On Saturday the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority opened the doors to Phase One of the new Terminal 2 to the public with an impressive open house. The celebration showed off the new 920,000 square foot, $570 million terminal which will offer expanded security areas and improved efficiency with check-in and baggage security and routing.

After being shuttled to the upper levels of the hourly parking garage, visitors were greeted in the parking plaza with a jazz band, the first of many dotted throughout the terminal during this seminal event. Upon entering the front door of the terminal, it is easy to be swept away by the arcing, curved ceiling. Made of glue-laminated layers, the sturdy wood beams carry a shape reminiscent of a wing’s airfoil shape. Dramatic windows have been incorporated to allow in much natural light. The ticketing area contains two island style ticketing stations as well as individual kiosks for express check in.

The layout for the new terminal is essentially the same as that for the old Terminal C; a big “H”. The isthmus, again, is the site of security, only this time, there is no grade change until one is beyond the security areas.

The single, long concourse is similar to that in Terminal C, however the building is about 25 feet wider. The extra room accommodates bidrectional travelators as well as numerous full-service restaurants. The ceiling is a continuation of the arched airfoil concept, and contains many strips of glass to allow in natural light. The three big restaurants that will be open in this phase are 42nd Street Oyster Bar, Carolina Ale House, and Gordon Beirsch.

The concourse features some welcome improvements. The bathrooms are large and well-lit. The seating areas at the gates have some end tables with hidden power outlets. While AC outlets are offered, other form factors such as USB are offered. Finally, the large displays throughout the concourse are on par with the flatscreen displays that are appearing in the nation’s best airports.

As stated before, the isthmus is on the ticketing level, so arriving passengers must ride up a short escalator, then down a long escalator to access the baggage claim areas. The baggage claim area is unremarkable. The best kept secret in this complex, however, is the aluminum tree sculpture at the baggage claim entrance on the lower level. The tree’s base is outside, though some of its branches seemingly “pass through” the building’s two-story windows.

The terminal will no doubt offer an improved ticketing, security, and dining experience. The use of large windows will allow the building to utilize natural light for most of the time that passengers are using the building. Overall, the architectural design is stunning, and will make an excellent impression on those arriving to our area for the first time.

[Show as slideshow]

However, upon leaving the building, I have to wonder if this is the best way we could have spent just over half a billion dollars. Will the added natural light’s savings be offset by the additional costs to heat and condition the vast spaces inside the terminal? Will the movement of passengers up and down escalators eventually be seen as a backward way to move people? The facility only offers 4 more gates than Terminal C offered. Will this offer adequate revenues to help pay for this very expensive building? Will people actually use these full-service restaurants on the concourse? I can see this working in a hub setting, but in a point-to-point airport, the only customers they will get is those arriving early for their flight.

The new terminal is much like getting new shoes to wear with suits when your old shoes weren’t that bad…and your casual shoes are embarrassingly awful. The explanation I was given for replacing Terminal C first, instead of Terminal A, is that the airport could not move all of Terminal A’s functions into Terminal C while Terminal A is being replaced. With Terminal 2, they supposedly will be able to move the Terminal A airlines to 2 while replacing A. How will they accomplish this with just four more gates in Terminal 2?

Unfortunately Terminal 2 is another giant missed opportunity in RDU’s history. Ever since 1987 we have operated two airports at RDU; one right across the street from the other. Whether it be parking decks, ticketing areas, baggage claims, runways, control towers, or concourses, there are at least two of everything at RDU. If we’re building a baggage claim facility, a ticketing area, and a security area, why not build such that both concourses can use it?

By building a central terminal and connecting it to just the concourses in the existing terminals, RDU could have set itself up for easy, efficient expansion and renovation in the future as well as incredible efficiency in the present. This design is called the landside/airside design and it has been so beloved in Tampa since 1971 that Orlando used it when it built its new airport in 1981. A central terminal almost the size of Orlando’s could easily fit on the NE side of RDU’s parking decks. People movers are so flexible, that future gates could be put virtually anywhere along the runways.

There are two main arguments I’ve heard against the landside/airside design for RDU. One is that Southwest Airlines likes their arrangement in the Terminal B section of Terminal A. They have full control of their gates, their security area, and their baggage claim. They have apparently been resistant to any changes. Second, the inter-runway space between RDU’s two primary runways is much smaller than most airports. The original design was to build twin runways beside Terminal C, so the 5L/23R runway was placed as close as possible to Terminal C to allow for its eventual twin.

That said, most airside/landside arrangements have central terminals, but there is no law stating that the central terminal cannot be offset, as depicted above. (The green lines represent roadways and the orange lines represent people movers. Terminals 2 and C can be seen in the top of the picture, while Terminal A is at the bottom.). In fact, if the road entering the airport could be aligned to run along the edge of the parking decks, it would be entirely possible to rebuild Terminal A as a two-sided concourse.

While Terminal 2 is will be impressing a lot of people in the next few years, it depressing to think of what could have been.

Restaurants really come-and-go. Unfortunately some good ones weren’t able to make it for one reason or another. Which do you miss?

I’ll go with:

Lock, Stock, & Barrel (Colony Shopping Ctr) - The first salad bar in the area and one of the all-time best. Great sourdough melt burger, spaghetti, and sandwiches. Drinks were served Ball jars, and 50’s era jukeboxes were at every table.

G.D. Ritzy’s - Chain out of Columbus, OH IIRC. Great little fried burger and fries. Really good ice cream, too. Chain was mis-managed and folded, yet our stores (now Hooters on WF Rd and Breuggers on Avent Ferry) did well

El Pollo Asado (now Arbys near TTC) - Flame-roasted chicken chain that served pieces with sides of salsa, tortillas, and vegetables. mmmm.

Darryl’s - If you weren’t here before the sale to General Mills (or whatever- around 1980), you completely won’t get this one. Darryl’s was the child of Darryl Davis, Thad Eure, and Charlie Winston. I remember the iron jail cells, the elevator, the pong table, the graffiti-carved booths and tables, the heavy frozen mugs, the red carpet, and the jukebox like they were yesterday. Foodwise, I like the steak sandwich, hamburger, blue cheese dressing, pizza chips, and spaghetti. Perfectly family friendly yet totally appropriate for dates, it was probably the most perfect restaurant for daily all-purpose eating in this city’s history.

Sadak’s - Short-lived, but this sit-down middle eastern restaurant at Hillsborough and Horne (where Q-Shack was) was run by Walid Sadak, owner of Hector’s in Crabtree. I love Hector’s, but Sadak’s had some even more interesting items on the menu.

Honorable mention: Santa Fe (MacGregor Village), Luigi’s (NH), Deli King (NH), Su Casa (Crabtree), Oak Park Pharmacy, Glenwood Pharmacy, Nana’s Chophouse, Hang Chow, The Far East, Swensons, Jack’s Steakhouse, Brother’s Pizza, Hardees on Wake Forest Road (now American Pride car wash), Black Dog Cafe, Jason’s Donuts (Falls Village), Hamburger Hut (Morgan & Mayo).

Notes: Lock Stock, & Barrel has reopened in Clayton. It is in a strip shopping center and while it still features the sourdough cheeseburger, the owner didn’t bring much else. Darryl’s had pizza chips and blue cheese dressing that are now featured at the Angus Barn. Sadak’s baklava, hummus, and tabouleh are available at the Crabtree Hector’s (Food court).

My wife said something tonight that triggered a great topic. What five stores in Raleigh do you miss the most? (Keep the topic focused on retail instead of restaurants. That comes later)

I am headed out the door to the International Festival and wanted to pass along a few hints to those wanting to attend events this weekend.

• There is a Wachovia ATM just inside the main entrance (Salisbury Street) to the Convention Center (turn right)
• Try parking in the base of the Marriott. The easiest approach is to head downtown on Capital Blvd, which magically becomes Dawson St. Proceed onward and notice the shimmer wall on the left (That’s the rear of the convention center). Just after the best shimmer wall view, turn left onto poorly-labeled Lenoir Street (just before the RR overpass). Proceed 1.5 blocks, and turn left into the Parking entrance for the Marriott. (map it)  Get the first space you can find. Just after passing through the deck’s ticketing area, you’ll see the desired convention center/hotel entrance. Once inside, turn left to go to the convention center and right to ascend into the Marriott. Here’s a hint: ride the elevator up to the Marriott. The very urban view is dramatic! The subterranean access straight into the convention center is an enormous benefit on rainy days. (returned - coast is clear. This deck is the way to go)
• Parking is $7 “for the event” - cash up front …or… $3/hr up to $12 - pay as you leave with cash or credit card.
• Food selection is very impressive. I like the Egyptian food most.
• Convention Exhibition hall is probably 60% 63% the size of Atlanta’s World Congress Center room #1 when it is configured for a dental convention that draws 25,000 people, but is much more convenient. Not as much walking and better bathroom placement.
• No signage exists to get you back to the parking deck. Drop popcorn from your car into the convention center. In fact, signage is extremely poor throughout the Convention Center, parking deck, and Marriott.
• Be sure to ascend the lobby escalators to see the 33,000 square foot ballroom. Excellent space!
• The convention center has free WiFi.
• Admission to the International Festival is free.
• Programs are available at the base of the escalator, but they do not really map out where the countries’ booths are.
• Where is that giant Sir Walter that the man carved in North Hills Mall in 1976? It would be a perfect addition to the convention center.

Follow future hints on my Twitter feed. Have any hints? Feel free to add them in the Comments section.

Local basketball fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2008-2009 UNC, NCSU, and complete ACC basketball schedules in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats.

Outlook/Palm Users

• Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Bball08, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
• iPhone Users - You are done. Now you can view the basketball schedules as their own sub-calender or as a part of all calendars.
• When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar - time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub-calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Bball08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.
• CSV Files. (right click on the link and “Save As…”)
  • UNC - Download uncbball09_20080826.csv (version: 8/26/08)
  • NCSU - Download ncsubball09_20080826.csv (version: 8/26/08)
  • ACC COMPLETE - Download accbball09_20080827.csv (version: 8/27/08)

iCal Users

There are two options:

• Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version (linked above) of the schedule.
• Download the .ics files and import them into iCal.
  • UNC - .ics file (version: 8/26/08)
  • NCSU - .ics file (version: 8/26/08)
  • ACC COMPLETE - .ics file (version: 8/26/08)

Google Calendar Users

Consult the public calendars at the following locations:

• UNC Google Calendar
• NCSU Google Calendar
• ACC COMPLETE Google Calendar

Notes

Calendars are apt to change, so check back occasionally for updates. To determine the version of your schedule, open the note associated with any event, and look for the version number. If your calendar is older than those listed above, simply delete the events in Outlook in your old one and import the events of the newer file. Google Calendar is dynamically up-to-date.

Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Canes hockey fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2008-2009 Carolina Hurricanes schedule in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats.

Outlook/Palm Users

• Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Canes08, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
• iPhone Users - You are done. Now you can view the Canes’ schedule as its own sub-calender or as a part of all calendars.
• When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar - time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub-calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Canes08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.
• CSV Files. (right click on the link and “Save As…”)
  • Hurricanes Schedule (Complete) - Download canes09_20080828.csv (version: 8/28/08)
  • Hurricanes Home-only Schedule - Download canes09_home_20080828.csv (version: 8/28/08)

iCal Users

There are two options:

• Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version (linked above) of the schedule.
• Download the .ics files and import them into iCal.
  • Hurricanes Schedule (Complete) - .ics file (version: 8/28/08)

Google Calendar Users

Consult the public calendars at the following locations:

• Carolina Hurricanes 2008-2009 Google Calendar

Notes

Calendars are apt to change, so check back occasionally for updates. To determine the version of your schedule, open the note associated with any event, and look for the version number. If your calendar is older than those listed above, simply delete the events in Outlook in your old one and import the events of the newer file. Google Calendar is dynamically up-to-date.

Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Now that the MLB All-Star Break is over, let’s talk college football! I’ve uploaded the 2008 football schedule for all ACC teams in .CSV format.

Outlook/Palm Users:

• Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Fball08, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the ACC schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
• When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar - time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Fball08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.

iCal Users:

• Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version of the schedule.

Google Calendar:

• Google Calendar users can easily add this to their collection of calendars. Click here to view the calendar, then click on the “+ Add to Google Calendar” button on the lower left.

Download acc_fb_08.csv

(right click on the link above and “Save As…”)

Note: Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Word is that the Chick-Fil-A planned for Cameron Village has been put on hold due financial issues related to the nation’s banking crisis.

The Wake County Public School System has many different calendars for their schools. I’ve imported most of these schedules in the .CSV format.

Outlook/Palm Users:

• Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (WCPSS_Trad08, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the school schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
• When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar - time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the WCPSS_Trad08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.

iCal Users:

• Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version of the schedule.

Download The Calendars

• Traditional Calendars
  • Download wcpss_0708_trad.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0809_trad.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0910_trad.csv - add to Google Calendar
• Year-Round - Track 1
  • Download wcpss_0708_trk1.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0809_trk1.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0910_trk1.csv - add to Google Calendar
• Year-Round - Track 2
  • Download wcpss_0708_trk2.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0809_trk2.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0910_trk2.csv - add to Google Calendar
• Year-Round - Track 3
  • Download wcpss_0708_trk3.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0809_trk3.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0910_trk3.csv - add to Google Calendar
• Year-Round - Track 4
  • Download wcpss_0708_trk4.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0809_trk4.csv - add to Google Calendar
  • Download wcpss_0910_trk4.csv - add to Google Calendar

(right click on the links above and "Save As…")

Note: Use at your own risk. The Wake County Public School calendars are subject to change, and the latest can be found on their site. Gogoraleigh.com does not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Make your party in the City of Oaks a smash hit with the new Raleigh Piñata! Patterned after Raleigh’s beloved Clarion Hotel, the Raleigh Piñata is perfect for birthday parties, Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, and corporate events. It’s so much fun for the whole family, even grandma will enjoy taking a swing! Order today.

While supplies last or until banned by the Raleigh City Council.

On my twelve-year-old UNC blog, Tar Heel HOOPla, I posted some ideas for renovating the Smith Center shortly after the game. The plans would allow the court to be permanently surrounded by students while appeasing the building’s donors. (I also sent these to Athletic Director Richard Baddour, but only received a polite form letter in return.) As the Dean Dome completes its 23rd season, not much has changed. The building doesn’t allow the team to get the most support possible. It isn’t a lost cause, though. These same ideas could still be applied to give UNC a better home court advantage. Here is that 2000 article:

Dana’s Smith Center Renovation Plans

As UNC plays its 15th season in the Smith Center, the debate over student seating rages on. Both of the times in the 15 years that seating has been changed to “general admission”, the court has been surrounded by students, and the players have responded with a resounding performance. This could become the norm for the Smith Center with some easy improvements.

Clearly N.C. State has shown with their new arena that placing students, the most active and audible fans, around the court creates an intimate, loud setting in a large venue. Simply reassigning student tickets to the first several rows will not suffice as students usually stand for the entire game. Because the lower level descends to the court surface smoothly, the only way to accommodate standing students without obstructing other lower level patrons is to sink the front rows.

Project #1

Project #1 focuses on placing students around the basketball court. To date there are two popular solutions floating around. One plan, Project 1a, involves replacing the current collapsible seating in the first 11 rows with lower-rise collapsible seating. Given that the 12th row (the first row of permanent seating) patrons should not have their view obstructed by standing students, there should be a drop-off of 43″ from the 12th to 11th rows. This will allow patrons to see over rowdy students that are up to 6′2″ tall. The first row of permanent seats, unobstructed, would become a premium seat location. This new seating would seat students exclusively, so the quality of the chair is not important. Seat width can be as narrow as the seats upstairs, too, since students won’t be using these seats as much as paying patrons.

While Project 1a is a fairly inexpensive solution, it substantially compromises the students’ view. If the current collapsible seating was removed, there would be a wall about 96″ high just in front of the 12th row. After accounting for a 43″ drop, the new collapsible seating could only be 53″ tall. Given those dimensions,11 rows of collapsible seating would only provide an 8.8 degree rise from the floor. While this is almost 50% steeper grade than the current configuration at N.C. State, 8.8 degrees is still too shallow to enjoy the game to the fullest. Also, these seats would be decidedly inferior to those currently in place for non-basketball events.

Project 1b replaces the collapsible seating with the best overall aesthetic and functional solution. In this plan the collapsible seating and Smith Center playing surface would be removed and the floor would be excavated 82″ down. A new floor and collapsible seating would be installed. This new, lowered section of collapsible seating would ascend not at the current 15 degree angle, but at the 20 degree angle seen in the permanent rows of the lower level. Keeping this 20 degree angle is essential to preserving the views of the students and the ticket-holders in those seats for non-basketball events.

In either plan the permanent aisles would not be confluent with the new fold-back seating, so the aisles would have to be reconfigured in at least 4 places so that students in lower rows could access the concourse. While the removal of the existing fold-back risers and the reconfiguration of a few aisles would remove several seats, the new seating arrangement would put nearly 2800 students in the first 11 rows lining the court providing the rowdiest, most intimidating home-court atmosphere in the nation.

Projects 2, 3, and 4 outline several ideas concerning the addition of luxury suites to the Smith Center. While luxury suites can ease UNC’s budget, they also can offer some incentives for lower level patrons to give up the seats affected by Project #1.

Project #2

Project #2 involves replacing the current suites and seats under the second level overhang with luxury suites. These suites would be replete with 8 leather seats overlooking the playing surface, a countertop for bar and food service, a television, and a private bathroom. Fifty-two such luxury suites could be placed with ease in the Smith Center. (seating map) There would be two non-adjoining suites at the top of sections 127, 126, 125, 124, 121, 118, 117, 116, 113, 110, 109, 108, 107, 104, 101, 100, 133, and 130. Single suites would top sections 123, 122, 120, 119, 115, 114, 112, 111, 106, 105, 103, 102, 132, 131, 129, and 128. Each suite would need to be about 15 feet deep (from the back of the second row of leather seats to the concourse door).

In order to accommodate the addition of the suite, approximately five rows (Z, AA, BB, CC, DD) of current seating would need to be removed (shown in grey).

Project #3

Project #3 involves the construction of a “halo” ring of luxury suites. Due to the design of the Smith Center, the only way to achieve this is to essentially build a structure resembling a ring of Kenan Stadium press boxes. These suites could actually be as large as desired, but are portrayed in the illustration as being 15′ deep. These suites would contain all the amenities mentioned in the lower level suites, but also would have a private concourse and elevator service to the Bowles Room. As shown in the diagram, about 3 rows of current seating (rows W, X, and Y) would be sacrificed to the 2 rows of leather luxury seats.

Clearly the view from a halo box is inferior to all others in the arena, so some incentives would need to be offered. First class wait service and food of the quality level of the Carolina Club would be offered. Halftime and final game statistics would also be delivered to each suite. Pampering the patrons in the halo boxes is an absolute must, though, in order to fill such suites.

Project #4

Project #4, the most aggressive plan, focuses on placing luxury suites in the bottom of the upper level. Certainly the edge of the upper level is a cherished view, and these such suites would be even more cherished.

In order to accommodate a suite in this prime location, a massive overhaul of the Smith Center would have to occur. Because rows E, F, and G and the vomitories would be removed, a separate, third level concourse for rows H through Y would have to be built over the current concourse. Stairways, restrooms, and concession stands would be placed in exterior additions to the existing Smith Center structure.

The second level suites would get their own concourse which would overlook the first floor (existing) concourse. These suites would have four rows of luxury seating, accommodating 32 patrons. Because the upper level ascends at an unbroken 34 degree rise, there would be an uncovered portion approximately 14′ 7″ deep. Some privacy could be offered by mounting an awning (shown as a heavy read line) at the end of the suite’s ceiling. Two private restrooms may be needed in these suites.

Certainly the Smith Center is one of the finest college venues in America, however some improvements could make the Heels more formidable at home. Clearly what is best for the team is placing the students around the court. As we saw in UNC’s game against Maryland and in all of N.C. State’s home games, students give a major boost to the team.

While surrounding the court with students will make games more lively, those holding seats on the first 11 rows will have to be displaced. Surely there will be resistance to reassignment from some Smith Center donors. However plenty would minimally sacrifice their seat location in the name of improving the arena’s atmosphere. It is time for everyone involved to do what is best for the University.

In the first part of this series we toured a section of streets in Atlanta that offer nothing for pedestrians and are completely devoid of human life. In Part II we looked at two such blocks in Raleigh. The problem isn’t limited completely to those two blocks, however. There are several other areas of downtown Raleigh that are on the verge of being problematic.

The accompanying map labels problem blocks for pedestrians in downtown Raleigh. Block borders that contains extended walls and service entrances are labeled in red while blocks borders that contain empty parking lots are shown in pink.

Sidewalks around the NC Museum of History, Department of Revenue, Wake County Courthouse, and City of Raleigh parking garage are some of the areas that need help. Clearly, though, the McDowell Street corridor is in danger of become a high-traffic canyon of misery.

One major contributor to the southern end of this terrible pattern is the new convention center and its adjacent parking garage. Large venues like sports arenas and convention centers pose an ironic dilemma. While they attract large groups of pedestrians downtown, their enormous non-functional exposures create spaces that repel pedestrian life. When the experience is placed in a tight, one acre based grid, there is no room in the facility’s perimeter for pedestrian-oriented programming. Such facilities often create giant vacuoles to the daily urban experience. Careful planning in the surrounding blocks can mitigate these effects.

Both the new convention center and adjacent parking deck facility have three, walled sides, and both will eventually have interests for pedestrians on just their Salisbury Street facades. The convention center’s McDowell Street facade will eventually be opposed by an expansion of convention space, but will be a small outdoor amphitheater in the meantime. The north and south sides of the convention center (pictured) are already a half canyon and a full canyon, respectively. It is imperative for future development on the NE corner of Cabarrus and McDowell to feature pedestrian-friendly programming.

Moving north we find the aforementioned county properties bounded by Martin, Salisbury, Davie, and McDowell. Aside from small entrances on Salisbury, this complex acts as a pedestrian-repelling fortress. The new courthouse design needs to include something for McDowell St. pedestrians near the Martin Street corner. Two blocks to the north we see the AT&T building, and the need for a pedestrian experience in the new Lightner complex which was outlined in Part II of this series.

As one reviews the linked map, it is apparent that many future development opportunities actually exist in this corridor. As these properties are redeveloped it is imperative for architects to understand their roles in righting the fading pedestrian experience on McDowell.

There are golden opportunities in other areas such as the areas of Hargett/Bloodworth, Blount/Edenton, Hargett/Harrington, and Edenton/Dawson/McDowell. As mentioned above, architects should think of creating microneighborhoods with their designs. Surely some service entrances are needed, but it is imperative that they not line up consecutively so as to form complete blocks of boredom.

Zooming out from the map reveals an interesting pattern. We think of downtown proper as an orthogonal square of roughly 150 blocks. In fact the urban form seems to be a diamond-shaped, 45 degree offset pattern.

The next step in this series will cover a few existing problem areas that can be healed.

ECU fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2007-2008 ECU football schedule in the .CSV format.

Outlook/Palm Users:

• Create a new folder in your in Outlook calendar (Fball08, for example). Use the File | Import and Export… to import from “another program or file”, then “Comma Separated File (Windows)”. This will set up the Pirate schedule in your new sub-calendar where you can make whatever changes you want.
• When you are happy with the way the subcalendar looks, change the calendar view to “Events” (instead of 7-day or 31-Day or whatever view you’re using). “Select All” from the list, and drag them over to your main “Calendar” (The Treo and other Palm Handhelds only sync to the main calendar - time for Palm to get with the program on that one!). If you want to keep your sub calendar intact, use Ctrl-drag instead of plain drag. That will create a copy of each event to the main Calendar and keep the Fball08 calendar in place. Sync your handheld to copy the events to the handheld.

iCal Users:

• Use iCalTextImport to import the .CSV version of the schedule.

Download ecufootball08.csv

(right click on the link above and “Save As…”)

Note: Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.

Part II - Walling Ourselves In

In Part One of this series we toured a section of downtown Atlanta that contains some of the nation’s most stunning towers. Unfortunately most of these buildings left pedestrians with nothing to do, and the streets for many consecutive blocks look like a ghost town. The lesson is important as Raleigh is not immune to this problem.

There are a couple of canyonesque areas in downtown Raleigh that are already evolving this aforementioned way. One is Wilmington Street. The new Progress Two plaza creatively incorporates a large parking garage for people seeking SE downtown. The garage is topped with an office tower, and is skirted by many personalities. The project’s north face is lined with retail, mostly food outlets, while the East face is wrapped in new low-rise condominiums. The South side faces the Lincoln Theatre and features exposed parking garage that can be converted to retail space at some point.  In fact, Charlie Goodnight’s Come