Has everybody noticed that Raleigh never puts up the umbrellas on the Plaza any more? It’s been a very hot summer and those umbrellas would have been nice to have…
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City Plaza is about to go through renovations and maintenance. Wonder if they didn’t want to add a bunch of stuff to just take it back down soon?
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@dtraleigh @TedF
Shade is really big deal in the heat of the Summer. Just walking down a sidewalk is a much different experience if there’s shade.
We need to be thinking of shade in all of our development decisions and umbrellas is an excellent way to provide shade until trees get larger, or in place of them where they can’t exist.
I have high hopes for the pedestrian plazas at Smoky Hollow 2, and at bloc83 because both of them will have west facing building that will shade late afternoon Sun. Both could be really nice experiences for hot Summer afternoons, especially if they employ some outdoor fans to keep the air circulating.
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The umbrellas were put up daily in past years. And taken down daily. If bad weather was forecasted (as in high winds) they would not put them up for that day. But they used to be up all the time. I don’t think they have been up at all this summer. It’s not adding stuff when they already had the umbrellas…
“Shade is really big deal in the heat of the Summer. Just walking down a sidewalk is a much different experience if there’s shade. We need to be thinking of shade in all of our development decisions and umbrellas is an excellent way to provide shade until trees get larger, or in place of them where they can’t exist.”
I agree. There’s no single weather factor in Raleigh that has more impact than our stifling hot summers. Back in the pre-AC days, people used to build with shade and air circulation in mind. Houses had covered porches and doors/windows that facilitated air flow. Business everywhere had overhangs and awnings. Shade trees were highly valued and well placed. Now, due to reliance on AC, builders throw up neighborhood after neighborhood of houses with zero thought given to heat management and mitigation, mow down hundred-year-old shade trees and replace them with crepe myrtles, and use designs that makes no sense for our region. The city allows the same with commercial and retail development. In most suburban parking lots, we lay down hundreds of parking spaces that will never be used instead of making allowances for shaded medians and walks. Awnings and overhangs in front of businesses are rare. I’m certainly grateful for AC, but we should encourage more thoughtful design along these lines in order to manage energy consumption more efficiently and provide more passive comfort elements around town.
As much as I like some elements of the Moore Square redesign, my first and constant thought is that they created a giant circle that no one is going to want to inhabit for several months out of the year.
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1000% love these thoughts. As a constant walker in downtown throughout the year, shady routes are more preferred over sunny ones during the summer months. We certainly are too obsessed with AC and there are simple design features (or just plant trees) that could help.
Also, continually adding more roads and large parking lots isn’t helping Raleigh’s temperature compared to just a few miles outside where there’s more greenery.
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I think spaces like parks are interesting because so many people view them in so many different ways.
For instance, I think one major thing Raleigh was missing is open, kid-friendly, green space in downtown proper. Having a 2 year old makes me see this city entirely different. Suddenly I’m so excited to throw down a blanket, grab a burger and a beer, and play in the square with my daughter. There was really no place to do this prior to the redesign.
The shade of the square made it impossible to grow bermuda or zoysia grass (the only types in our area that can stand up to traffic and the heat). It was always just dirt and weeds. Not a very inviting place to set up shop and relax. By taking out the trees allowed them to put that down and it will flourish. That cushy lawn will attract families with small kids and people that want to just lay down a blanket and relax (like you see a lot in Central Park NYC).
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So, again with public space activation, for a city to take on the risk of the umbrellas is a major ask. We run into this problem daily here in NYC. Umbrellas are great, but the size of the umbrella needed for public space is much larger, and contains a lot of pieces that create risk should they break or need some repair. There are major liability issues with them.
This all brings into question the power of civic design and the importance of legal indemnification. Cities are essentially designed by lawyers in order to prevent any chance the city takes a hit on their programs. You can infer how that has affected the design of public, civic space.
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They had been doing the umbrellas all along until this summer. I merely want to know why? Not asking for anything they haven’t already been doing…
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Maybe they were damaged? I remember a freak wind storm last year during SparkCon that totally trashed the event. Maybe some of the city’s umbrellas were damaged and they didn’t invest in replacing them knowing that the plaza renovations were in the works.
Just randomly guessing!
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Trees always do make the summer more bearable. That’s my greatest loss from the tornado here 18 months ago, I lost all my trees- several 100 plus.
But don’t over look the value of a good arcade! Raleigh not only gets a lot of heat, it gets a lot rain. Trees aren’t a lot of help then. An arcade done right of course, not poorly like I guess Duke energy did to the old CP&L building.
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A good thick tree can totally help in a rainstorm. It may not be perfect, but it’s much better than nothing.
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Fair enough, one is indeed better than nothing in a downpour. But when the rain stops, the trees keep dripping. Trade-offs with everything in life.
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When the rain stops…get out from under the tree. 
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First time at Moore Square since it reopened. Ate at Square Burger and it was pretty good. Overall I like what Raleigh did.
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I noticed the water feature was already closed yesterday. Probably because of the complaints of it being too slippery.
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Great picture. Thank you!
And those awesome huge trees! 
Raleigh-City of Oaks! Luv, Luv, Luv them! 
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Yes it was still closed today. Didn’t know the reason why though…
Per the city website:
The interactive water feature in Moore Square is temporarily closed for improvements to create a better experience for users."
Well that didn’t take long.
https://www.raleighnc.gov/parks/content/CorStatus/Articles/ParksFieldStatus.html
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Someone must have gotten that involuntary enema that was mentioned a while back… 
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