The Lorax – “I Speak for the Trees”

The Lorax – “I Speak for the Trees”

I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongue. This is not about what is, it’s about what can become.  A vibrant tree canopy to grow 24,000 strong. City of Oaks, Grow them with care. Give them clean water. And feed them fresh air. This is the future we ask you to share. 

One size doesn’t fit all

One size doesn’t fit all

I am asking this Council to direct staff to implement a case-by-case evaluation process for TOD projects in established neighborhoods. Density bonuses should be contingent upon: Infrastructure Alignment, Public Benefit and Safety Verification. Raleigh needs smart growth, but blanket policies that ignore physical infrastructure risk displacing the very communities they intend to serve.

May 19 City Council Meeting

May 19 City Council Meeting

Highlights from May 19 Raleigh City Council meeting, including information about a 1.7 cent property tax increase as well as various fee increases.

Mailbag – A concerned reader writes

Mailbag – A concerned reader writes

A reader of our weekly newsletter, The Week Ahead, wrote with concerns about two items we recently published and we feel it’s important to address the concerns publicly so others can also see our response.

This did not feel like Engagement

This did not feel like Engagement

We told you this would not work. And then you did it anyway. And what you installed was not just dismissive of our concerns, It was incomplete. You placed these bike lanes without clear roadway markings. No clear direction. No clear separation. Just confusion on a street where confusion can cost someone their life. So let’s call this what it is: That’s negligence.

Nicole Bennett, Former Planning Commission Chair – It’s Not Just a Rezoning

Nicole Bennett, Former Planning Commission Chair – It’s Not Just a Rezoning

Why does “the greater good” so often require loss from the same communities? Why are the people who already rely on transit the ones most at risk of being displaced from it? What does it mean to build a transit corridor that the current riders might no longer be able to afford to live near? if the greater good keeps requiring that the same communities lose everything, perhaps we need to ask ourselves what “good” really means.

Please Save Our Trees

Please Save Our Trees

You have heard us speak about the potential exorbitant cost of choosing this route. Now more than ever costs are so important because of the city budget shortfall. This project has grown from 4 million to over 11 million largely because of the chosen route.