Image Credit: Flickr User Rivertarts under a Attribution-Non-Commerical Creative Commons Licence.
Last night after work I decided to get gas and pick up a few groceries at a store and station I don’t normally frequent. The benefit of being at the center of town is being able to be at any business I want within 10-15 minutes. However, something about this shopping center just felt convenient and right. My bank, the cleaners, two pharmacies(and the two that I use the most), and of course the grocery were all in the same vicinity. Also, the area is known for having lots of small specialty shops, and only one of them is anchored by a massive parking lot, so walkability is at a premium. The Starbucks that was there did shut down a while back, but there’s a nice speciality tea room in the walkshed of this area. Also, there are homes of all income levels within walking distance. There used to be two grocery stores in the shopping center, but that’s a story in of itself. Anyway, enough of this story. It’s a love story of place though, don’t forget to send me those. Time though for some news:
NC News Roundup
Once again, tonight’s Greensboro City Council agenda. Council is set to vote on incentives for the Elm Street Center hotel, along with several items to enable the High Point Road Streetscape plan.
All these road construction projects are under construction or slated to begin construction this year in Guilford County.
The head of the Piedmont Triad Airport Commission is stepping down as chairman and from the board after 15 years of service.
Hanes Park in Winston-Salem needs work after 100 years of service to the city.
Apparently the Gawker survey about what neighborhoods are Bushwick and Williamsburg in a particular city that’s not NYC included Raleigh and Charlotte. For the record, in Greensboro it’s Glenwood and Lindley Park respectively. Also, Carrboro is not a neighborhood!
RTP (the actual park and its governance) have announced plans to rehab The Park Center, which is what you see when you drive down I-40 between Southpoint and the airport. They hope the rehab will bring more than 100,000 jobs to the area.
The Powerhouse Development in the Glenwood South area of Raleigh (an real neighborhood!) is under new ownership. If you are confused to what are this is, Natty Greenes Raleigh is in one of the buildings.
There’s been a coal-ash spill into the Dan River, just outside of Eden.
The City of Greensboro’s federally-funded energy efficiency program has failed to meet all of its goals.
Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County election troubles cited in this Next City article as one of the worst failures of election proceedings in the country.
US and World News Round-Up
The Federal Highway Fund is actually in jeopardy. Regardless of what you think about highway placement, some of the ones that are necessary are in need of repair and this is the only fund for some of them to get the money they need. But when a road needs to go, a road needs to go. Akron, OH realizes that now too.
Cincinnati is looking at bikeshare. In addition, this momentum around the streetcar and bikeshare has encouraged an op-ed in the local paper to call for more transit investment.
So proud that the Triad area is far ahead of DC in this. But I am glad that DC has launched this, to deal with that, on the very important issue of eradicating homelessness.
Apparently, there were issues with public transit after the Super Bowl Sunday night. Some analysis of the issues here.
I can speak from experience, children are some of the best community planners.
Michael Pollan addresses inequities in food pricing and the labor required to get food to market. However, in better food news, this underserved neighborhood in Kansas City is getting an Aldi stocked with fresh foods and staffed by community members.
Elizabeth Warren has an awesome plan to remake old post offices into low cost banks to help those who are taken on the regular by payday lenders and even regular banks with crazy fees.
And finally, I think these libraries and their sculptures are a lot of awesome and not too much strange.