services available I think, necessities such as food, recreation, banking, employment, etc. For the neighborhoods that are nearby/on the right sides of Friendly Center, it is possible to live in a decently urbanesque walkable environ.

^ We may mean different things here, no, Friendly and Holden Ave's are not all that walkable themselves, but the gardens/parks mentioned above as well as most of Friendly center, are linked and walkable without having to cross these thoroughfares. Some of the Hobbs neighborhoods are similarly accessible, and the residents here can easily access most urban services with a short walk of a few blocks. Though if you are referring to those who MUST cross these main roads then I suppose you are right, so kind of unclear there, though the new condos going in will not require such a walk, nor many existing residents in the vicinity. I wouldn't kid myself that the area is an urban environ, but it has achieved a high level of encapsulation.

Sounds ridiculous, but in this case yes it is both. Very old century tree canopy overhung type residential road, the gardens being only a block's walk away. However, some sections of this neighborhood DO need some sidewalk treatment/upgrade.

^ Is radon that big of a deal, and monetarily so for a corporate owner? We had the problem in our home, cost around $1100 to have taken care of, no small chunk of change of course, but did not seem worthy of quarantine/condemning a property. v I can imagine the level being worse, just surprised that the removal process is not similar since it is a gas. Then again I was not around to harass the guys with questions when it happened to us...

^ You mean getting my hopes up every time I see this thread updated? Tons of fun. If only PEOPLE could hibernate...

I imagine he's laughing not because of Trump being interested in Charlotte, but because of the hyperactive wishing, hoping and speculation

^ I was wondering about that being the underlying strategy, and if he didn't have a secret ally or two on the council helping fan the flames. Though wouldn't there be several sites just up 85 (and still completely within Cabarrus County) that would fit the size requirements and allow him to locate this directly off of an interstate? I certainly don't see a requirement to place it in Mecklenburg just as long as it remains within CLT's metro.

Right, that's what bothers me at this point - Smith is just posturing and has no intention of moving, but his threats none-the-less must be taken as serious just because leaving would be a big deal for Concord, at least temporarily. On the other hand, I'd love to see a councilman or planner tell him publicly to go have relations with himself with this 90% chance of leaving crap, as it will take quite a while to build a complex in Rowan or where ever he would have to go, and rich or not $400 million is not a drop in the bucket. This guy needs to be put in his place, if for no other reason than to send a message to bullying egomaniacal developers.

My reaction now to say f**k this moronic waste of humanity, let him leave, but I suppose I'd like some clarification of what that really means. If he leaves there is still a nice big sports complex there, why wouldn't it operate as usual under possibly a new owner, NASCAR itself, Concord, etc.? What type of contracts does Smith hold for this?

Well said on both, and as much as we love this city it has a lot farther to go before it rises out of that provincial category. And in some ways San Francisco even has fallen out of that national list. The immunization thing, I REALLY hope that ends up passing under the radar for the rest of the country, there just isn't any way to spin that in a different way. The fact is they are using our speedway to study/improve emergency procedures which is really a positive thing, though of course that angle to the story has all but been lost.

^ Will that include more yet parking for cars or will they make use of existing lot and garage?

So if the wheels lock how are urban shoppers supposed to get their groceries home 6 blocks away???

Agreed on releasing plans to the public for some healthy debate/input. I know nothing about Smith other than his behavior in this fiasco, hopefully none of it has been twisted by the media to sell papers or garner ratings. Acting like a spoiled child has only brought embarassment to the city, state and sport and further cemented in some people's minds the NASCAR redneck image. And it doesn't say much about his ability, now that he has won, to take objective input into his plans for the dragstrip. Who knows, maybe he will now be magnanimous since his ego has been slaked. In fairness, I don't either, but they don't need to be "bitten". Smith did start building before permitting which he certainly knew is not how you do things. Even the average home owner building a storage shed in their backyard knows they need to be checking with some authority or another (for what are legitimate reasons, not just bureaucratic bullsh!t). Our towns already bow down to developers, we don't need more precident set for that in our current atmosphere.

A haunted church... I don't know if that's ironic or simply bizarre... nice! Is there a history to this place? I am always curious about how things began.

Need pics of Liberty Oak, I never cease to be impressed with their menu, it really is a diamond in the rough and not normally found in a market like ours. Oh, and Ganache has a fantastic Charleston style Shrimp n' grits with a roux base and sausage. Man I'm hungry...

The news sources being horrid [sensationalism as well as poor reporting/plagiarism of misleading reporting] is really coming to light now, that is the 3rd time in less than a week they have pulled this crap, I would be more concerned at this point that Trump pulls out because our community appears incompetent and moronic. If the Observer in particular is paying attention, try this on for size: You will eventually sell LESS papers if no one moves here and you get no more subscribers, not to mention that less and less locals will pay for your drivel.