Yes this screams traffic circle. Ideally run a short tunnel underneath for the through traffic on Glenwood, and a traffic circle for the remaining traffic. Probably would cost too much, but that would be the solution.
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My big question is if the radius could be made big enough to actually still warrant a Traffic Circle. Pretty tight area so the radius has to be fairly small.
Of course the tunnel idea would work perfectly but then we’re talking 25-50+ mil that could have bigger benefits elsewhere. Still fun to imagine and draw up though.
Very rough sketch but that NW quad would be very hard to work out.
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Wish we had a rooftop bar in Five Points to take in that city view! Amazing shots!
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I get that it was probably cool by 30 years ago in Raleigh standards, but there’s almost zero reason for me to go over there. It’s like City Market to me, just filled with unfulfilled potential.
There’s NoDa (and other spots) in Charlotte, West Asheville, West Greenville (SC), etc. that all seem to be areas where you walk or drive by, and just want to stop and check out. Five Points should be this for Raleigh, but all it has is a gas station, a bank, a couple ok places to eat, and a dated tiny theatre (which I actually really like). It’s just not much of a destination, and I feel like it really could be.
(random example image of West Greenville)
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I never said it was cool now. It’s been stagnant for years, and the only things there that interest me regularly are Lilly’s and the Third Place, though I can also catch a movie there at least!!!
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That seems like a good ballpark.
Not sure if the listings were posted here, but a few lots went on the market a couple weeks ago. 1.1 million for the quarter acre.
this area could easily be transformed into something similar to ninth street in durham.
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I’ve never been a fan of a roundabout at five points. Crossing a two lane roundabout on a busy street on foot actually really, really sucks. (Ever tried it?)
I would prefer that five points just go away.
Simplify it and drastically shrink down the footprint of the intersection.
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Raleigh seems to be open to implementing the Dutch style roundabouts which are angled different for safer pedestrian usage. They’re looking into using these elements on Lake Wheeler
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It’s actually 6 points.
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Person Street through Oakwood feels much closer to that kind of environment than Five Points. It’s so hard for that neighborhood to get critical mass of walkability for a cohesive shopping trip with the ocean of concrete and traffic in the middle of it.
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Does every area of thee city need to change and have 5/1 junk. Some areas should be left alone as it adds some history and connections to the past and soul of a place. Just because you like a unique place for the way it looks does not make you a NIMBY. We see this on Hillsborough st and it’s blah and bleak IMHO.
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Look at the picture you’re quoting - there’s no 5/1 stickbuilt apartment complexes in it. There’s plenty of ways to add a bit of density, unique shopping and dining experiences, and make the intersection less of a hostile wall between the sides of the neighborhood without turning it into Anywhere, USA.
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I didn’t say that, nor was I advocating for that.
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Long time fan of the Five Points area here…
I think the pics poster actually commented on the 5 over 1s, not GLP…
I tend to agree with GLP’s assessment of the unrealized promise of 5 points - it is less ‘interesting to the point of stopping to check out’ than West AVL, NoDa or the section of GVL that is emerging in the past 5 years. Too bad really, in my mind.
I’m guessing that’s because of two things : the traffic realities with Glenwood as a pass through stroad and not being a full blown entertainment district is exactly the way the local residents want it to be…
Just enough to do is probably just fine for the majority of folks living off Fairview, Whitaker, Caswell, etc…If it was all Lilly’s weird, they definitely wouldn’t dig that.
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I think something like this would be good at the wellsfargo spot and the bank could even take the ground floor retail space.
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In Five Points, call me cynical - but from what I see, the neighborhood is one of the most right-leaning in the city, with too many wealthy people living nearby that are too close to the circles of power in the city and state for it to ever change. They view it as their neighborhood, not a part of the city at large, and will fight tooth and nail to keep it the way it is. NIMBYism!
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nah. you might be thinking of hayes barton and fallon park areas?
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Even wealthy neighborhoods can change. You’d just need to know the right people to pull the right levers of power.
After all, I’m sure even old-money Raleigh would prefer something that felt more like Southampton or Mill Valley (to use an example from each coast) than the current set up.
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