Rave and Show Raleigh Off

We have a thread about showing things off from other cities. I wanted to show Raleigh off (and area aka Cary/Durham for my post) for a change.

This past Friday, I decided to take advantage of our bus/greenway system to ride the unofficial Raleigh/Durham Mall to Mall Trail (Southpoint to Crabtree). As always, you can right click a photo and open in a new tab to see the full photo.

I jumped on the 27 bus at Crabtree and rode to The Raleigh Market/Fairgrounds. After stopping and seeing the bus sign didn’t list #100 for GoTriangle, I rode to the intersection of Trinity Rd/Blue Ridge.
Left: Inside the #27 bus. Was very empty
Right: Intersection of Trinity/Blue Ridge. Not a good stop since I waited in the wet dirt.

The #100 bus had a decent number of riders at about 13. I transferred at the RTC station to the #800 which dropped me off at Southpoint. I was surprised to see they converted one lane as a bus only lane. Props to Durham. I took a walk around Southpoint and like that they had a display called “Prismatica” set up. I also found it interesting they had a stage set up. I’ve been to Southpoint quite a bit before, but I guess never paid attention to the truss/stage set up.
Left: Bus lane on Renaissance Parkway
Middle: Prism for “Prismatica” and truss stage set up.
Right: Looking down the outdoor portion of the mall

Left: Water feature in front of Barnes & Noble
Right: Looking towards indoor portion of mall and another water feature

I went up to the pedestrian bridge that crosses 40. I’ve passed below this bridge, but have never been on it.

I headed south on the American Tobacco Trail and found it interesting how there were lines in the middle of the greenway similar to roads. I liked seeing the sign on the side showing where there was a water fountain although it was shut off. I also liked that there was a restroom at one of the parking access points. The sculpture was a nice touch.

Left: American Tobacco Trail with dashed lines
Middle: Sign indicating water fountain just off the trail
Right:

Left: Unpaved portion of Tobacco Trail
Middle: Wayfinding sign


I continued into Cary where the paved was paved again. I thought it was interesting where a section between Davis Drive and Mac Arthur Dr. was right in the middle of two sections of houses. I thought this would be a cool Christmas light walk if the houses decorated their backyards. I liked the painting on the side of the tunnel.

Left: Painting at the entrance to a tunnel.
Middle: The trail going between the backs of houses. This photo doesn’t do it justice.

Below: Fred G. Bond Metro Park

Additional trail photos and Lake Crabtree

I continued on the trail back to the wonderful city of Raleigh where I went into Umstead, was able to take a quick look at the Bandwidth campus, and take a break at the Museum of Art.

Umstead:

Reedy Creek Trail:

Museum of Art:

Final photo. Does anyone know why there would be an Arlo security camera under Blue Ridge Rd? I don’t think I’ve seen them under any of the other bridges.

Final quick thought:

  1. I have to say that I am a bit jealous of Southpoint. The addition of the Prismatica installation showed that they are attempting to bring people in. I also like the outdoor part/cinema as it provides longer hours of entertainment. Crabtree has the Ale House which is a nice little spot, but it’s separate from everything else that would remain open later such as Cheesecake Factory, Fleming’s, Uncle Julio’s, and La Rancheria. Granted that the other places aren’t nightlife places, but having those places near each other would give the perception that it’s active. I don’t think Crabtree could (and probably shouldn’t) pull a cinema due in part to the proximity of other cinemas, but they could use some sort of other night entertainment aspect. There’s a lot of hotel rooms there so I’m sure it could keep busy. I had hoped they would steal Dave & Buster’s away from Cary.
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Thank you for your tour! :camera:
As for Southpoint vs. Crabtree, they really are two different animals. Southpoint is Cary-like in its suburbaness, connected to periphery spawned development, and has acres and acres of surface lot parking. It’s connected by a network of roads that feel like they were built for the mall and its periphery.
Crabtree is more compact, decked, inwardly facing, and old school “mall”. It faces a main arterial road of the city that is less about the mall and more about the region (US70).
BTW, I love that you created this topic. We should celebrate our city more!

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What props Southpoint up for me vs Crabtree is the outdoor plaza section. Has a very nice feel.

Also - not sure where I saw it, but I know Durham has a master plan to revamp Southpoint with more density, apartments, hotels etc in the parking lots. Could be nice. I think that’ll happen for Crabtree too.

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Triangle Town also has one of these outdoor plaza sections, but that mall is far less successful in leveraging it, but that’s a completely other story altogether.
As for plans to revamp any of the remaining malls, they are/will be playing catch-up to North Hills.

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Yeah I’ve considered this too. Triangle Town Center is a good example on how having an exterior portion doesn’t necessarily help. However their implementation is not as good as Southpoint’s. TTC is missing that entertainment aspect as well. The good thing about TTC is that they do have quite a bit of housing going up around it. It has the possibility of helping.

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Dropping some photos off from yesterday’s ride on the Neuse River Trail. Who says Raleigh isn’t a waterfront city? Ok ok, it’s a small river, but I thought it was cool to see people going down and enjoying the river.

Left: Neuse River Trail Under Capital Blvd
Right: Near Buffaloe Rd Athletic Park

Milburnie Dam On The Neuse River

Abbotts Creek Trail and Falls River Ave. Saw a guy flying down the sidewalk which I found to be questionable since it was a sidewalk. I was on the road and found out why they were on the sidewalk. I’m not sure if it shows on the picture, but there’s no actual road connection. A ramp for bikes would have been good here. I’m not really complaining, but I did pass the trail as I was coming down the hill on the road. Had to make a u-turn.

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20201205_130236


of course i had to ride back. and a mere hour north a good kayak launch on the vastness of kerr lake. nice weekender activiies.

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This is a really comprehensive recap of all the cool stuff that should be coming online this year in the Triangle, and I wanted to share.

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