Dorothea Dix Park

Random question:
Is there, or are their plans, to put a statue of Dorothea Dix in the park? She did a great deal to humanize the treatment of folks with mental illness in her day. It was her personal appeal to the state assembly that set in motion the acquisition of the land and the establishment of the institute.

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They’re trying! The Plan - Queens Park CLT

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As awesome as that would be. Pretty unlikely NS abandons their yard but maybe they can cap a good portion to try and connect OP and Noda to Tryon which is looking more ripe by the day. I’m a big Charlotte booster as well but they would exhume each plot in Elmwood before Queens Park saw the light of day.

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That couch gets around… :joy: :couch_and_lamp:

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No doubt, it probably gets laid every day.

Just gonna leave the is right here:

A wild idea for Raleigh: Build a gondola to Dix Park

:mountain_cableway: :aerial_tramway:

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I just finished reading this and it does sound like a option worth considering…,:thinking::+1:

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Wroclaw also has a gondola:

“The Polinka cable car runs over the Odra River between the campuses of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. It is a moving viewing point from which you can admire Wrocław.”

It’s a no-brainer. Can’t imagine it would be THAT expensive but I’m always surprised at how much things cost so it will probably be 2 billion dollars

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Maybe if they approve it quickly we can take advantage of the black friday deals coming up. End up getting the gondola cables half price and then we only spend 1.8B.

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Would be an awesome tourist attraction but also a legitimate transportation option to get folks to the park. That was the magic of Medellin’s gondola system when I visited; you pay with the same card as their metro and it had long hours.

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I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it would be cool AF. On the other, how much would it be used once the novelty wears off?

Would certainly great to have for large events like Dreamville. Using all of those downtown parking decks with a gondola ride to Dix would be awesome. Are there enough of these large events to make this worthwhile?

I have no idea. How much would a gondola system cost?

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In 2019, they said it’d be $17-25mn, so only $100mn in 2023 dollars.

https://dix-park.us/2019/02/12/raleigh-aerial-cableway-along-dawson-or-mcdowell-streets-to-the-dorothea-dix-hilltop/

This would be a hit IMO.

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Regarding cost, the article says that MAB has asked city staff to look into the cost of building one, but she has not gotten an estimate yet. It says she has been a fan of the idea since she rode the aerial tram in San Diego’s Balboa Park.

I think a lot of people like the idea, it has been floating around for years and it would be fun. Seems like a tough sell for tax dollars though, especially at a time of rising home costs, increasing homelessness, etc.
I think they bring it up every now and then and are hoping some wealthy person will hear about it and want to share costs and then maybe it could be feasible.

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Am I the only one worried about people dropping or throwing things from it?

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That would be an argument to never build anything at any height that isn’t fully sealed.

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I was thinking why not expand the Pullen train to go around the whole of Dix Park, with a few different stations it could stop at.

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I also think so. Especially for downtown residents current and future, it would be a great way to go spend some time at the park. I could also see something like it being a staple in skyline drawings and graphics.

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  1. I would not take that report as particularly authoritative, since I don’t see any backup supporting the cost estimates. The lines they’ve shown would require 3 stations, one of which would need to be in the dead center of the street right of way for either Dawson or McDowell

  2. I’d guess that $100mm is probably a low-end cost, even if you were being sarcastic. Toulouse, France just completed one for a total of €82mm, ($88mm). And for all our differences, public construction costs are much lower in France for reasons nobody is really capable of explaining.

  3. As I understand it, cable cars basically need to be a straight shot from end-to end. That would really narrow down the available routes, and then you would have to deal with getting over any existing buildings or transmission lines and condemnation costs to acquire air rights. And you can go ahead and assume that Boylan Heights will be up in arms if it’s anywhere near them.

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