Speaking of a round-a-bout. Olde Raleigh just posted this picture of the original round-a-bout. It almost looks like broken cement.
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I think a roundabout design for five points would work just fine for pedestrians as long as the sidewalks and non paved features are designed correctly. If you build the environment around the traffic circle to signal to drivers that they are not in control they will slow down and be aware of pedestrians. If the built environment prioritizes cars and the flow of them, they will take control. Something I’ve seen work exceptionally well in person are crosswalks with blinking yellow lights on the signs and the street. People will slow down and stop twice as much when those are blinking.
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The peanut roundabout is likely to be an eight-figure project. Given that option C was otherwise so much simpler, a solution for the elementary school issue could probably have been worked out within the scope of the roundabout budget. This whole study has been a dog and pony show, the only options that have ever actually been on the table have been (essentially):
- Do almost nothing
- Roundabout
American planners like to:
- Come up with a billion alternatives (to make it so everybody gets a voice)
- Because they have so many alternatives, look for reasons to screen alternatives out (to make it look like the process is data-driven and moving forward)
- Potentially resolvable issues often get flagged as fatal flaws at this stage
The whole process is often suspect, because either the planning agency or the politicians who called for the study often have a preferred alternative in mind from day one. It can even be a sham, as there are plenty of (legal) ways to stack the deck subtly but decisively in favor of that alternative.
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Next building for Budleigh East: 18-unit condo building.
Original plan showed 12 brownstones here, so slight change.
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Hey cool, not much of a change from the plans (though this will now equate to even more housing units, so a good upgrade IMO). My only issue with this whole development is the lack of retail/street activation along Oberlin and Fairview. They only have that ONE big ass (read: 100% future corporate chain) retail building on the corner of Oberlin x Fairview. Meanwhile, that little retail strip across the street makes a killing (Mandolin always packed, Idle Hour always packed, Hungry Howies always bustlin’, and that new Salon is always booked) - which makes me question why more retail wasn’t considered for this HUGE development that will guarantee SO MUCH MORE foot traffic?? Kills me, with the shortsightedness of some of these new developments.
Even just some smaller retail spaces along Oberlin on the ground floor of the big apartment building would’ve been welcome.
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I walked through a grade separated roundabout in Espoo Finland a while back, but it was opposite of this one. The road was above and walkers and cyclists descended under it with a daylighted “donut hole” that washed the area with natural light. It was a wonderful solution IMO.
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The apartments at Iron Works named the “Forge” have begun pre-leasing. Time to break out the checkbook these aren’t cheap. Keep in mind this isn’t downtown or North Hills, and this area vitrually sprouted from nothing, which also has ZERO walking access.
433 square foot Micro Unit for $1500, is insane.
I think these renderings are new too:
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I’ve always wanted to sleep in my kitchen…
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Um. Are they out of their fucking minds?
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Supply and demand ¯_(ツ)_/¯ - we need more housing.
At least this development has so many common spaces to live your life in so you feel less trapped in that walk-in closet.
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Luckily for the hamster they’ll convince to rent these units, they provide the tiny furniture that moves on a track across the floor. Bed, closet, desk, and kitchen table all in one.
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Think you do have to show how to live in a micro unit and it would require appropriately scaled furniture and storage areas. So providing built in multipurpose bed/table/storage furniture is a nice feature.
Studio move outs in Skyhouse frequently feature giveaway pricing on beds, tables, etc. to avoid moving them. This would make moveouts much easier as walk aways.
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providing all of this is the only way that the rental price makes sense. It’s a solid first apartment for a newly graduated professional as they get their feet wet in the pool of adulthood. It’s also a good option for folks on a temp assignment and don’t want to live in a hotel for 6 months.
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You could really prank someone who was passed out on the bed.
I guess if you go to the office every day and live in a vibrant city, you won’t spend too much time home anyway. Not sure this area really qualifies as vibrant yet, though. Can’t imagine this is a long-term rental.
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Animated, for anyone interested. And yes, I think this is built into the micro studio price, because the smallest 1 bedroom (501sf, $1378) is actually slightly cheaper than the 433sf micro units.
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Also…the Army General and his staff, stuffed in the refrigerator 
also from the movie, fifth element
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