A House, a Creek and a Greenway

A missing link will finally fall into place Sept. 24, when House Creek greenway trail opens to the public.
This news  is especially exciting for me, a born-again bicycle rider and enthusiastic fan of Raleigh's Secret Garden, better known as the city's greenway system.
The House Creek trail runs from the I-440 pedestrian bridge near the N.C. Museum of Art across Blue Ridge Road and on toward Crabtree Valley Mall.
I've eagerly awaited news about this project for the better part of nine years, when I first moved to Raleigh with my family and saw the greenway plans running near my house.
As a newcomer shopping for houses, I had an eye toward walking trails and sidewalks, but we ultimately made our decision based on school zone, affordability, sufficient space to accommodate 11- and 13-year-old boys, and proximity to my husband's workplace in downtown Raleigh.
As a fan of good urban planning, I was not thrilled about living at the end of a cul-de-sac. But privacy of the small backyard deck lured me outside often enough, and from the early days, I noticed a gentle noise like gurgling water.
Was there a stream or brook nearby?  I never saw a bridge, ditch or drainage pipe close to the house. But I could still from time to time pick out those faint yet distinctive watery sounds.
When I first learned that the greenway section near our house was under construction, I was eager to explore the site. That's when I found House creek, which runs across the "bottom" between our property and the beltline.
I am now a big enough fan of our west Raleigh neighborhood and recognize my own cognitive dissonance surrounding the whole experience of a mid-life relocation.
But if I needed another reason to explain why my home in Raleigh is special, now I have it - and it's within earshot of my backyard..
If you are not familiar with the greenway system, please find time to visit. Whether taking a short stroll along Crabtree Creek or peddling up the steep hills of the Art Museum property, you'll discover something wonderful outside.

Traffic calming: Drivers' headache is neighbors respite

For motorists in a hurry, the humps, bumps and other elements of traffic-calming efforts can be frustrating. But for residents of heavily trafficked neighborhoods, these projects can be highly beneficial.

 The city of Raleigh has made traffic-calming a top goal, according to a recent press release from the Public Works Department.

The city has completed four major traffic-calming projects since 2006 and more are on the way. In fact, the budget includes $2.7 million for traffic-calming over the next 10 years that pay for 13 projects per year, according to Thomas Fiorello, Traffic Calming Coordinator.

If you live in a neighborhood that serves as a cut-through or otherwise receives more than its share of high-speed traffic, a traffic calming program is one approach to consider. After getting a go-ahead from city planners, residents in the affected area must be sure they have at least 75 percent of their neighbors before traffic calming can be authorized.

So far, areas completed include Ashe Avenue/Park Avenue in west Raleigh; Eagle Trace Drive in northeast Raleigh; Plaza Place in northwest Raleigh and Morning Dove Drive in north Raleigh. A fifth project, on Anderson Drive, is underway, including removing a merge lane from Six Forks Road southbound to Anderson Drive and the addition of a median islands and a bicycle lane.

The speed limit on Anderson Street Drive also is being reduced to 30 mph. Streets already in the planning stages are: Kaplan Drive from Kent Road to Melbourne Road; Brookside Drive from Watauga Street to Glascock Street; Glascock Street from Norris Street to North Raleigh Boulevard; Rainwater Road from Spring Forest Road to Hunting Ridge Road; and, Milburnie Road from Raleigh Boulevard to Chatham Lane.

The City Council is scheduled to receive an update on traffic-calming projects at its Sept. 18 meeting.

Raleigh Neighborhood Aghast at New Zoning Rules

There's something just so Raleigh about how members of the Glenwood Citizens Advisory Council have chosen to express displeasure over new urban design regulations passed by the city.

The CAC's subtle protest comes in the form of a contest titled "So You Think You Can Build?" in which participants are asked to push the envelope on the new zoning code to preposterous levels -- but only to the extent that the rules will allow.

The council represents several ITB neighborhoods on the west side of downtown, west of Glenwood Avenue and east of I-440, where homes typically sit on lots of a quarter-acre or larger.

"Let’s look now," says the CAC's call for contestants, "before our smaller homes are turned into virtual duplexes or our neighbors build second houses in their backyards to within ten feet of the side and rear property lines."

The code changes that are most concerning involve both attached and detached and attached structures on residential lots.

Information about the contest, complete with prizes, is available on Neighborship.com and the Glenwood CAC Facebook page.