You could basically say that every state did a bad job at planning for growth. That is because it’s very unpredictable. You can conduct job growth analyses and other studies but the results are always wrong.
Transportation projects unlike land development projects, take at least 4 years (sidewalks projects included). 540, for example most likely took 20-30 years to be completed (planning to construction). The state could redo the design phase if staff believed that extreme changes are warranted but if that would require them to restart the whole process.
Moving away from highways, with increased density and transit expansions (already planned or currently being planned), it would be ignorant to not have adequate sidewalks (bare minimum) and bike lanes. The State and region has stated that it wants to decrease traffic fatalities and serious injuries, you don’t do that by neglecting pedestrians and bikers (most vulnerable, especially in dense areas).
Last thing since this is basically off topic. 100 deaths and 200 injuries (not accurate but just a guess) that occurred on Six Forks is not a small number or an acceptable sacrifice to the living victims or the families of the deceased.
Widening roadways in dense areas will never make the road safer, not even for vehicle occupants, unless the addition of bearers is the primary objective (median trees, bike lanes, sidewalks, etc.).
Raleigh Magazine has a nice story and graphic about the proposed North Hills rezoning. I will say again if they approve a new tower at the corner of the main entrance on Six Forks they can easily do a safe pedestrian tunnel under Six Forks to the other half close to the Bank of America Tower. https://raleighmag.com/2025/07/north-hills-rezoning/
One thing I dont really understand with the way Raleigh does zoning is by floors. In Charlotte where we do have height restrictions it is done by feet tall. 20 story apartment tower is not as tall as a 20 story office tower and it depends on if parking is integrated into the building as the floor heights shrink.
Reducing lane count on six forks somehow would be nice. Not going to hold.my breath. So a crosswalk will always suck.
As for a tunnel, I would not say this would be easy to build, at all. Likely 8 figure cost.
What’s mostly been suggested is a bridge which would be neat to look at and impressive for drivers on Six Forks but significantly worse from a user standpoint and harder to integrate well into the rest of NH, to the point that I think it wouldn’t see much use.
No good answers here. Maybe making a tunnel a condition for the rezoning could work. Chances are though even if Kane “agreed” when it came time to build, he would balk at the cost, pay an engineer to stand before council and say “infeasible”, and try to swap for a bridge or even wiggle out from the requirement.
Would probably only ever actually happen with significant public subsidy. And at that point I’d ask “is this really what we should spend tax money on?” And reach the answer “probably not.”
But the key difference in the new proposal, while asking for a height increase, is not asking for increased density or square footage over what is currently allowed (2,500 residential units and 3 million total square feet). “We’re changing the shape of what we’re zoning, not the scale,” maintains Walker.
That’s an interesting approach assuming they don’t plan to try and build on only 1/3 of the land and the leave the rest vacant so in 5 years they can add more density.
For safety reasons I highly advise him to scale it down I don’t wanna hear people complain about it like last time. If the council votes this in it could cost them the next election, I’d be careful. Lessons learned. Honestly Kane should let this one go, I just wouldn’t risk it not that I’m not against it I’m just worn out for people protesting and complaining it’s very annoying.
I think for safety reason the council will turn this one down, the traffic argument is legit and the six forks widening is down. I just don’t see it and the current new council still isn’t out of the woods yet in terms of the cities political climate on growth.
Yeah I gotta agree with you on this one. The traffic is such a nightmare that GPS takes me in the back way now. It’s going to be a tough sale for Kane on this one.
Facts… I think Kane should just focus on downtown core of course away from the neighborhoods but core downtown that’s ripe for development those are safe choices. What mean is McDowell and Dawson and by Union Station and Fayetteville Street. There will be a time when this rezoning can happen but it’s not right as for the moment. Just be careful city council and John Kane.
As a condition, council should request Kane widen the sidewalk and/or add a bike track on the Lassiter District side (it would sadly be unreasonable to ask for improvements to both sides). If they do that, it would decrease the cost of a future Six Forks project.
I can see Kane making road improvements in the area at their expense for the city in exchange for this re-zoning and development. This would explain why they’re reviving it now, right after the Six Forks widening was cancelled.
Kane is going to need to give some concessions for sure. Last round he offered to pay for an Upgrade Fire Station and a Bus Station and that was not enough to appease the masses. I am in the Neighborhood near there and I can only imagine the uproar over this.
I think pedestrian improvements across and along 6 forks are a must have. Crossing 6 forks at Dartmouth is dangerous across like 10 lanes of traffic. If a pedestrian bridge, tunnel are off the table due to costs, at minimum there needs to be a much better crosswalk, maybe slightly raised, with a much wider median, and signals that allow pedestrians to cross without fear of getting clipped by someone turning right on red, or coming around from the left. It’s only a matter of time before some pedestrian gets hit there. And probably the same at the crossing near Lassiter.
I support the rezoning and am interested to see what Kane will be proposing. I just think my neighbors are already sharpening their pitch forks.
Improving existing crosswalks and adding crosswalks would make the most sense in terms of increasing traffic safety for all users. The drivers on this road need more bearers to encourage them to slow down. Too many drivers treat this road and others like a highway because it looks and feels like one.
The crosswalk is 8-to-9 lanes wide, which automatically makes it unsafe for parents and the elderly. We should not create mazes for pedestrians to achieve 1-2 minutes worth of perceived satisfaction for drivers.
To those in disagreement about the speed, please let me know how often you personally drive the speed limit on Six Forks. I’m curious because I personally don’t, mainly because so many cars are speeding behind and beside me. Also, would you cross the street without running during the white hand?
