Development Beat

Development Beat: Tech Tuesday

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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

There won’t be a Teardown Tuesday today, although that doesn’t necessarily mean there haven’t been any noteworthy demolition permits issued recently.

Whoever it is with the City  that’s in charge of compiling all the issued building permits must have taken off early for the holiday weekend, and it doesn’t appear we’ll be getting out hands on them before Tuesday morning. Meaning today.

Ordinarily, we like to run a “Terrific Tuesday” post in lieu of a Teardown, but, real talk: nobody reads those. I can see the traffic numbers, and Terrific Tuesdays are right down there at the bottom with my Planning Commission reports. At least with the PC Reports, it’s current news that isn’t getting written up elsewhere, so I feel an obligation. But Terrific Tuesdays? Especially when the website Goodnight Raleigh exists? Eh.

The empty Boylan Bridge Brewpub

James Borden / Raleigh Public Record

The only Terrific Tuesday that anyone ever read was a break in format, when I wrote about the Boylan Bridge Brewpub

So what’s Tech Tuesday? Unfortunately it’s *not* going to be a write-up of the awesome Google Trekker equipment the City recently got its hands on. As it happens, staff has basically refused to talk about the project, which theoretically entails creating Streetview-style maps of Raleigh’s parks and greenways.

Pretty disappointing, but considering staff has also been sitting on about a half-dozen public records requests I filed back in April, I guess it’s not very surprising.

Moving on. Today’s post was inspired by the “Technology” section of the City’s latest five-year Capital Improvement plan, where it was noted that “The Institutional Fiber Network will be expanded to the other high priority City-owned facilities to provide additional high-speed and reliable network connectivity.”

The City plans to connect 36 “high value” sites over the next year, the criteria for which were as follows: “a Tier-1 or Tier-2 emergency site; the number of staff at the location; significant credit card transactions; rentable indoor spaces with Wi-Fi expectations; and rapid return on investment.”

In addition to the Development Beat, I also compile our bimonthly City Council Agenda Previews, and one of the more common items I see listed in the Consent Agenda is an encroachment request by some LLC so they can install network cables in the right of way.

So while we don’t know the exact details of the City’s future broadband plans, we are able to look back and see how many people have been requesting to install new cable since January 2015.

Before we get into our findings, the State of North Carolina put together a pretty neat broadband connectivity map, which you can access here. 

Here’s coverage for Wake County. The purple dots are government buildings; since the map only allowed for County outlines, I figured this was the easiest way of showing where Raleigh was.

Pretty neat right?

So here’s the results for encroachment/broadband installation requests since January 2015. Note: the language describing the requests will change slightly, as all but two of 2016’s entries came from scanning our Agenda Previews, and the remainder came from archived Council minutes.

Tragically, due to the format of the agendas, we don’t have exact figures on the amount of cable laid or a total list of locations where it was installed, so I won’t be able to spend an extra five hours on this already time-consuming post creating maps and spreadsheets based off that data. Too bad!

One last thing: It goes without saying, but the Google project is far and away the largest broadband installation in Raleigh right now. Councilors received an update on its current status back at a February 2016 Work Session. We saved the related portion of the staff presentation and uploaded it here. 

Here’s the list: (We couldn’t find any requests between January-February 2015)

  1. March 17, 2015:  — FIBER TECHNOLOGIES NETWORK — VARIOUS LOCATIONS A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install fiber optic cable.
  2. March 17, 2015: DAVIE STREET —  A request has been received from MCNC to install fiber optic cable.
  3. April 7, 2015: VARIOUS STREETS IN CAMERON VILLAGE AREA — A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install fiber optic cable. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  4. April 21, 2015:  7300 ACC BOULEVARD —  A request has been received from Clinton Investments, LLC to install approximately 180 feet of fiber optic cable beneath ACC Boulevard to service a private business location. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  5. May 5, 2015:  DANIELS STREET/LOGAN COURT/BROADWELL DRIVE — FIBER TECHNOLOGIES — A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install 45-foot, Class III poles in the right of way. The poles are necessary for the mounting of cellular telephone signal booster equipment.
  6. June 16, 2015: ROBERTS STREET  A request has been received from Fibers Technologies Network, LLC to install SDR conduit for sale service in Roberts Street near Oberlin Road. Council Members received a report in their agenda packet outlining the request location, etc.
  7. July 7, 2015: COMPUTER DRIVE — A request has been received from Celito Clec, LLC to install a telecommunications cabinet in the right of way.
  8. July 7, 2015: LITTLE BRIER CREEK LANE/ARCO CORPORATE DRIVE — A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install conduits and vaults in the right of way. The encroachment is for the installation of the “network backbone” which is first step in the placement of underground conduits to supply future Internet service. This backbone will eventually connect to a similar installation currently underway in the Morrisville area which will tie the entire network together. This encroachment will consist of approximately 4,500 linear feet of conduit installation in the Little Brier Creek Lane and & Arco Corporate Drive area.
  9. July 21, 2015: — Oberlin Road Near Smallwood Drive — A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install 411 feet of underground conduit in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  10. July 21, 2015: Encroachment — Longwood Drive and Secret Drive — A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install underground conduit, below-ground vaults, and aboveground LCP cabinets in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  11. August 4, 2015: A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install 45.44 miles of conduits, 1,614 vaults, and 18 Local Convergence Point (LCP) cabinets in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  12. September 1, 2015: A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install 35.8 miles of conduits, 1,051 vaults, and 17 LCP cabinets in the right of way located throughout the north/northwest area of the City. As reported in Manager’s Update No. 2015-34, this is the fourth encroachment request from Google Fiber for the installation of underground conduit, below ground vaults, and aboveground LCP (Local Convergence Point) cabinets. At the August 4, 2015 Council meeting, staff was authorized to negotiate terms of a Master Encroachment Agreement with Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC; the master agreement is not yet finalized and executed. The majority of this encroachment is located in residential areas. The majority of the below ground vaults will be located at adjoining property lines, and the above ground LCP cabinets are in proximity to property corners. A report was included in the agenda packet.
  13. September 15, 2015:  VARSITY DRIVE/CLARK AVENUE AND PULLEN ROAD — APPROVED CONDITIONALLY A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install a 45’ replacement pole and 423 feet of fiber optic cable in the right of way.
  14. October 7, 2015: 3020 Highwoods Boulevard A request has been received from Workplace Options to install 1,013 feet of fiber optic cable in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet
  15. October 7, 2015: Durham Drive A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install 1,430 feet of fiber optic cable in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  16. October 20, 2015: A request has been received from Level 3 Communications to install fiber optic cable located in the right of way of West Martin Street.
  17. October 20, 2015: A request has been received from Level 3 Communications to install fiber optic cable located in the right of way of South West Street, North West Street, Harrington Street, West Edenton Street.
  18. November 17, 2015: A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install cable in the right of way at the locations listed below: Illeagnes Road — 837 feet of aerial fiber optic cable Pacific Drive, Bland Road, New Hope Church Road, Atlantic Avenue, and Harrod Street — 3,521 feet of aerial fiber optic onto existing utility poles, 2,086 of underground fiber optic and replace an existing pole with infrastructure and equipment. Gorman Street, Clanton Street, and Sherman Avenue — 1,250 feet of aerial fiber optic cable.
  19. December 1, 2015: A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install 7,232 feet of aerial fiber optic cable and 1,710 feet of underground fiber optic cable in the right of way.
  20. January 19, 2016: Fiber Optic Installation: Fiber Technologies Networks LLC is requesting permission to a fiber optic cable and a pole in the right of way in several locations. For a detailed list, please see this PDF.
  21. February 2, 2016: Encroachment Request — Wadford Drive: The NC Electric Membership Corporation is asking to install 96 feet of fiber optic cable in the right of way on Wadford Drive.
  22. February 2, 2016: Encroachment Request — Faircloth Street et. all: Celito CLEC LLC (a local Internet service provider) is looking to install 4,545 feet of conduit and 12 access vaults in the right of way on Faircloth Street, Annapolis Drive, St. Mary’s and South Salisbury Streets.
  23. February 16, 2016: Encroachment Request at Various Locations: A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install 30,622 feet (5.1 miles) of fiber optic cable, 175 access vaults and three LCP (local convergence point) cabinets in the right of way. Staff recommends that Council approve this request. Note: a list of locations was not provided in the Agenda, but thankfully we downloaded the now-unavailable supplemental documentation that shows where Google’s request was. Click here to see the list.
  24. February 16, 2016: Encroachment Request at Various Locations: A request has been received from Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC to install fiber optic cable and pole sets in the right of way. Staff recommends that Council approve this request.
  25. March 1, 2016: A request has been received from Google Fiber North Carolina, LLC to install 2,430 feet of conduit and five underground vaults in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  26. March 1, 2016: A request has been received from Celito Clec, LLC to install 3,093 feet of conduit and seven underground vaults in the right of way. A report was included with the agenda packet.
  27. March 15, 2016: Encroachment Request: 3128 Highwoods Boulevard: Level 3 Communications wishes to install fiber optic cable in the right of way on Highwoods Boulevard.
  28. March 15, 2016: Encroachment Request: North Wilmington, South Wilmington, and Capital Center Drive: Fiber Technology Networks, a subsidiary of Dycom Industries, has requested permission to install 4,728 feet of fiber-optic-cable in the right of way of these streets.
  29. April 5, 2016: Encroachment Request: Oberlin Road, Smallwood Drive, and Gardner Street. Fiber Technologies Networks is seeking permission to install 748 feet of fiber optic cable in the right of way.
  30. April 5, 2016: Encroachment Request: South Salisbury Street, West Davie Street, and Gale Street. Celito Clec LLC is looking to install 1,295 feet of underground conduit in the right of way.
  31. April 19, 2016: Encroachment Request: Beryl Road, Method Road, and Bland Road: Fiber Technologies Networks has requested permission to install 4,420 feet of aerial fiber optic cable and one 35-foot wooden pole in the right of way.
  32. May 3, 2016: Encroachment Request: Multiple Locations: Celito Clec, LLC is looking to install 5,086 feet of underground conduit and twenty-five underground vaults in the public right-of-ways on the following streets: North West Street, West Jones Street, North Harrington Street, West Martin Street, South West Street, and West Davie Street.
  33. May 17, 2016: Encroachment Request: Multiple Locations: Celito Clec, LLC is requesting to install 5,922 feet of underground conduit and 19 underground vaults in the right of way on Glenwood Avenue, West Johnson Street, North Boylan Avenue, and West North Street.
  34. May 17, 2016: Encroachment Request: Multiple Locations: Broadplex, LLC is requesting to install 5,037 feet of underground conduit and two access vaults on Proctor Road, Southgate Drive, and Purple Garnet Way.
  35. May 17, 2016: Encroachment Request: Sugar Bush Road: Fiber Technologies Networks, LLC is requesting to install 527 feet of underground conduit on Sugar Bush Road.