Merthecat

On a trip to Trader Joe's, I saw that construction is underway at Midtown East, the site of the Wegmans shopping centre. It's still a long way from completion, though, and the only major progress that could be seen was the parking deck. EDIT: Also, does anyone know what is going on with Hodges Road where it ends in the Hanna Imports parking lot? The road is closed after entering the lot, and it looks like a trail has been cleared behind it, perhaps for a road extension. I don't see anything about it on the City's website.

I believe the Walter is only hotel and residential, and I was under the impression that it was starting construction separately from the office tower. But I might be wrong. Can anyone clarify this?

NCDOT has opened a brief survey where citizens can give their opinion on transportation priorities across the state, and what the most pressing needs will be in the future. They are currently seeking public input in two ways: A brief survey, and an interactive map where citizens can pin comments about specific needs in their area. Both are part of the NC Moves 2050 Plan which will help the DOT to identify what they should focus on over the next three decades. Please go share your thoughts!

NCDOT wants input on the future of transportation in North Carolina. This is our chance to push for more transit! https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2018/2018-10-18-state-transportation-plan.aspx

Then perhaps we should be advocating for more shade-providing street trees, rather than a network of tunnels or bridges. Charlotte's climate isn't very extreme compared to other cities with greater amounts of street activity.

In CPCC news, today begins the demolition of the Visual Arts and Ceramics annexes of the Central High building. Part of the sidewalk along Pease Ln. will be closed during construction work, but for the most part the road itself will still be open.

I'm not sure that we should encourage a network of bridges or tunnels. They pull people off the streets and into unseen street networks, and that's not necessarily a good thing for a city.

I drove past this building on Tuesday and I was really impressed with it, especially the ground floor levels. I love how they managed to incorporate the older facades into the structure. It really stands out, even at street level.

Very nice indeed! Though you did already post it a month ago:

Is the rooftop deck always open to the public? I visited once on a First Friday, but wasn't sure if that was just a special occasion.

There probably would be a bit more interest on these boards if it were a 27 story building, but unfortunately this one's only 22 (from the Wilmington St. side, so 21 from Fayetteville; at least, that's how I understand it).

The American Planning Association chose Fayetteville St. as one of its five "Great Streets" in the country for this year's edition of the award. https://www.planning.org/greatplaces/streets/2018/fayetteville/

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but Lyft has opened a "Ditch Your Car" challenge in many cities across the country, including Charlotte: https://ditchwithlyft.com/charlotte

I'm growing to appreciate this building more and more, but there's something about it that just bugs me, and I think I've finally pinpointed what it is. The main rise of the tower, and the setback above, have glass corners rather than a stone column (if they're even using stone?). To me, that ruins the whole effect of the design, which seems on the whole fairly formal and conservative. It blurs the line between that design and a bland glass box, and I don't like it at all. That said, I'm no architect, but I think I'd like this tower quite a bit more if there were at least stone corners, or, even better, a notched corner to connect the outermost columns. Just my two cents.

It's really great to see a prospering downtown in that part of the state! We need those islands of vitality to draw more business out there.

Pictures of new development in Cary: 1, 2. New Downtown Cary Library being constructed at Walnut/Dry: 3. Medical buildings being constructed at Kildaire Farm/US 1

Yes, Chapel Hill is planning an 8.2 mile BRT line that will run north and south, with a portion of it in downtown. Here's the link from Go Forward: http://goforwardnc.org/project/orange-brt/

The announcement should be live any moment. If you want to watch, here's the link: https://www.carowinds.com/explore/2019

Durham County says it will be able to supply the remaining $57.6m needed to fund the Durham-Orange Light Rail: https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article217397240.html It will come from existing transit revenues, not a new tax or at the expense of other transit services.

Anytime is good for me, but I prefer a weekday night such as Monday or Tuesday.

That circular concrete pad is going to be the new location of the ride formerly known as Woodstock Gliders, which was located in the Planet Snoopy area but is nonetheless an excellent ride for all ages. I believe where the two rows of columns lie will be the station/loading area of the coaster. But all shall be revealed in 11 days!

Yes, Kingda Ka does have a top hat, but it's a pretty extreme coaster, and the layout runs about 1200' from one end to the other. There's no possible way a coaster of those proportions could ever fit here. Roller coaster elements are not exclusive to certain types of roller coasters, so smaller coasters can have things like top hats too. Kingda Ka has only one launch, not two, and it is solely for the purpose of pushing the coaster up a 456' hill. Thus, it needs to be really long and very powerful. The new coaster at Carowinds doesn't need that kind of power since it won't be climbing so high, so it just needs to be enough to push the train through a few elements. And I think that two launches are more of a bragging right than a physical necessity in this case.

I'm interested.

The daytime views are just as impressive:

Looks like you're right! Crates have arrived at the park labelled "Mack Rides" and footers look to be going in soon. Also, the project has appeared on RCDB (Roller Coaster Data Base): https://rcdb.com/16349.htm