jumboman

Check out the proposed Transbay Terminal in San Fran for some cool ideas. http://www.transbaycenter.org/transbay/ http://www.transbaycenter.org/TransBay/upl...iBoards-All.pdf ... interesting how they put the buses on the top (well the park is on top, but then the buses are on the third level). Just goes to show that possibilities are endless, especially with a large clean slate to work with like Raleigh's warehouse district and wye.

At the risk of sounding ignorant... to make the train go faster, all you need are different rails? And not different trains? Am I following correctly?

I have recently moved to the DC area and have seen many neighborhoods with high density 13 story buildings on main thoroughfares and very "character-rich" areas even one block away. Even if the entire Cameron Village were redeveloped to be 9-13 stories, the effects on the surrounding neighborhoods would mostly likely change very slightly (with the proper improvements, i.e. the est. of main thoroughfares and public transportation options). This area has the opportunity to become an extension of Hillsborough St. and a very creative college type atmosphere (think downtown Asheville).

The workshop went pretty good today. We had City Council members, University Housing staff, and Engineers from various traffic and structural firms come and ask us questions. The other 2 decks in the class are more immediate projects (West Lot, and one on the old Riddick field), whereas with the North Hall lot, it is much more open ended (i.e. the University has no plans other than "maybe a deck could go there?"). I'll try to put up some concepts soon.

My civil engineering senior design project team at NCSU is working on a plan to convert the North Hall surface lot into a parking deck with commercial/residential/retail frontage along Hillsborough St. There are two other groups working on the same project. (As well as 3 groups working on 2 other deck designs on campus) Tomorrow there will be a workshop/charrette open to the public 2-4 pm (come and go as you please) in the lobby of Mann Hall to display our progress and to answer questions and get feedback on our designs. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

^ It looks to be an elevator. So there has to be room for the mechanical system above it as well.

I think we could really use one of these any time now. http://sdplfdn.org/index.htm (The New Main Library in downtown San Diego) I think that San Diego's downtown is something that Raleigh could try to achieve. I'm thinking 40-50 years down the road, there could be a dense core of downtown Raleigh of 20 story buildings with a half dozen of high rises 30-40 stories, but it would also have unique centers throughout, each with its own feel (Glenwood, warehouse, ...) Hmm, another random thought: If only we could put a man-made river going through part of downtown, we could create like a boardwalk district similar to San Antonio. I'm just trying to think how downtown Raleigh could be more of a destination, cause if you think about it, unless youre a preschooler going to the museums or youre older and just going to the restaurants and bars, there's not too much to attract visitors. (I have a friend whose parents are coming in town and she has no idea what to do with them)

Franklin St. is a good suggestion, but the problem is that there is a lot more room to work with, and with Hillsborough St. what it is, is what you got. There is less than a 2% chance that the university would want to expand the road onto their side and the other side is all businesses. Franklin St, Glenwood, Fayettville are all cool streets and seem to work in their location, but the truth is that there really isnt a precedent for a Hillsborough St. situation and the city is too scared to put their necks out on something they are unsure about. I believe any change (roundabouts, huge median, huge sidewalks... any or all) would be better. It would garner interest and excitement. Even if there was parking problems, people would check it out because it would be safer and look better. You can fix the parking later too (underground decks like under the bowling alley maybe?)

I feel that roundabouts are not the answer as well, but I do not think that 4 way stops are much better.... they really serve almost the same purpose on a busy street such as Hillsborough. 4 way stop intersections are best served at streets with reletively equal amounts of traffic. Also, Hillsbrough is much too wide for pedestrians to have time to cross while a car is stopped at a stop sign (if they stop at all). I believe that the current structure (2 lanes each way during the day and parking on the NCSU side at night) would work with maybe a 6 foot median for easier crossing for pedestrians (and turn lanes at intersections). Of course that would mean widening Hillsborough St 6 feet into NC State, which would be very tough but do-able maybe?

wow man, i think people understand what you're saying, its just that they dont agree with your unrealistic idealistic view of f street. when was the last time you were down there? i was there last night and i saw so much promise with the empty lot and cranes where the old convention center was. i just sat there and imagined how it was gonna look after the hotel and site 1 and then looked down to where the RBC tower is gonna be [you'd rather have a empty surface lot that a tower because its made of glass?] and realized that after everything is done, its gonna be way better and a ton more "charming and warm and cuddly" that you so crave. more buildings = more people = more action/fun things going on downtown = warm and cuddly

what does it mean by "areas"? because there are more than one intersection in each of those 3 areas

I think downtown Raleigh really needs some more sports bars due to the college basketball in the area and the carolina hurricanes. with regards to marketing, play off of the success of the canes and the pack and tell fans to come downtown to celebrate!