The next step in the process are the visioning workshops that run from May 13th – May 17th, comprised of 15 sessions covering a range of Parks and Recreation themes.  The full schedule of events and session descriptions are available in this document.

Kick off event

• When: Monday, May 13th, 6:00-8:00pm
• Where: Raleigh Convention Center

Open House

• When: Friday, May 17th, 3:30-6:30 pm
• Where: Raleigh Convention Center

Visit the City of Raleigh website for detailed information on the Parks & Recreation System Plan and how you can get involved.

The Downtown Raleigh Bucket List Contest starts May 1st, presented by LiveWorkPlay and Offline.

The contest rewards you for attending great events, trying new menu items, seeing live shows, participating in classes & many more exciting “experiences” in Downtown Raleigh! The more experiences you do, the more rewards you will receive!!

Go to dtrbucketlist.com to see a list of 16 exciting Downtown Raleigh Bucket List items. Try them, document them, and tell them about it. Make sure you sign up with your Twitter or Instagram handle that you will use to submit your photos.

How the contest works

1. Complete a Bucket List Item
2. Take a picture of your experience
3. Upload that picture to Twitter and/or Instagram
4. Hashtag #dtrbucketlist
5. Repeat!

The rules

1. Have a good time!!!
2. Take a photo of each Experience and hashtag #DTRBucketList
3. You will earn 1 point for each experience you complete and submit (via Twitter or Instagram). Bonus Bucket List Items will earn you 2 points each.
4. If they cannot tell what you are doing in the photo, it will not count as a completed Experience.

What you can win

Each completed Experience will earn you 1 point. Once you have earned 5 points you will win our “Participant Prize,” after 10 points you will win our “Explorer Prize,” 14 points earns the “Adventurer Prize” and the Grand Prize, given to those who completed ALL of the Downtown Raleigh Bucket List Items, will include all of the previous prize packages, PLUS a free party for up to 100 people at Lucky B’s!

The contest runs from May 1st through July 14th, so start your DTR Bucket List today!

What: Preview the Designing for Peace Exhibit – Peace Street Corridor

When: May 3^rd from 6:00-9:00pm

Where: City Museum located at 220 Fayetteville Street #100 Raleigh

The corridor project will include designs for a new bridge at the intersection of Capital Boulevard and Peace Street, a transit stop (for future light-rail), a 15-acre park along Pigeon House Branch, bus shelters, public art and street renovations.

Students are asking the public to take a few minutes now to answer this survey, so that the results will be available during First Friday opening at City Museum. You are also encouraged to forward the survey link to community groups that might have an interest in the renovations along Peace Street.

Survey link: http://ncsu.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_bxSD4qftP95nPr7

For more information contact Carla Radoslovich Delcambre, NCSU Department of Landscape Architecture, Ph: 919.538.8739, email: carla_delcambre@ncsu.edu

Carolyn Williams posing for her portrait

With BEST Dillon’s theme of Moving Forward Together, who could be better to fill in the mural’s train driver seat than Triangle Transit bus driver Carolyn Williams?  From the beginning, BEST’s vision was to express community through a wide range of artists and volunteers, as well as the subjects pictured in the design, culminating in portraits of local residents and businesses whose contributions have made the mural a reality.

At the top of that donor list is Triangle Transit, who provided the enormous stretch of vacant warehouse space as a canvas for the 200 foot mural on the facade of the Dillon Supply Company building at 216 S. West Street.  Asked who should represent them on the mural, the board quickly reached consensus.  It was the bus drivers who were the real face of Triangle Transit.  When supervisor Tammy Romain put the names of bus drivers into a hat, Carolyn Williams was the name she pulled.

After serving as a bus driver and dispatcher for nearly a decade, Carolyn serves as a perfect model for the dedication and experience it takes to provide safe and dependable transportation for the hundreds who ride her bus each day.

Angela Zappala paints Carolyn Williams’ portrait, joined by Nola Johnson, Donna Belt and Patrick Shanahan.

Carolyn’s portrait in the driver’s seat of the BEST train will soon be finished.  She looks forward to bringing her twelve year old son, Kamozie and her mother down to the Warehouse District to view herself as BEST artist Angela Zappala has captured her.  Asked what she sees for her future, Carolyn doesn’t have to think twice.  She’d like to be a train driver.   We picture that for her too.

I’m Katy Cordell, the Marketing Director of SRH.  My husband and I have worked for SRH for 18 months and I can say that this job has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. The pay is okay, the tips are good, and the memories and stories are hilarious. As great as my experience has been it was not until I met with Jim, from DLA, that it dawned on me how amazing this opportunity has been and the huge number of lives that we have potentially saved.

SRH works on a pretty simple model. We take reservations via the internet, text message, or phone. When you call us we assign a team to pick you up. Our teams consist of a “driver” and a “chaser”. Our team will reach out to you to ask where you are parked and what you are driving. The team will arrive promptly and your adventure will begin! The driver will ask you to sign a contract and will then drive you home in your own car! When you arrive home, you can pay the driver with cash or credit. Then you go inside and get some rest and our driver heads out to their next call with the chaser that has followed you and the driver to your final location.

The service is available 7 days per week and is reasonably priced at just $3 per mile and a $10 delivery fee. Our drivers are experienced and are sure to make you laugh during your ride home. We are even experts at locating your car in the huge number of parking garages in downtown and navigating the busy streets of Raleigh.

Try the service out and spread the word. Remember, it is not okay to drink and drive and there is now an affordable, easy alternative!

Safe Ride Home, LLC

(919) 520-4496

1-800- 488-8150

Web: www.saferidehomenc.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com//SafeRideHome

This is an interview that DLA had with Jayson to learn more about LiPi and its background:

1. Who is LiPi? What are your backgrounds and how do each of you add to the service and creativity you bring to your clients?

Our operating team is managed by Brian Marks (co­founder and technology director) and me, as CEO. I originally founded LiPi as a word of mouth promotions company in 2010 while attending Campbell University. My background is in small business entrepreneurship, with the past 3 years consulting small businesses on their social media strategy.

Brian was the founding CTO of WebAssign.com, an educational homework and grading platform used by over 500,000 students and 1,500 educational institutions worldwide. With this background, Brian complements my experience with his strength in building scalable technology and teams.

We’re both parents of small children, so you know we are passionate about family. We see our team and the local independent retailers we deal with every day as an extension of our own families. That’s why LiPi exists. The convenience of our platform makes it quick and easy for individuals to shop local online, reducing the amount of time they spend running errands and increasing the amount of time they can spend with family. The services we provide for our retailers help them reach their target customers more effectively and reduce the amount of time they spend in the store, allowing them support their families, doing what they love. This is what motivates us and drives us every day to provide the best service for our clients.

2. Why did you decide to establish your business downtown Raleigh?

We are focused on supporting local independent retailers and what better place than downtown Raleigh? Raleigh has a growing retail scene that provides the perfect environment for us to demonstrate the value of our platform. We never take on a client without visiting their space and talking with them first. We want to know their stories, what sets them apart, and how we can help them effectively reach their target customers. We want the relationship, not just the customer.

In addition, our team is Raleigh born and bred. My great grandfather attended Raleigh’s King College and my family has a long line of NC State graduates. Three of our team members are from NC State and I went to nearby Campbell. Needless to say, we care about this community and want to see local independent retail owners thrive, so the choice of starting in our backyard was obvious.

3. What makes you different than other online retailers?

The obvious difference between us and other online retailers is the fact that we only feature local independent retailers with less than 10 locations and within a specific geographical area. The product selections available on LiPi is directed for consumers interested in unique “specialty” items which includes original art, fashion apparel, jewelry, accessories, unique foods and beverages, and home decor.

Also, we are not just concerned about marketing ourselves. Attached to every item is a story about the retailer you are buying from. We want people to hear their story and connect with these retailers on a more personal level.

Our online marketplace is a one-­stop shopping experience for consumers that’s fun to browse and easy to purchase from. You can shop at home, on your phone, and on the go! Customers can expect high quality specialty goods, fair prices, and accommodations they haven’t experienced since the good ol’ days. There’s a very personal aspect to LiPi that other online retailers simply don’t have. We are the “mom and pop” shop, but with Amazon convenience!

For retailers, we provide software as a service solution that streamlines their management responsibilities into one easy to use dashboard. They can effectively sell products online, drive foot traffic, and save time in one easy to use to use platform.

We provide all of the following for retailers in one easy to use dashboard:

• Ecommerce marketplace
• Concierge customer service
• Product inventory management
• One-stop social media publishing
• Email marketing
• Analytics

4. How do you decide what types of “specialty goods” you will offer on your site?

We are very selective about the goods and retailers we offer on our site. Our ideal customer is a person who owns or manages a local independent retail business with less than 10 locations within a specific geographical area.

Currently, we’re only in Downtown Raleigh, but our expansion plan includes the entire Triangle and other cities beyond. We offer everything from women’s apparel to accessories to bags and belts to specialty

chocolates and good eats. It’s every Raleighites’ dream come true! 

5. What’s the one thing you would want people to know about your business? What makes you stand out?

We are passionate about supporting local independent retailers and making Raleigh a community they thrive in. People always talk about the importance of shopping local, but it’s hard to do when you are strapped for time and can’t resist the convenience of online shopping. We have provided the solution in LiPi. LiPi is the vein of independent business with 21st century style.

Also, one thing most people don’t know about us is that we give a portion of our revenues to support local nonprofit organizations within each market we expand to. Our mission is to bring life back to local marketplaces and this involves not only convenient online shopping for people and increasing revenues for local independent retailers, but also being a channel for social good in the community.

Spring Shopping Spree promotion until April 30th

Also, we want everyone to know about our Spring Shopping Spree promotion. If you join LiPi between now and Tuesday, April 30th, you will be entered in to win free wares from Raleigh retailers every week. Signing up enters you once and buying a product enters you twice. The grand prize winner will be announced April 30th and wins $250 Shopping Spree to buy anything your heart desires on ShopLiPi.com! Follow us on Twitter @LiPiRaleigh and @ShopLiPi for updates, changes, and winner announcements!

LiPi Inc. 2013 ShopLiPi.com

From its opening in 1924, this setting was Raleigh’s premiere hotel for nearly four decades.  Updated in 1938, the 400-room facility became the largest in the state at that time.

Located at 400 Fayetteville Street, the privately owned building was converted in 1979 to an income based senior apartment community.

Rent the ballroom today!

The Sir Walter is still home to the Historic Virginia Dare Ballroom, where it has been host to First Night Raleigh Events for the past decade.   The ballroom is available for rent to the public for special events and is located inside the apartment complex.  Contact the on-site event coordinator to plan your special event at 919-832-1300.

Do you want to walk among the echoes of deals being made and where Who’s Who in NC politics slept?   Sir Walter Apartments will be holding an event in the ballroom for all DRA members on September 19, 2013 from 5pm – 7pm, when you can do just that..  RSVP to Felise Knight at feliseswa@earthlink.net or William Lucas at williamswa@earthlink.net by July 31, 2013

Affordable Apartment Living in the heart of downtown Raleigh:  For information about the senior living apartment community contact Property Manager- Felise M. Knight (feliseswa@earthlink.net) or Assistant Property Manager-William Lucas (williamswa@earthlink.net) at 919.832.1300 or go to SirWalterApts.com for more information.

North Carolina State Archives photo

Residents rate affordability (“price of travel”) as their biggest concern.

When asked to rate the importance of six transport problems (safety, congestion, price of travel, availability of public transit, and lack of walkways or sidewalks), surveys show that residents rate affordability (“price of travel”) as the most important.

Transportation is second only to housing as the largest expense for a family, costing more than food, clothing and health care.  The vast majority of this money (98%) is for the purchase, operation, maintenance and parking of automobiles.

We’ve all observed the trend of the last decades which has led to making roads wider and faster in order to move traffic.   But of course wider and faster roads come at the sacrifice of other modes of transportation (walking, cycling, public transport) that offer the best way to lower transportation costs.

How are Raleigh planners responding to this critical challenge?

This conflict calls for new approaches to shaping our expectations and lifestyles to reduce our dependency on cars.

Ken Bowers (Deputy Director of Planning) and Eric Lamb (Transportation Planning Manager) explained how the new NCDOT Complete Streets Policy and the city’s recently adopted Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) are changing the rules to encourage more walkable streets and transit oriented development.

Complete Streets policy accommodates bicycles and pedestrians.

Eric: “Complete Streets represents a substantial paradigm shift for the transportation department and how they approach projects.”

Ken: “The UDO street topologies all qualify as complete streets; all have sidewalks and all have bike lanes except for minor streets where such facilities are not needed.”

Eric: “The palette of street types and street designs are a dramatic improvement in the UDO, with better sidewalks and bike provisions.”

Zoning codes encourage transit oriented (compact, mixed, multi-modal) development.

Eric: “Before the UDO, our old development code really didn’t allow for this type of development pattern very well.  The UDO fixes this problem and promotes compact mixed-use development.”

Ken: “The UDO will make it easier to build denser, walkable development, hence in the future there should be more stuff within walking distance of other stuff, which is good for walking and biking.”

Eric: “In order to create walkable environments, people require destinations.  Large swaths of homogeneous zoning uses (i.e., big neighborhoods with exclusively single-family development patterns) don’t provide good opportunities for reducing distances that people have to travel, no matter how many sidewalks or bike lanes we build”.

Less parking requirements reduce building costs and help alleviate sprawl.

Ken: “The UDO reduces parking requirements for most types of developments, and for all developments building with a pedestrian-friendly form in more urban locations. This reduces the cost of development (parking spaces cost $3,000 – 5,000 at grade, $16,000 – 20,000 in structures).”

Ken: “The UDO still requires off street parking for most uses, but reduces the amount compared with the current code. Small apartment buildings (16 units or fewer) and ground floor retail are exempt from parking in urban locations. At this point, most developers are exceeding the city’s minimums.”

Car sharing provides an alternative to owning a car.

Eric: “Car sharing (and bike sharing for that matter) are both terrific options.  Sometimes you just need a car for certain functions (e.g., big flatscreen TV’s don’t transport well on bike or bus), and a service like Zipcar fills that need as an economical shared resource.

Ken: “Municipal governments maintain vehicular fleets, a portion of which could be replaced by a contract with a car sharing service. The City of Philadelphia did this to help jumpstart Philly Car Share. And with the city’s new partnership with Zipcar, Raleigh is starting down the same path.”

I’m happy to live in a city where planners envision a pedestrian friendly urban environment.  This enhances a healthy lifestyle where neighbors greet each other on the streets and buy local goods at nearby stores.  It represents a simplicity that makes sense for family finances, reducing each person’s carbon footprint, and building community.  We are definitely moving in the right direction in Raleigh, thanks to active residents, a proactive city council and planners like Eric and Ken.

Related posts:

Carsharing is back in downtown Raleigh. Sign up here ot be a Zipster!

The No-Longer Hidden Cost of Parking in Downtown Raleigh

Coming Soon” New Rules for Development in Raleigh

New UDO Zoning District “Downtown Mixed Use District” will soon become the law

As neighbors tend to do, I bought something pre-owned on Craigslist from someone who only lives a few blocks away. I read the directions to her house on my phone on the way over and parked in front of her cozy rental, across the street from the recently gutted home of an older lady who plans to resell it for around $400,000, which is typical for property in and around downtown Raleigh. And as neighbors also tend to do, we shared tidbits of information with each other for no particular reason other than just because and it was fun. Come to think of it, I don’t think I gave her any useful information… but I did see something on the way back home that would interest her search for a property to buy and rent to the local college kids… so I will go send that email shortly. My neighbor on the other hand, solved the case of Fidelity Bank’s mysterious Roman architecture for me.

Everyday, I turn off Oberlin Road onto Smallwood Drive, past the “great” bank on the corner and wonder, what did they have in mind? And today, the answer: the owners of the property returned from an Italian vacation inspired to double the bank as a venue for events. Yes, party time on a roof top in Cameron Village… an idea I’d guess was born over a delicious bottle of Italian red wine while staring out over a balcony at the brave architecture of Rome.

Originally posted on the blog, Downtown Dame. Reposted with permission and using Creative Commons. 

Click to enlarge

You’ve been hearing the talk about this station, but with the federal grant that was awarded to Raleigh last September (read our previous post), this project is clearly moving into the action phase.

The City of Raleigh and NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are set to construct this new passenger train station in downtown Raleigh at 510 West Martin Street.  This is the site of the former Dillon Supply viaduct building that has been vacant since 2005. The 26,000 square foot building will provide 7,950 square feet of passenger waiting area, quadrupling the waiting area of the existing Amtrak Station on Cabarrus Street.

This will be much more than a replacement for the existing Amtrak Station.

Raleigh Union Station will accommodate inter-city passenger rail service, commuter rail and local/regional buses. (See the Wake County Transit Plan.) The station will also eventually be linked through pedestrian walkways to the future high speed rail and light rail stations to be located a few blocks north.

The project is expected to transform the Warehouse District by creating new places to live, work and play, as well as providing a great connection between downtown, Glenwood South and neighborhoods located just west of the city.

The DLA was invited to attend a stakeholders meeting a few weeks ago to talk about some of the plans for the design of the station.

Click to enlarge

Grand Waiting Hall to be centerpiece of the station 

What did we find particularly exciting? Plans call for a new “front door” building that will provide access to the station from the east side of the tracks facing West Street.  Ideas include the development of a large covered outdoor plaza adjacent to the building to support new retail opportunities and public interactivity through participatory art and a large projection screen.

Now you can share your ideas.  Raleigh Union Station Public Workshop – March 6

The general public will have a chance to learn more and weigh in on some of the design ideas being considered at the upcoming Public Workshop on March 6th.

When: Wed., March 6th, 6-8pm

Where: Meymandi Concert Hall Lobby, 2 East South Street

For more on the workshop, jump over to The Raleigh Connoisseur and read Leo’s latest post.

You’ll agree with Mitch Silver. “It’s Raleigh’s time” in so many ways.  Having Union Station promises to turn the key for increased support for public transit, an improvement that will create possibilities for all of Raleigh from downtown to the suburbs – and back.