Category: Transportation / Parking (Page 1 of 10)

It’s here! A parking app for Glenwood South

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

The Best Glenwood South (Parking) News You Never Knew

IMG_3173You may have done this – troll along looking for one of 70 coveted parking spaces along Glenwood Avenue that are free of charge after 5PM on weekdays, and all day/night on weekends.  If they’re full, you drive down side streets, hoping to squeeze into a space tucked beside one of the arrows indicating no parking adjacent to driveways and entrances.  It’s only as a last resort that you opt for the $5 – $7 prepay charge for the 800 or so spaces available at three local public parking decks.

Did you know that you have a lot more options than these?

The Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative is now creating a parking map that lists all the possibilities, so you can make an informed decision about where to leave your car.  You may be surprised…

For the convenience of parking steps from your destination in lots on Glenwood Avenue and West Street, check out the many private pay parking lots [list below] that are made available for public use after hours.

But there is also another option only slightly less convenient, that offers thousands of spaces available for FREE.

State Parking decks and lots are scattered throughout the Capital District, with a combined total of over 4,000 spaces that are free to to the public during evenings (after 5:00pm) and on weekends.

State Parking spaces are more convenient than you think.

If this seems too complicated, think again. State parking spaces are more convenient than you might think.  Yes, Capital Boulevard inhibits pedestrian access to Glenwood South from the northern most State parking decks, but these decks are adjacent to R-Line stops, so it’s an easy five minute bus ride.  If you don’t mind a short walk, it only takes ten minutes to get to Glenwood South from the State parking lots located just off Lane Street.

Click here for a map showing the location of the available State parking decks and lots.

Living in a condo that faces the top floor of the garage next to the Carolina Ale House, I can directly measure the increased business flooding into Glenwood South.  Up until now, I could leave my blinds open, since it was rare that the cars even filled the decks below our windows.  Now on weekends, I see cars circling to the top level and returning back down in search of a spot.  Seen as a gauge for how hopping things are for the dinner crowds and into the late night, filled parking places are great news for the neighborhood.  Now we can spread the news that there are a lot more spaces to fill.

Come on down!  The parking’s great!

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Pay Parking decks and lots available after-hours:

  • 21 Glenwood Avenue / 42 spaces (b) (behind Salon 21)
  • 107 Glenwood Avenue / 17 spaces (a)
  • 9 Glenwood Avenue / 15 spaces (a)
  • 201 Glenwood Avenue / 14 spaces (available soon)
  • 507 W Peace Street / 10 spaces (b)
  • 215 Glenwood Avenue / 10 spaces (a)

Pay Parking decks and lots available all hours:

  • 510 Glenwood Avenue / 428 spaces *
  • Powerhouse Plaza / 248 spaces (behind Natty Greene’s)
  • 222 Glenwood Avenue / 140 spaces *
  • 501 N West Street / 88 spaces (a)
  • 301 Glenwood Avenue / 71 spaces (behind Hibernian)

* free at lunchtime for patrons of the restaurants located within each building 

(a) cash or pay-by-phone

(b) pay-by-phone only

 

DLA Receives Golden Modes Triangle Commuter Award

269121_10150232663587536_561421_nEach year the GoTriangle Golden Modes Award honors extraordinary organizations that promote sustainable transportation options as part of the SmartCommuteChallenge public service campaign.

This year the Downtown Living Advocates received an Honorable Mention Award for supporting a variety of alternative transportation projects.

“Because of the DLA’s goals and leadership, and the great partnership with the City of Raleigh, downtown residents are given great opportunities to learn about transit opportunities, Zipcar memberships, safe cycling techniques, and other opportunities the City of Raleigh has to offer”.

Car Sharing: Helping to bring the first car sharing service (WeCar) to Raleigh, and promoting the use of ZipCar – Carsharing is back in downtown Raleigh.

Bus Ridership: Inviting the City of Raleigh to do a presentation to our members “Bus Transit for Downtown Residents – Beyond the R-Line”.  The DLA was also an early adopter of the city’s downtown bus shelter program, adopting the R-Line (R9) bus shelter at the corner of Dawson and Morgan Streets.

Bicycle & Pedestrian: Speaking with City Planners about the “Complete Streets” – Committed to supporting a bicycle and pedestrian friendly Raleigh.  And more recently, as the City of Raleigh started to plan Bike Month, the City approached the DLA to help with a collaboration of events, which included a ribbon cutting of the new Art to Heart bike greenway.

Other examples of successful collaborative efforts between the City of Raleigh and the DLA include a number of CommuteSmart Raleigh Mixers where attendees received information about about alternative modes of transportation.

Currently the DLA is preparing to launch a Walk Your City Campaign to encourage government employees in the Capital District to walk to download locations to dine and shop instead of driving.

 

New street grid promises to revive Glenwood South’s “dead zone”

New-GS-StreetGrid

New Glenwood South exits off Capital Blvd

Sitting between Glenwood South and the Capital District lies the “dead zone”, where with the exception of the West condos, sits a four block area that has so far not been touched by the downtown revitalization going on all around it.

All this could change thanks to the replacement of the Capital Blvd bridge over Peace Street, which luckily gives the City a great opportunity to rebuild and reconnect the street grid in a way that is expected to spur new mixed use redevelopment.

Check out this recent WRAL TV segment. http://bit.ly/GS-deadzone

 

 

Other DLA posts about the bridge replacement and ramp design known as the “square loop”.

Downtown Parking Smartphone App Idea Implemented In Raleigh’s North Hills

nh_park3The DLA’s parking initiative team has been continuing to work after our DataPalooza win last year. We are excited to announce that our smartphone app that addresses concerns about parking in urban areas has been picked up and implemented in Raleigh’s North Hills.

As part of an all encompassing smartphone app, the team has made an iOS and Android application that is a key source of North Hills’s information including events, shops, movies and of course parking.

The app was worked on by DLA members Jim Belt, King White, Eric Majewicz, and Leo Suarez. The team has been talking parking for over a year and with the application now in practical use, they hope to adopt it for downtown Raleigh some time in the future.

The North Hills app is available for download in the Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Read more about it on the official page here on the DLA site.

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