Someone sure made some money hawking these to universities!
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I was able to visit the Netherlands last week. Iām sure most people here have watched Not Just Bikes but his two videos on Rotterdam are really interesting. A few observations:
Obviously, the Netherlands has incredible urban planning and wealth. But itās not perfect. Biking can be stressful in busy areas, and I frequently had to bike past a truck on a narrow one-way street which is not fun. But here are some things they had that I wish we did:
This was a great street, West-Kruiskade, known as Rotterdamās chinatown or multicultural street.
While wide for Dutch standards, it really wasnāt that bad to cross, and we did so a number of times when we saw shops on the other side we wanted to go to. The density was interesting too, because this is right in the downtown of Rotterdam, and most of the buildings look to be less than six stories. This gives me a lot of hope for projects like the BRT transit corridors. While the zoning there is less than many here want, it was good to see how a street can be really enjoyable with only moderate density and very wide lanes. The BRT lanes could also be converted to tram lines in the futureā¦
Another observation is how many grocery stores there were. Albert Heijn is the largest brand in the Netherlands:
I count 81 stores here in the ring, and there are way more stores in the center rather than on the edges. To me, this just reinforces that we need significantly more grocery stores. A single chain has 27 stores near the center of Amsterdam and Raleigh only has two in downtown? I think there are probably less than 27 in the entire beltline.
And last picture, the Bimhuis in Amsterdam is an amazing music venue with a great view of the city. Not a great picture, but I definitely want something like this in downtown.
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Sidewalks in Miami are horrendously narrow. Like 4 feet. Itās awful walking here. Glad we have better sidewalk guidelines but thereās still a lot of skinny sidewalks in DTR that need to be expanded. Like on Davie Street.
The 4ft wide sidewalks are especially common on bridges in Miami. Sidewalks elsewhere are a mixed bag of sizes.
i regularly watch bicycle dutch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67YlPrRvsO117gFDM7UePg and my understanding was that rotterdam has the most western road layout of the dutch cities.
Sincerely presenting this not as a ālol letās dump on Charlotteā opening, but because itās an interesting article (Also co-sign that we should have a āTalk About Other NC Citiesā thread): The Rise and Fall of the Epicentre - Charlotte Magazine
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This was a really good read. Good intentions, poor execution. There was one line in particular that made me wonder if we have any similar blind spots here in Raleigh: āThe Epicentreās popularity obscured its initial problems.ā The idea that an inwardly-focused, car-oriented development only works well if the tenants remain appealing.
I wonder if Fenton will struggle in this way, though having a residential element may prevent that. I can also see the tenants surrounding the Wegmans in Midtown East struggling in a similar way.
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Iām confused though. Thereās nothing inherent about Epicentre that makes it car-oriented.
Midtown East is just a strip mall. Same with Fenton just with some residential added. Those are actually car-oriented and it just seems being in a suburban environment gives retail centers a bit more of a cushion. Not sure why, but it always seems like a harder bar to clear to maintain a retail presence in urban locations (at least in Raleigh)?
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The article describes it as such ā Iām guessing because it sits on a parking garage and has more parking across the street on three of its four sides ā but more so because it really made no effort to properly integrate the adjacent light rail station. My first time visiting there, I was stunned by how awkward that connection is. Hereās how the article describes it:
From the light rail stop on Trade Street, you first encounter a huge blank wall and trash-littered steps that lead to the rear of a CVS. A narrow bridge spans the canyon-like gap between the stop and the complex. Fumes rise from the hotelās parking entrance below and suffocate thoughts of a sidewalk cafĆ©. Trade Street yields more blank walls. Shops and restaurants are elevated and set back from the street. On Fourth Street, only a dark staircase to the interior courtyard and two parking garage entrances interrupt a block of blank walls.
It should have opened up to the light rail station, inviting passengers to enter the plaza and check out whatās going on in there. Instead, it feels like youāre stopping at a station that connects to nothing. Epicentre may not seem car-oriented because itās in Uptown, but itās not very well-connected to the rest of Uptown despite being a mere block or two away from the city center. Itās like a forgotten little corner of the grid. And because it was mostly nightlife, it was, at a time, a place where people would drive into the city, park in one of the adjacent garages, hang out on that single block, and then leave. It doesnāt properly connect to the rest of the grid, so it might as well be a strip mall in suburbia.
At least, that was my interpretation of the article. Yāall are welcome to correct me on that.
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Fenton wonāt struggle because it matches its context: car dependency.
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Good point. As long as they can get a good anchor, theyāre solid. Epicentre, on the other hand, is an inwardly-focused development in a space thatās supposed to be well-connected.
What do you make of Midtown East? It has neat tenants, but always looks kinda dead to me (except for Wegmans and BBās, of course).
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Torchyās and Starbucks always seem to be doing excellent business.
Forgot about Torchyās. And Starbucks is Starbucks, so that makes sense.
Guess Iām zeroing in on the wrong businesses.
Thereās a point in there about the retail locations - It seems not many people seem to go to buy stuff. They go to work out at Rowhouse and eat as far as I can tell.
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I personally hate that shopping center. Then again, I hate nearly all suburban strip centers. I only go there for Wegmans and almost always approach it from the rear of the property so that I donāt get caught up in that entrance quagmire. I usually hit Wegmans around 10PM when most people are gone and most businesses are closed.
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The layout is atrocious. Even driving in there is miserable, and it doesnāt help that it faces a seven-lane stroad. Mercantile Dr shouldnāt even exist: this left-hand turn is just asking for collisions. Would have been better as a pedestrian plaza.
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Same, and same. Weāve likely walked by each other while late-nite grocery shopping hahaha
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I donāt think anything different would have realistically saved Epicentre. It was a place to party and once covid hit, then it lost its main draw. The connection to the station isnāt that weird. If that was the case, then most metros/subways would have similar problems. I donāt think facing the station would have made any difference. I think it could pick back up once covid is done.
As far as the inwardly focused portion goes, I wonder what people would have done different? Point all the shops towards 4th, College, and Trade? That would have made it worse. There is nothing appealing across the street from Epicentre. Inward facing was best given its location. If there was stores on both sides of Trade Street between the Arena and Tryon St, then facing Trade St. would have been better.
Midtown East and Fenton will have different types of shops than Epicentre. You canāt really compare them. You can compare Uptown to North Hills to an extent. The connection from West North Hills to East North Hills is terrible. North Hills has more residences which helps. Uptown had mainly offices around it.
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I think a great comp is the Power & Light District in KC. Inward-facing bubble of restaurants and bars next to an arena thatās designed to make downtown less intimidating for suburbanites, but itās pretty welcoming to enter if youāre just walking by.
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Yes, lots of shows there that are generally free and draws large crowds. Also the trolley running on the street adjacent is super helpful getting around the strip. Area wasnt really my scene but I definitely get why its popular.
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