This is the power of Universal Design
What if Raleigh had an opportunity to become a national leader in accessibility, safety, and inclusion by adopting Universal Design as a citywide policy? The goal is not simply to meet the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is to create a city where accessibility, safety, and inclusion are considered from the very beginning of every project rather than after problems have already occurred.
October 20, 2026 City Council Meetings
Highlights from the October 20 work session and afternoon council meeting
Don’t Let Kane Realty Trash Midtown Raleigh!
When you’re a billionaire developer and want something from the public, why bother with obeying the law and showing due respect for your neighbors when it’s easier and more profitable to dispense with public review and successfully lobby the General Assembly to change the law? This is a story about a betrayal of our Midtown neighborhoods, but there is a message here for all our neighbors in Raleigh. I urge all residents of all the diverse communities within the City to read and take note.
An open planning process encourages buy-in
Two recent development issues have drawn a lot of public attention, the future of our water supply, and how we are to manage requests to bring data centers into our community. These are terrifically complicated issues, and during my career in public service working with all 100 counties and 99% of the 553 municipalities, I found that the best chance to make wise decisions depends on listening to both the professionals and the lay people who come before you. In many cases there is far more to know than any single one of us knows, that is why the input of the public is so important. An open planning process encourages citizen participation and buy-in. A closed process engenders suspicion and lack of compromise. Keep both of these processes in the daylight and allow the public to help you make wise decisions.
October 13 City Council Meetings
Work session covered success of organic food composting pilot and an update on 2022 Parks Bond projects. Public comments focused on
The Highest Form of Public Engagement Isn’t a Meeting
There’s a reason cities cling to this model which has little to do with genuine participation. Public meetings are risk management. They give agencies something to point to later: “The public had every opportunity to provide input,” or, “This design reflects what we heard through our engagement process.” The meeting was never meant to change the outcome. It was meant to protect the decision-maker. That’s not engagement. That’s preemptive deflection.
Raleigh Transportation: Questions worth asking!
IS THIS HOW YOU WOULD WANT YOUR MOTHER, FATHER, GRANDPARENT, OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE WITH A DISABILITY TO BE TREATED?
Don’t Turn Lassiter Mill Road Into an Unsafe Service Road
A developer wants to build a 15-story building on Lassiter Mill Road at North Hills. Instead of putting shops or restaurants on the ground floor with windows you can look into, they want to build giant blank walls with huge garage doors. This space would be used for trash pickup, heavy equipment, and large tractor-trailer trucks driving in and out at all hours. Neighbors worry this will make Lassiter Mill Road dangerous for people walking, riding bikes, or driving.
City Council Meetings October 6, 2026
Highlights from October 6 Raleigh City Council meetings
Offsides: is this development getting ahead of infrastructure?
Before approving Z-43-25, I respectfully ask Council to require a meaningful examination of emergency access, overflow parking, Johnsdale Road capacity, school-event traffic, pedestrian movement and evacuation conditions. The question is not simply whether the proposed development can accommodate its own residents under normal conditions.