Dorothea Dix Park

Nickster · August 17, 2020, 7:32pm

Isn’t a big part of DHHS also located at the old Rex Hospital at the intersection of Wade Ave and St. Mary’s? That will be a big chunk of real estate up for sale once they move out.

dbearhugnc · August 17, 2020, 8:05pm

Hmmm. I thought that the old Rex site was only the Employment Security Commission.

dbearhugnc · August 17, 2020, 8:10pm

I guess this rules out the suggested DHHS move to Granville County…

scotchman · August 17, 2020, 9:08pm

I guess they realized that would have to replace 2/3 or employees and where not going to be able to do that from Granville and Vance area. (btw I’m from that area and know all the kids in HS class that could left for collage and never looked back, and a lot of the non collage bound group left also. From times I’ve been back that is still the case.)

Murr-man · August 17, 2020, 9:45pm

Hopefully this is just a proposal and not definite. What a waste of prime real estate if this happens. The entire Blue Ridge corridor is a waste land. From Rex Hospital to the old Kmart. This area has so much potential and it’s the gateway for people coming into Raleigh from the west, going into downtown.

John · August 18, 2020, 1:41am

Welcome to the community @Murr-man.
You are on to something! The corridor from Rex to the old KMart really does disappoint.

pBeez · August 18, 2020, 12:05pm

Love the screen name @Murr-man. I was just thinking yesterday about all the years I got my hair cut at Man-Mur across from State. Welcome to the community!

evan.j.bost · September 2, 2020, 2:30am

Replying to my puzzle, it appears there is a new entrance to the farmers market being built with direct access from lake wheeler instead of centennial Pkwy. Well hooray!

Brian · September 2, 2020, 3:57pm

I find it hard to follow what’s going on in this area. I thought the multi-use path along Lake Wheeler here was supposed to be part of Dix Phase 1, but it was going to be a super complicated project because of the existing utility right of ways. But we get a new car entrance to the Farmer’s Market fairly quickly? And how does that mesh with the Dix Master Plan suggestion to make Lake Wheeler more of a neighborhood street and eventually realign Centennial Parkway?

I find it baffling that we study some things to death, but other things crop up seemingly overnight.

keita · September 2, 2020, 4:58pm

TL/DR: it’s easier to think of anything involving the Farmer’s Market as a totally separate, different project than anything in Dix Park. The state Dept. of Agriculture, on state-owned land, is free to follow their own agenda; they can choose to be a good neighbor to Dix Park and work with their master plan, but that doesn’t mean they are required to. The farmer’s market is an entirely different environment (with different goals!) than Dix Park, so I don’t think it makes sense to judge those projects in the same way.

How did we get a new car entrance for the farmer's market so quickly?

Why is that troublesome utility right-of-way not an issue now?

As for why the Farmer’s Market path is easier to build, just look at Raleigh’s iMAPS (it’s more than just a zoning map!), and the utility problems make a lot of sense. This is what the area around the farmer’s market and southern Dix Park looks like; the forest green lines are public sewer lines, and the emerald double-lines along Centennial and Lake Wheeler are utility easements (blame the city for the confusing color map, not me):

image994×672 67 KB

The new access path will probably go across the utility easements and sewer pipes, so the farmer’s market shouldn’t have to dig up too many pipes.

Lake Wheeler Rd.'s multiuse path, though, will pretty much run above the current utility RoW’s. That means, if you don’t want to dig a pothole into the multiuse path every time a pipe leaks or a cable goes bad, you need to dig up all of those pipes/cables and move them someplace else.

What's even going on around the Dix Park area?

There’s four broad portfolios of projects going on:

Dix Park itself, which is going through “Phase 1” and “Phase Now” projects (with different timescales depending on which project you’re talking about)

Dix Edge Area Study, the study beginning this October that’ll figure out how development, roads, transit etc. should mesh together between Dix Park and Wilmington St.

State Farmer’s Market, which is working with its own budget and agenda

NCSU Spring Hills, the campus area between Dix Park and Centennial Campus. It’s mentioned in marketing materials and State’s campus master plan, but not much else is known about this.

Brian:

we study some things to death, but other things crop up seemingly overnight.

I’m pretty sure this is just your perception, and lots of things are (not) happening behind the scenes for all four planning projects in this area. But it’s also easy to forget that some places (NCSU, DoA) don’t have to be as public with what they think and do as much as others (City of Raleigh), and some projects (the new pathway to the market) are much simpler than others (Dix renovations).

I agree that it’s hard to follow what’s going on around here -but like a lot of the other projects we talk about on here, I think it gets easier if you can wrap your head around the red tape. If you want to keep track of these sorts of things beyond just reading the headlines, isn’t it important to actually learn about how the sausage gets made?

evan.j.bost · September 2, 2020, 5:51pm

I’ll add - I spoke with Kate Pearce and the multiuse path is moving forward between the farmers market and the Gateway (dog park at top of hill), but the portion from the Gateway down to the greenway is phased separately for some reason. Also, the park is having a hard time getting prioritized funding from the city. From the city staff perspective there are other parks and sidewalk projects that have been in the queue for more than a decade so why should Dix get funding first?

Brian · September 2, 2020, 6:08pm

I can understand this perspective.

evan.j.bost · September 2, 2020, 6:20pm

I can too, but it is frustrating to me and many involved in the monumental efforts of Dix that the city views Dix as “just another park” and not the most exciting urban park project (potentially) in the country.

Brian · September 4, 2020, 7:36pm

More info on the new entry/exit at the farmer’s market.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article245201315.html

Street_Grid · September 4, 2020, 8:31pm

New driveway open by Thanksgiving which feels very fast, but the article says it has been planned for years.

At least there will be a sidewalk along Lake Wheeler and the new driveway.

Not sure how this meshes with the Farmer’s Market master plan.

NoRaAintAllBad · September 4, 2020, 9:01pm

I know that I will certainly appreciate an additional pathway in / out of there

evan.j.bost · September 4, 2020, 11:51pm

Here’s to hoping that engineering for DoA coordinated with CoR to include an extension of the Dix MultiUse path in this project, regarding specs, materials, etc, so that it eventually flows seamlessly

evan.j.bost · September 5, 2020, 3:14am

Dix park is nearly unfathomably big. It’s so epic.
Moon and mars keeping her company.

This is a loaner phone with a lame camera…

maverick333 · September 7, 2020, 6:05pm

So close and so far, it has that miles away kind of feel, But overall very beautiful picture. Been there with that poor cell phone I had, YUCK !!

keita · September 16, 2020, 1:23am

Planning efforts for the “Plaza & Play” segment of Dix Park (AKA the grand entrance along Lake Wheeler Rd.) will start next month! There’s a virtual panel about this on Oct. 7 at 6:30pm, but you can get started with your wish lists for this project here:

This is their proposed project timeline (maybe add 6 months for wiggle room to keep things realistic?):

By the way, if you think the park master plan was all we needed to start building things (and that everything else is already “finished and figured out”), the City has some words for you: