I think a bike corral taking up a vehicle parking spot is pretty stupid.

2/15/2013 9:09:16 AM

why?

2/15/2013 9:23:53 AM

It's bad for industry. Hurts car manufacturers and gas companies. All Bikers are hippies and hipsters. Liberals and stuff.

2/15/2013 9:53:13 AM

Spreads communism and democratism

2/15/2013 10:00:53 AM

reminds me of when that politician in Colorado was against their bike share program because he thought it was a UN conspiracy

2/15/2013 12:42:38 PM

Why lose the parking spot when you can put the bikes on the sidewalk? It's not like there isn't room.

[Edited on February 15, 2013 at 1:00 PM. Reason : punctuation ]

2/15/2013 12:54:40 PM

I would argue that there ISN'T room. The sidewalk can get quite crowded there given foot traffic and outdoor tables. The bigger question, though, would be why is such a high value placed on a parking space? Given that there is an extreme over supply of parking in downtown Raleigh, finding alternative uses for some spaces seems like a good plan. Certainly from the perspective of the business in front of that space it is welcomed; I would even suspect that Raleigh Times advocated for the corral. On-street car parking spaces serve little value to the business they are in front of unless they have very short time limits. Also, having a bike corral adjacent to sidewalk seating is much more attractive than a car.

2/15/2013 1:29:19 PM

^^^lol

Quote :

"Why lose the parking spot when you can put the bikes on the sidewalk? It's not like there isn't room."

Cars need a lot of room. Bikes do not.

2/15/2013 3:07:36 PM

Sounds to me like a great argument for a bike corral. We can park 10 bikes where we could only park 1 car.

Quote :

"reminds me of when that politician in Colorado was against their bike share program because he thought it was a UN conspiracy"

This idea has gained momentum in the last year or two and is becoming a significant problem for planners around the country. It is usually referred to as 'Agenda 21', and you can find all sorts of conspiracy theories if you Google it. Most recently everyone's favorite conspiracy theorist, Glenn Beck, has written a "psychological thriller" novel called Agenda 21. He has also released a list of keywords (http://www.glennbeck.com/agenda21/agenda-21-word-list) that you can use to identify when UN conspirators may be trying to take over your town. This includes such terrifying words as "Choice", "Equity", "Fair", "Communities", Inclusive", "Local", "Outcomes", "Prosperity", and "Vision".

Of course, the funny thing is, I don't know any planner who had heard of Agenda 21 until people started shouting at them about it at public meetings. The actual Agenda 21 is a voluntary sustainable development plan that was signed by President Bush in 1992.

As loud as a vocal few have been, ultimately most people don't know or don't care about an insignificant 20+ year old UN resolution. A poll of 1,300 US voters last year found that 9% supported Agenda 21, 6% opposed and 85% had no opinion.

2/15/2013 3:21:52 PM

On a related note, success! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1274503628/crank-arm-brewing-company

2/15/2013 4:07:01 PM

^Great news. Hopefully they open soon, and Trophy gets their shit together.

2/15/2013 5:45:28 PM

Just to take the "bike corral" conversation in another direction.

What say ye?

2/18/2013 4:30:58 PM

^ context?

2/18/2013 4:52:54 PM

Zipcar is coming (back?) to downtown Raleigh. Initially there will only be two cars which will be parked on Glenwood South where that photo was taken. Looking at the website it looks like NC State (5 cars) and Meredith (2 cars) already have it. Hopefully it is successful. I think Zipcar can especially be valuable in places like Raleigh where it is possible to be fairly car free downtown, but there are still certain errands every now and then that a car is needed for.

2/18/2013 4:59:03 PM

The context is the picture, it is a parking zone for car shares only. Any other car parked there will be towed, only car shares are allowed.

And my only complaints with bike corrals taking up parking spots is that in general they are usually used to satisfy zoning/planning requirements and are often not placed very well. A lot of bike corrals exist because planning said they need to even though they are never used, and then in places where they are needed they are never placed. I one time had to add a bike corral to a giant parking lot because of a new small utility building, there is now a nice bike rack in the middle of nowhere so the city would let me build my utility structure.

2/18/2013 5:00:27 PM

^ While your point is quite valid, if there's any place in downtown where a bike corral is more useful than a single parking spot, it's in front of the Times.

On the Zipcar front, wasn't there one in the parking lot across from Poole's?

2/19/2013 3:13:38 AM

Ok, admittedly, I don't spend much time at Raleigh Times, but are there really that many people that ride their bikes there? I can't imagine that too many of the collared-shirt uppity types actually road there, and the beer selection seems way too expensive for it to be a hipster hangout. If I'm riding downtown, which I do fairly regularly when the weather is warmer, I'm going to stop for a beer at some place like the Flying Saucer, that has a very nice outdoor seating area, not a crowded sidewalk.

2/19/2013 10:20:10 AM

yeah, you've really never spent much time there

2/19/2013 10:21:36 AM

^^Raleigh Times has dirt cheap PBR every day. Isn't that like water for hipsters?

As to that photo above, it bothers me that private businesses have "purchased" parking spots on a public road.

2/19/2013 10:27:58 AM

Times is the best place they could put that bike parking.

^ So you're against privatization?

2/19/2013 3:43:07 PM

^^ they allow it because its in the interest of everyone to have a shared car in an accessible place where people might want to go


but its not crazy for the city to manage parking spots... because the city manages parking spots. they could remove the parking spot entirely if they want to.

2/19/2013 4:32:32 PM

Quote :

"but are there really that many people that ride their bikes there? I can't imagine that too many of the collared-shirt uppity types actually road there, and the beer selection seems way too expensive for it to be a hipster hangout."

I'm going to cherish this moment because I don't think anyone will ever again suggest on TWW that a place like Raleigh Times isn't full of hipsters and cyclists.

2/19/2013 11:32:17 PM

that may very well be their perception, but it's not

[Edited on February 20, 2013 at 12:38 AM. Reason : prettay pretttaay far from it]

2/20/2013 12:24:18 AM

Yeah, that's what I was getting at.

2/20/2013 2:32:54 AM

The crowd at Raleigh Times changes a lot depending on day and time

2/20/2013 8:48:23 AM

I'm just waiting for someone to figure out that riding a bicycle for transportation or recreation does not make someone a "hipster". Doesn't seem to be happening on here anytime soon, though.

2/20/2013 9:43:59 AM

Trophy Brewing open for business!

2/20/2013 5:07:45 PM

^Just drove by 30 minutes ago and it was packed. Strange to see that parking lot full on a wednesday night. Will be great when the weather gets good and they finish the porch. Can't wait to try the "King"

Six initial beer offerings:

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/food/pintful-trophy-brewing-opens-wednesday-in-raleigh-with-six-beers

2/20/2013 8:52:30 PM

^^^You're asking too much of TWW, obviously.

2/20/2013 11:49:12 PM

The other thing about the Times is that it's essentially smack dab in the middle of the activity on the grid.

2/21/2013 12:25:09 AM

^^^ The King is much lighter than I'd ever expect out of peanut butter. Very smooth.

2/21/2013 10:41:50 AM

Some news/update on the future Carolina Ale House on Glenwood South:

Quote :

"LM Restaurants’ marketing guru Mindy Stroupe released the words this week that everyone has been waiting to hear...Carolina Ale House will open on Glenwood South in early 2014. The plans have been “on the books” for quite some time, but it was confirmed as part of a release that announced the opening of 6 other Carolina Ale House locations (all the others were outside the Triangle) over the next 18 months. "

Also, Triangle "awash" with craft brew:
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-triangle-is-awash-in-new-craft-breweries/Content?oid=3268516

2/22/2013 8:10:26 AM

^ I won't believe what they say until I see actual demo + construction on that corner. They've been talking a game for years now.

[Edited on February 23, 2013 at 4:39 AM. Reason : -]

2/23/2013 4:38:21 AM

Cool Union Station Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIM_6UPZYXc&feature=player_embedded#!

2/26/2013 9:20:39 AM

Trophy Brewing gets a 10/10

3/1/2013 7:05:14 PM

The city will demo The Milner Inn and Foxy Lady (and eventually the rest of that crappy area) to build a park. I am glad they are finally doing something about that stretch of Capital Blvd. It is so ugly. Hopefully this will encourage some more growth and money in that area.

Quote :

"“As you come in from the north, we are definitely not putting our best foot forward,” Councilman Randy Stagner said of the current look."

QOTY

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/01/2716969/raleighs-capital-boulevard-going.html

[Edited on March 2, 2013 at 7:51 AM. Reason : 1]

3/2/2013 7:50:24 AM

^Finally! That will be a big plus to the area, though they ought to put some sort of attraction in the park else I fear it will be one that no one ever goes to. Still, an empty park is better than a Murder Inn.

3/2/2013 8:35:53 AM

it's insane how much I hate that stretch

3/2/2013 12:41:26 PM

WRAL had a shorter article on that a month or so ago with some slightly different info: http://www.wral.com/rebuilding-capital-boulevard-starts-with-demolition/12011492/

It looks like they updated it since I read it, but I remember them mentioning the timeline would be over a decade or so.

3/2/2013 3:15:01 PM

Yeah, the Capital Corridor is a major project, its going to take awhile. It's going to include a lot of new greenways as well. I can't wait till the fix the Capital-Peace intersection and make it an at-grade crossing

3/2/2013 3:24:58 PM

Quote :

"I can't wait till the fix the Capital-Peace intersection and make it an at-grade crossing"

Pretty sure that it's not going to be at grade unless they just failed to update the project page w/ the NCDOT. There are currently two alternatives and both involve a bridge:

http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/CapitalBlvdBridges/download/CapitalBlvd_PeaceStCIW2Designs.pdf


Personally I am hoping for Alternative 2D as it'd add more grid structure to the downtown footprint and be better for eliminating the traffic nightmare that exists right now on Peace at Capital.

[Edited on March 2, 2013 at 4:59 PM. Reason : -]

3/2/2013 4:56:18 PM

whoops, you're right. i was confusing it with another project.

here are the visioning and pedestrian studies:
http://www.raleighnc.gov/content/.../Peace_Street_Visioning_Study.pdf
http://www.raleighnc.gov/.../PedestrianProgram/DTRaleighPedReportFINAL.pdf



also, RIP Fink's apparently

3/2/2013 5:15:33 PM

I've been here five years and I still avoid that stretch of Capital like the plague. Will be a nice improvement.

3/2/2013 5:52:47 PM

^^you mean finches?

3/2/2013 6:15:12 PM

Not downtown, but worth sharing: the Paschal house was demoed today.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/01/2718520/demolition-of-modernist-raleigh.html

3/2/2013 6:30:59 PM

(^^yeah, got autocorrected)

[Edited on March 2, 2013 at 7:37 PM. Reason : .]

3/2/2013 7:37:42 PM

Quote :

"Not downtown, but worth sharing: the Paschal house was demoed today. http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/01/2718520/demolition-of-modernist-raleigh.html"

It still boggles my mind that an NRHP designation carries no weight whatsoever with respect to preventing the loss of a property. Yes, I know academically why that's the case and why only a municipality can enforce those kinds of restrictions, but still...

3/2/2013 8:26:04 PM

LOL if you love these trashy old houses so much why don't you buy them?

Bulldoze those eyesores. We need to make room for craft breweries and bicycle corrals!

[Edited on March 2, 2013 at 9:09 PM. Reason : LOL n&O is paywall now. Eh, good riddance, it wasn't much of a newspaper anyway.]

3/2/2013 9:08:20 PM

We certainly don't need five more McMansions, either.

3/2/2013 9:29:32 PM

Why not? McMansions provide great property taxes.

3/2/2013 9:32:31 PM