I completely agree. I used to live in this area 12 years ago before I bought my house, and except for Big Boss, there was really nothing there. I liked the reasonably quick drive to North Hills and downtown vs my previous place in Brier Creek, but that was all it had. Now this stuff has popped up in several nearby spots, which is really cool. But because it was all kind of different groups, nothing was coordinated the way we’d want. And now it’s a game of catch up, which hopefully happens before a family is wiped out by a speeding car as they try to cross Atlantic.
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The way I see it, if I have to drive somewhere, then I want it to be a fun and interesting drive. Even if it’s just to the grocery store or to work. My last car was a GTI actually, and every drive in it felt like an event due to the sporting nature of that car. When I was in Raleigh last week, my dad asked me to drive him somewhere in his newer car and I could not believe how boring it was. I think if people didn’t subject themselves to the most boring and isolating transportation appliances possible, they might enjoy driving more, but there are a dwindling number of vehicles that can offer that experience at a reasonable price point. The GTI was one of the GOATs of that segment, but it is dead to me (and a lot of other enthusiasts) now that it is no longer available with a manual gearbox.
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I had a GTI as well and it was a blast! I traded it for a TDi Sportwagen with a 6M and it too was fun. Both are now gone. I have a vintage 2000 Audi TT that’s really fun to drive as well. I agree. If you are going to drive, at least make it fun.
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can a peanut with a speed hump or narrowing just before entry help or would that impair emergency vehicles?
A few years ago I went to a wedding of my friends’ son. They had their wedding and reception at this race track place just over the VA line. I can’t remember its name, but it was a cool wedding in this big barn. It was like the movie Footloose. FWIW, the groom is an auto mechanic.
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This is a funny comment given your primary transportation option when you and @GucciLittlePenguin visit us is a bike. 
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Virginia International Raceway…?
That sounds right. I’ve only been there once for that wedding.
Yea, it’s one of several large barns they have for event space.
The property is enormous, when you pull into the entrance gates you can’t hear a single car or even know a track exists there.
It’s amazing
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The entire property really is pretty and quite different from what I was expecting.
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In the same way that you enjoy driving, I enjoy biking. I like to commute, shop, grocery shop, hang out with friends, etc by biking. My “anti-driving” stems more from a lack of walking/personal transportation infrastructure. If cars/bikes weren’t forced to mix as much, such as sharing lanes, then it probably wouldn’t be such a big issue. Even if we get a narrow bike lane, it’s blocked. I’ve heard people complain about bikes being on the road and being too slow. I don’t like being on the road and forcing cars to slow myself, but given that we don’t have separated infrastructure, then it is what it is. I’ve had plenty of close calls of where cars attempt to squeeze in between me and other objects such as other cars, medians (such as on Oberlin), etc. So to provide this infrastructure, my “anti-driving” would call for a reduced lane and/or traffic speed for safety reasons. I want to be able to bike with my wife/kids and feel safe. It’s a bit less on “anti-driving” and more on “I want to be able to bike there and not feel like I’m risking my life, kid’s lives, or wife’s”.
Why do I enjoy biking? In part, I like the exercise. It takes me ~ 30 minutes to get to work by bike; 30 mins back depending on how much I want to work out. It’s about 20-30 minutes to get to work depending on traffic. When I drive to work, I find that I’m just trying to get home or to work as quickly as I can. The driving experience is not great. On a bike, I find that I tend to enjoy the experience better; I think it’s the activity and potential chemicals the body releases while biking. I also count it towards my exercise time. Last year I was trying to get about 5-7 hours active time a week. The bike commute basically helps bring that amount down. I also find that biking tends to give me a way of a “vacation feel”. One of the activities people do while on vacation is bike. When I went to Greece on a company trip, the company rented bikes for us to do a ride. Of course biking isn’t something everyone does on vacation, but it is an activity that is offered by resorts. On a financial aspect, I just hate how much car ownership costs; The car itself, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc. We are a one car family household. Instead of buying a second car, we put that money into savings, investments, or spend it on vacations.
While you mentioned that you don’t expect to walk most places, I believe that each place should be able to be walked to from their respective neighborhood. In the instance of Raleigh Iron Works/The Loading Dock, there are about 1,000 apartments/condos East of Atlantic Avenue and north of Crabtree Creek. This does not include the apartments already at Forge which are only a mile away from Wegmans. With the number of apartments, and the greenway being nearby, it makes sense to add in infrastructure for biking/walking. I’ve ridden down Atlantic with some friends to the greenway. The unsafe part about riding and trying to connect to the greenway now is that you need to stop on Atlantic so you can get on over the curb to the greenway. What may be considered “anti-driving” on Atlantic is more of “can we get some biking infrastructure here?”. Six Forks Rd/Atlantic intersection is 3 miles from downtown. It shouldn’t be unreasonable to want to have biking/walking infrastructure 3 miles from the heart of downtown.
I’ll drive at times because it is Raleigh. So I’m not completely anti-driving. I just think there needs to be an investment into other infrastructure besides roads exclusively for cars.
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I support alternate transportation and safe biking infrastructure for sure. I’ll admit that part of me wishes biking was banned on car-designed roads until they can be made to accommodate bikes safely. I’ve seen so many things just as a driver that makes me amazed there aren’t more fatalities, including vehicle head on collisions. I know the law is that bikes have a right to be on the roads, but laws can change. I see bikes in so many spots I’d never in a million years attempt.
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You should consider shifting the mindset to restrict car access on problematic roads until appropriate infrastructure can be developed. Prioritizing cars is not the ideal long-term solution, given the immense infrastructure demands and the high costs associated with personal vehicles. The United States continues to see an increase in miles driven annually and remains one of the highest car ownership countries globally. With millions of miles of roads and nearly a billion parking spaces, a more sustainable approach to transportation is urgently needed. Consider the impact the congestion charge has had in reducing vehicle traffic in lower Manhattan. Americans stand to benefit from adopting a less car-dependent lifestyle, though it can be challenging to envision such a shift given the current reliance on cars for almost every aspect of daily life.
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So we should stop letting thousands of cars a day go down Trinity Rd because one idiot likes to ride his bike in the middle of the travel lane on narrow, blind curves? Despite that car taxes paid for this road to be built and maintained? I don’t think that works in a representative democracy…
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Restrict is not stop.
A road diet for Wade to repurpose four lanes into three lanes with a continuous left turn lane on order to allow those two through lanes to flow is not a bad idea.
Fourth lane of pavement becomes bike lanes.
Done with paint alone. All it requires is political will.
Lower vehicular speeds on Trinity is an option that benefits all…including the driver.
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Surely you realize that gas tax, vehicle registration fees, and other taxes tied to car ownership do not fully cover the cost of maintaining and upgrading our road infrastructure. In the USA, car operation is subsidized in nearly every aspect from fuel and manufacturing to the funding of road construction and maintenance. The real costs of car-related infrastructure are shared by the entire population, not solely by individual car owners.
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I didn’t mean to ignite this whole car vs. alternate argument. My only thoughts on this was at least putting in the infrastructure for alternate forms of transit.
In the instance of Raleigh Iron Works, and the surrounding area, Atlantic can lose the median turn lanes similar to how Wade avenue works. If we lose the turn lane, then one lane can be used as a two way greenway-like biking/walking lane. I understand people view Atlantic Ave as a throughway, but there are absolutely no north/south running bike lanes in this area. Either Atlantic, or Wake Forest Rd, could lose at least 1 lane for a north/south connection route. Given there are more housing units off Atlantic, I’d say Atlantic would make the most sense.
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I’m fine with any improvement to Atlantic and fully advocate for that.
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Who on earth would bike rollar coaster road?
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