I knew it, they’re going to destroy the farmer’s market! Save the farmer’s market! Get the pitchforks and torches!
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Welcome 2Loud. I agree, go big.
They keep talking about a world class park, cleaning up western and a feature like the land bridge is what it will take to make it true. This synergizes with road improvements for the BRT, and I think they’ll regret it if they put it off.
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This is happening way to often, and right after the new bonds/tax hikes. Where is that cash going? Going somewhere but we will never know.
Yeah we do, where the $ goes is pretty detailed in the presentations, documentation, tracking for anyone that wants to see or pays attention to what goes before council. Has been for any recent bond. There may be even more time spent on these efforts than necessary, time/$ that could be spent actually producing
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This is exactly right. Some will go down if things stay revenue neutral.
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I want to see where the Bond money went. Not where they said it would go.
Took less than a minute of the Google
https://raleighnc.gov/parks/content/ParksRec/Articles/Bond.html#paragraph--213686
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Thanks @JetsJessie. At first scan, these appear to be how the funds were planned. How much of this work was completed and at what cost?
Contracts and the specifics of what they’re for are usually on the Council agenda (and some are further down the links of the bond projects, look for presentations). Speaking of which, I saw this slide from this week’s council meeting regarding park bond funding estimates… also, I imagine you can contact the project manager listed of submit a FOIA request to get even more specifics if you what’s already not been made public.
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The video of Tuesday’s work session on the proposed park bond has a ton of information on prior park bonds, how park bond funding is spent, the difficulty parks projects have working under the UDO, and the decision points that have to be navigated to determine what can and cannot be accomplished with a park bond. I encourage folks to check it out.
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Reads great, but I don’t see the current greenways being maintained. Don’t believe any of what you hear or half of what you see when it comes to any govt.
Lol, yeah, a lot of bonds have expired but the tax raises never come back down. It can’t, have to try and maintain all the items promised in the bond.
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Charlotte now wants a Central Park of their own
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Huh. Well, good for them. That’ll be pretty cool if it can take off, as well.
On top of having to face the same challenges Dix Park had (history, environmental effects, impacts on housing costs/land values/taxes etc.), the city/conservatory also needs to convince Norfolk Southern to let go of their railyard, give it to them, and figure out a plan for what they want to do with exactly (and what it’d cost/how long it would take to pull off).
I can’t imagine why this would be a threat or an insult to Raleigh, but they’re definitely not gonna have an easy time with this 
hope it works, though; more things to do for a non-sports-related day trip to Charlotte would be pretty cool tbh
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Sharing a thought that’s been fomenting in my noggin to get rid of freight rail traffic through the middle of Dix Park by creating a bypass/cutoff further south. This frees up a corridor for greenway access all the way down to Carolina Pines…
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Brilliant! 
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MVVA comes in first for the Gateway Plaza and Play project. Staff will request authorization from City Council to proceed with contract negotiations at the 2/18 regular council meeting (1pm start).
"On November 6, 2019, staff requested authorization to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for design services associated with the Dorothea Dix Park Gateway Plaza, to seek a multi-disciplinary design team with significant experience in creating high-quality urban parks.
The Gateway Plaza and Play is one of seven Phase 1 projects identified in the Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan, adopted by the City Council February 19, 2019. Once complete, the Gateway will represent the new and principle entrance to Dix Park. As described in the Master Plan, visitors will be welcomed with play spaces for all ages, fountains, public art, plazas, cookout zones, gardens and shaded areas to relax and enjoy with family and friends. The Gateway may also include the renovation of two historic houses to provide support for the area. Also proposed in the study area is a temporary parking area, extension of Grissom and Daladams Streets, incorporation of a multi-use path to link the Rocky Branch Greenway to the Walnut Creek Greenway connecting the eastern most edge of the park to the Farmer’s Market and transit stops.
Nine submittals, in the form of a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ), were received in response to the RFQ. Staff reviewed the submittals and short-listed four consultant teams and conducted interviews during the month of January; participating in the SOQ review included staff from the following departments and functions: Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources - Park Development and Communications; Urban Design Center; Department of City Planning; Department of Transportation; and Engineering Services Construction Management.
Following interviews, the evaluation team ranked the consultant teams in the following order:
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Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.
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Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
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OJB Landscape Architects
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Surface 678
Staff recommends Council authorize negotiations with the highest ranked firm. Should negotiations be unsuccessful, authorize staff to negotiate with the next ranked firm, in succession, until successful contract terms have been achieved. Following the negotiation process, the contract and terms will be placed on a future agenda for Council authorization to proceed."
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Balls.
(I’m sorry… 
)
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story link to Raleigh magazine
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