But was the public activation space really reduced? I’ll have to go back and see if I can find aerials of it previously.
No doubt it’s a nicer park for activation now, but the previous park was just an oak forest if I recall, with all areas accessible, was it not?
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I think it might be for one of two reasons. Either they wanted to make sure they protected the trees or they originally planned on a lot more plants/flowers than they decided to add in the future. Now we just have a lot of space that goes unused, including in summer where I think people would love a bit of refuge from the sun. There are also much better ways of protecting trees than roping off the entire space if that’s necessary.
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Yep, when Moore Square went through its big-to-do-Re-Do, they took out a bunch of mature shade trees to drop those hot cross bun lawns / pathways in there while simultaneously roping off the shaded areas…Never have understood the choices made here…
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I love the lawn, it’s dramatic, it’s a good open space for events, it’s great when it’s not high noon in the summer. Just need to figure out how to open the rest of it, too.
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I managed to find this from some guy that used to take really awesome ariels of downtown spaces.
Click to get full image.
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It’s not his fault for getting mixed up. He doesn’t even live here…
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This infuriates me to no end, the tiny useless “fence” that only serves to trip you flat onto your face if you aren’t staring directly at your feet as you’re walking LMAO
1000% yes. Never made sense how they did it from the jump.
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In this instance, I would just encourage personal advocacy - throw that shit off the bench and take a seat lmao
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There are a couple of reasons I focused on that.
Just walking through/around the park every day I asked myself why there was the constant perception that Moore Square was viewed as a homeless shelter. I had a bit of a “duh” moment the other day when I walked past about 6 or 7 people with giant piles of their shit on benches and around them. It wasn’t the people that made the space feel like a shelter, it was the vast amount of personal belongings people were bringing in and dumping all over the place.
I do think we should provide a solution for people. Storage lockers would be a nice investment in this area. It would also give leverage to tell people that bring all their shit here that they can put it in the storage locker or leave (as opposed to just asking them to leave with all their shit). I think everyone, including them, should be able to enjoy the space. But, it needs to be done in a way that is respectful to everyone that wants to use it.
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I don’t mind the unusable spaces IF they are more than just mulch. Get some legitimate landscaping/flowers in there and make the spaces attractive. As they are, they’re unusable and unattractive.
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This item was discussed in committee last week as part of a larger package of recommendations for downtown improvements. We decided to prioritize the recommendations related to safety and cleanliness first (more/new trash receptacles, tree wells, lighting, cross walks, etc.) with the funds we have available. The other recommendations, including these for Moore Square, were not prioritized, except the Mayor indicated she wanted to proceed with the dog park.
There were 2 Council Member (Forte and Black) who were hesitant to spend any of this money downtown, citing other competing interests in the city. So the issue will appear on our next regular meeting agenda for final decision.
I expect if it passes, it will only be for the safety and cleanliness recommendations, and not these recommendations for Moore Square (yet).
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I can fix it! And for that, I’ll even share a snowy pic of Moore Sq! These are all from March, 2017.
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Thanks for the response! In terms of prioritization, I agree that we need safety improvements for downtown. Putting the money elsewhere would be a line item and a cost. Putting it into downtown is an investment to build more taxable income for the foreseeable future.
I did think it would at least be a good idea to go over some specific things I notice every day to improve an area I see ridiculed far too often. Really looking forward to seeing the results of the improvements!
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Yeah, those pictures definitely highlight the amount of usable greenspace that we lost to mulch. From the looks of it, we may have 30% of the usable space that we had before.
The space certainly looks better now and is a lot more functional as an event space. But, it just feels so incomplete. Either open the space up or use it for a giant garden. What we have now makes no sense.
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Yeah all oceans look the same…so not his fault for mixing up an urban park. 
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Thanks. So, pretty much Nash Square? 
Saw this just laying there while walking through Moore Square today. A bit confused on the cost. Is $25 per square foot a yearly deal (cheap) or a monthly deal (expensive). 25*650 is $16250
The City is seeking a partner to operate the cafe space at Moore Square.
The cafe includes 250 square feet of frontage and 400 square feet of kitchen space, acoompanied by an expansive outdoor seating area.
At $25 per square foot, the space is available at well-below market rate with most utilities covered by the City. The City can also assist with additional upfit costs and rent abatements, to be negotiated with the selected operator. All food concept proposals welcome!
RFQ Timeline
We anticipate that the RFQ will post on April 10. Please visit https://evp.nc.gov for updates.
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