You probably notice the signs posted along Glenwood Avenue in the neighborhoods around Five Points that vehemently oppose the option of NC3, and if you talk to neighbors in Glenwood South, you’ll hear them just as emphatically speak in favor of it.
Writing not as a DLA member, but as an interested and informed Downtowner, my main objective at this point is to say, let’s take time to consider an option that offers a livable alternative for both Five Points and Downtown.
While we were all focused on the debate between the two alternatives for Raleigh as presented by the SEHSR Project Team at the public hearing back on July 26th, a new option suddenly surfaced. This new option, initially identified as the ‘NC1&2 avoidance alternative’ at the more recent public hearing on August 31st, is now being called ‘NC4’.
New street connections enhance Downtown livabilityA group of citizen advocates and engineers first shared their maps and information on the NC4 option with me just 3 weeks ago. I was skeptical at first that such an 11th hour option could possibly be seriously considered, particularly one that required a new set of elevated tracks to follow a new route from Capital Boulevard to West Street.
But as I took more time to study the plans I became convinced that this option would address the principal concerns expressed by all residents, and could actually serve to enhance our Downtown livability.
NC4 is simple in concept and would enhance Downtown Livability
Actually it’s not really a totally new option, but a hybrid of the NC1&2 option. It is simple in concept and the new rail section only impacts an under-developed 4-block area on the northeast corner of Glenwood South.
The NC4 Avoidance Alternative has a long list of benefits and is likely to cost less than NC3, due to the dramatically reduced impact to homes and businesses. Additional tax revenue would also accrue from the new redevelopment opportunities.
Please click the link below to see an illustration of an urban viaduct, maps and a satellite photo of the NC4 alignment, as well as an overview of the primary benefits.
http://www.livingstreets.com/blog/20100904_sehsr_nc4/
The City Council will consider its recommendation on the rail pathways at their 1:00pm meeting tomorrow, September 7th. They may decide to endorse one of the existing alternatives or request the NCDOT to study this new NC4 Avoidance Alternative.
Neither the public nor the City Council can vote on this new alternative until further study by the NCDOT has been completed. I encourage you to contact the City Council and urge them to request the NCDOT to take the additional time now to study this new alternative.
This decision is too important to rush.
Another group is working on a tweak of the NC4 avoidance alternative, called the Mitigated NC-1/2 Option. This option is similar in concept, but moves the rail corridor approximately 1,000 feet north from the point where the NC4 plan diverges from the NC 1/2 route. I find it admirable that people are taking the time to develop viable alternative train pathways. Where there is a will, there is a way!
Most of the identified benefits of the NC4 avoidance alternative would be lost if the existing CSX tracks are not removed and the land reclaimed for redevelopment. This is an important point that must be considered. I am now attempting to determine if CSX freight rail or TTA would require that these tracks remain in place.