Raleigh Downtown Living Advocates

Author: raleighdla (Page 4 of 48)

It’s here! A parking app for Glenwood South

August 26, 2015 /

If you’re one of those people who get frustrated trying to find a spot to park in Glenwood South, you’ll want to read this.  Does this sound like you?

  • I prefer on-street parking, but drive around in circles and rarely find an open spot.
  • I know of a few parking decks, but I don’t like to park there and avoid them.
  • I wish there were more surface parking lots.

If so, you probably didn’t know that in addition to the three multi-story parking decks, there are 10 parking lots in Glenwood South, yet most of these parking lots are rarely used.  Why? You can easily drive right by them, because they’re behind buildings or hidden behind shrubbery.

Many lots are only available after-hours

Another reason these lots are under-utilized is that they are associated with private businesses, so people assume they’re not available.  Like most others, you avoid the risk being towed.

You may be surprised to know that Glenwood South has seven publicly available after-hours lots with a combined 138 spaces.  This is thanks to companies like Park Select, who have developed a business model focusing on small private lot owners, encouraging them to make their lots available to the public during after-hours, after their business is closed.

Online app makes finding parking easier Continue reading

An Interview with ‘District E’ City Councilor, Bonner Gaylord

August 26, 2015 /

View More: http://cynthiaviola.pass.us/bonnerlogoedits

 

The City of Raleigh will hold elections for Mayor and City Council on October 6th.  Bonner Gaylord has served on the City Council since 2009 and is seeking re-election.

Bonner’s challengers for the District E seat on the City Council are DeAnthony Collins and Edie Jeffreys.

The DLA asked Bonner a series of questions.  Here are his answers:

 

What factors need to be balanced in providing for downtown Raleigh’s growth as a vital, sustainable, creative environment for both residents and businesses?

Raleigh is a growing, prosperous city, and to maintain that growth and prosperity, we have to balance our economic development with protecting quality of life. I don’t think this has to be an oppositional balance. In fact, I think the two go hand in hand. All of the economic development initiatives in the world won’t attract people if the quality of life doesn’t make them want to stay. As a city councilor, I have listened to people in the public, private and educational sectors to make sure Raleigh was doing all it could to help them thrive. The revitalization of Raleigh’s downtown has provided a boost to our whole city and we should keep working to make it an area where people can live, work, dine and entertain themselves. Continue reading

An Interview with City Councilor At-Large, Russ Stephenson

August 24, 2015 /

200px-RussStephenson12The City of Raleigh will hold elections for Mayor and City Council on October 6th.  In the at-large city council race, incumbents Mary Ann Baldwin and Russ Stephenson will face Matt Tomasulo and Craig S. Ralph.

This blog will include interviews with each candidate, with answers published as they are received.

Russ Stephenson is an at-large member of City Council, having served since 2007.  The DLA asked Russ a series of questions.  Here are his answers:

What factors need to be balanced in providing for downtown Raleigh’s growth as a vital, sustainable, creative environment or both residents and businesses?

The many factors to be balanced are found in our draft Downtown Vision Plan. Emphasis should be on (1) adopting the Downtown Plan (2) setting priorities among the many Plan goals and then (3) take clear actions to implement the prioritized goals. (1-3) = putting Vision before Action! Continue reading

Meet ‘District D’ Candidate, Ashton Mae Smith

August 9, 2015 /
Ashton Mae Smith

Ashton Mae Smith

District D encompasses the downtown Districts of Glenwood South, the Warehouse District, and a portion of the Fayetteville Street District.  There are two candidates running for the council seat this year.   This Blog will include interviews with each candidate, starting with Ashton Mae Smith, followed by candidate Kay Crowder next month.

The DLA asked Ashton a series of questions.  Here are her answers.

What was your inspiration for running for City Council, and what gaps do you fill in that aren’t being met now?

I decided to run for City Council because I have a vision for Raleigh’s future as a world-class city, and we’re at a cross-roads as to how to get there.  I grew up in Raleigh, and have had a chance to watch us grow up. The demographics in our city have changed considerably with our growth — the average age of Raleigh residents is 32 — and it’s important for the Millennial generation to have an active role in how we’re building our city. I’m already active with some of our largest areas of opportunity, including transit planning and affordable housing planning, and I serve as the board chair for the City of Raleigh Museum. Add in a background in real estate and the skills I’ve learned working for a bootstrapped start-up that was acquired by Citrix, and I think I bring a unique perspective to Council.

It’s natural that as a city grows, more decisions need to be made that affect more people. As a city, we’ve got to find a way to use metrics and data to guide decisions that match our collective goals.

Raleigh is and should be an inclusive city — diverse and welcoming — like District D. We have great neighborhoods and vibrant businesses thriving side by side, and it’s a balance we must maintain as the city grows. We must continue to manage this growth with the necessary transit and infrastructure improvements so that both businesses and residents can thrive. We must attract and retain the people and businesses who recognize what an incredible place this is to live and work, while ensuring development scales appropriately and integrates into our existing communities. Continue reading

Downtown merchants resist proposed changes to Outdoor “Dining” Ordinance

June 30, 2015 /

7934508_G

In the past several weeks, restaurant and bar owners in Glenwood South have joined other business proprietors across downtown to put public pressure on City Council to defer approving what they view as a hastily prepared change to the City’s Outdoor Dining Ordinance. The proposed change to the ordinance seeks to restrict bar patrons from drinking on public sidewalks outside downtown bars.

Council agrees to defer decision for 30 days

City Council has agreed that the ordinance change as initially drafted unfairly targets a small number of bars and has thus deferred their decision, sending the issue to the Law & Public Safety Committee for further review.  A new Hospitality Committee that includes both residents and merchants is now working with City staff to develop alternate proposals.

Meeting weekly, the Hospitality Committee has already agreed on the need for any ordinance change to apply equally to any restaurant or bar (private club) that serves alcohol outside to patrons during late night weekend hours or during special events.

New proposals address sidewalk overcrowding Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Raleigh Downtown Living Advocates

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑