Cassman

This is spot-on. I'm having a small group of folks from my work over to the Westside tomorrow and our initial plan was to begin at Town Brewing, then walk up Thrift Road and swing down to Noble Smoke. But, Thrift Road is nearly devoid of shade, and walking up it in 90+ degree heat is among the least attractive ways to showcase the development happening on this side of town. Jay Street is basically in the same shape. It's a real shame, because with some decent foresight the area could have remained much more enjoyable during the summer months. Now, it will really only be comfortably accessible by car during the oppressive heat from June through August. Don't get me wrong: I'm still very optimistic about this part of town and in particular I appreciate the reuse of warehouse space on Thrift Road that was previously somewhat neglected. (For those wondering, we've changed plans to meet up at Blue Blaze and walk to Town instead, since that walk through Seversville Park and Wesley Heights is MUCH more well-shaded.)

Agree with this so strongly. I have used the app "Bike Parking" to pin and take pictures of available bike parking -- it's a very simple app that crowd sources info from users. It doesn't integrate with GPS or directions, but it could still provide a very valuable service -- cutting down on the time spent making progressively larger concentric circles hunting for a suitable place to lock up is a worthwhile goal in my estimation. Unfortunately, it crowd sources, and I think I may be the only member of the crowd, for now. So, I strongly recommend somebody out there start using it too! Let's build this database!

Has anyone found the actual rezoning petition itself on the city's website? I'm a sucker for primary sources.

My bad -- I completely misread your earlier statement. My question was premised on you living 3 miles away from, and working in, the E-W building, which obviously was wrong (for at least 2 reasons). I was interested in whether people who live 3 miles from work, located in very bike-friendly areas, seriously consider biking as an option.

Do you ever bike to work? If not, why not? Wouldn't changing two roads in a pedestrian-heavy neighborhood simply increase vehicle speed and decrease safety?

Maybe I'm missing the trees for the forest here, but why do we care about whether a city "looks" big to highway traffic? Shouldn't the development patterns of a city respond to the needs and desires of the actual people who use those developments, as opposed to the people who drive by them? I think the Refinery is where it is because the land price was right for being "in" Wesley Heights while also very accessible to uptown and the highway -- not because of how it looks to traffic on the highway. I haven't personally been up there, but if anything I would think it's location next to a highway is actually a detriment that renders the rooftop space less pleasant and usable than it otherwise would be if the building were located another block or two to the west.

Everybody come out the bike parade tomorrow to show support for even more protected bike lanes. Also, why is no one discussing the cyclist who was killed on Harrisburg Ave.?

In my neighborhood (Wesley Heights), we (the neighborhood association) had to pay for some lights to be replaced and Duke paid for some. Not sure how that informs new light installation in the area, but thought I would share.

Love these documents. Here's the one for Wesley Heights: http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/HDC/WesleyHeightsNationalRegisterInventory.pdf

When we as a city look at other cities to try to find examples of "good" transit systems and design principles, would it be best to look at cities with similar orientations according to these analyses? In other words, rather than trying to replicate Denver's systems, should we instead draw inspiration from Boston, Sao Paolo and Stockholm?

I don't ride the train regularly, so I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the delays and haven't experienced the associated frustration/rage that I'm sure accompanies those delays. I also understand that it's hard to give more money to an agency that doesn't appear to be a very good steward of that money. But, if the Big Bang or something else comes up for a vote in November, don't we have to vote in favor? The alternative would be to reject the funding requests until competent management is installed, which results in a delay in already long-term construction projects. In other words, isn't a vote in favor of funding for capital long-term projects more than just a referendum on satisfaction with current management?

Good point about the supporters' section. Any chance it's a platform for a supports' chant leader? Are those usually permanent or temporary?

I don't think there's been any ownership change, but I also don't know the rationale for the changes. They needed to do some work to replace the floors and other fixtures damaged in a water main break toward the end of last year, but that alone wouldn't justify the wide-sweeping changes. I agree that it feels a bit less authentic now -- a bit more sterile. Thankfully, the food is still awesome and the people are great, so I will continue to frequent the place.

Rezoning hearing tomorrow night (1/21/20) for a parcel at the corner of S. Summit and Bryant (former site of Club 935), asking for I-1(PED-O), with a height allowance up to 200', and properly reserving a 70' ROW for the Silver Line (and Meck County has requested an easement for a greenway). Plans call for office space, and have asked for an exemption from the requirement for ground-level activation and screening of parking if needed because of the presence of a floodplain. Staff recommends approval and all of 1 person attended the community hearing, so it should pass. I'm guessing that 200' falls outside the realm of attention-grabbing headlines, but it would still be the tallest building in this neighborhood (I think). (Anyone know how tall the Refinery is?)

Rezoning application for multifamily affordable housing units across from Savonah Mill (https://charlottenc.gov/planning/Rezoning/RezoningPetitions/2019Petitions/Pages/2019-167.aspx) will have a public meeting on Thursday, January 9, at 6pm in the Wallace Pruitt Recreation Center. (Note that the bridge on Tuckaseegee right near there may be closed.)