My wife and I went on Saturday and were completely blown away - it has something for everyone. Being able to grab a beer or a coffee and relax under shade while looking at wildflowers or the exposed creek as your kids enjoy all of it is wonderful.
The neighborhood kids that went were in heaven. Everywhere you look there’s some unique, thought provoking activity for them. All the water focused features are going to be an incredible way for families to enjoy the outside during the scorching summer heat.
What a game changer for the city. It became obvious to me that, prior to this, a lot of folks were struggling to envision what this park will mean to this community. It’s impossible not to see it now and this is just the first piece.
What a game changer for the city. It became obvious to me that, prior to this, a lot of folks were struggling to envision what this park will mean to this community. It’s impossible not to see it now and this is just the first piece.
I think that’s my biggest takeaway from this. This is just the very first completed segment of a huge master plan. If the entire park is redeveloped to this level of quality, it will be truly world-class.
Perfectly said. I didn’t want to post pictures because even the best pictures don’t do it justice. You can feel the full scale when you are in the park, and it’s incredible.
Quick note, I know this is the first major project, but hardly the first phase. The stone houses, art, new signage, ADA improvements, and demolition of old houses has happened too. There are things happening in all corners of the park.
Learned a couple details from staff on Sat that aren’t called out explicitly in the master plan. Three buildings on the west side are being removed in the next year and a Biergarten is being planned over there. The troll artist has also visited Dix three times and is obsessed, so his vision has grown. Expect the trolls to be really unique to NC with a train theme. And don’t be surprised if Charlotte gets a sister troll or two.
From the POV of someone who walked there on Sunday and crossed into the park at the crosswalk across Western Blvd @Central Prison, the next phase should be to build sidewalks along all major streets throughout the park. It’s pathetic how few sidewalks there are in the park right now.
Fair and I agree, but I just don’t think they’ve made it that far west yet. There is new sidewalk from the Boylan/Western entrance up to the stone houses and then from the stone houses down Umstead to Gipson. And new sidewalks from the major parking areas. It sounds like considerable work will be done on the western side in the next year, so hopefully that means more sidewalks.
I would like to see at least Umstead Dr completely repaved though. There are no bike trails through Dix yet, and the rough road makes biking in the street really unpleasant. I honestly assumed this was going to happen before Gipson opened because the road is in such bad shape.
The decades it will take to compete the entire park shouldn’t preclude pedestrian safety while we wait. Hunt Dr in particular is rather egregious since it’s currently a main access point to the park and current have a sidewalk on either side. It’s how many access the park today by foot and bike, and fiolks are even pushing strollers in the street. Is it too much to ask for a sidewalk on one side for now?
I can sympathize on major access points. But in general you need to read the room, dawg. They are still in the process of designing large portions of the park and you want the City of Raleigh to come in and put down sidewalks on all the “major” roads, most of which have single-digit years left? On roads that get only the occasional car going ~30mph?
That’s conservatively 2 miles of sidewalks. I would rather the City either: (1) put those tax dollars elsewhere or (2) study the optimal location and environmental/social/historical/paranormal impact for the next 10 years.
I hear what both you and John are saying, but this doesn’t feel like an either/or. Why not just split the difference and put some cones or even paint down for the time being? It would be a good way to mark off some separation from pedestrians/bikers and cars, while also maybe encouraging alternate forms of transportation. Plus it’d be a lot cheaper than sidewalks.
Pragmatism like this can go a long ways. I live near Laurel Hills Park and one day I was returning from work on the bus and noticed there isn’t actually a way for someone in a wheelchair riding the bus to the park to actually get there (a park that has one of the few entirely wheelchair accessible playgrounds).
I mentioned this to a former city council member who was running for reelection and she made it happen within a month.
No, it’s not perfect, but it’s better than what was there and it screams, “Humans walk here” to everyone who drives in.
Agreed - I completely understand the sentiment of not wanting to put money towards something that seems temporary, but they did already invest in putting a more legitimate parking lot off that entrance on Hunt Drive. I’ve assumed this is anticipation of more visitors to the park now that Gipson is open, but once visitors park here they’re stuck in an unsafe situation without having any walking path going into the park.
The same goes for Barbour Drive going towards Spring Hill where theres simply no safe paths to get around. I’d argue that keeping foot traffic safe is a worthwhile investment, even if it’s not the same foot paths that’ll exist 10-20 years from now.
I was wondering why the area considered “The Grove” looked pretty bare and brown. Apparently there have been goats clearing the kudzu from the area for 4 days and they’ll be there for at least 6 more days. This all seems to be the start of the creek restoration project
