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The Blue Ridge Road District Study was completed and adopted by City Council in November 2012.
History and Background
The Blue Ridge Road District Study is being undertaken to develop a blueprint for collaborative, integrated systematic planning and development along the corridor. Study goals are to: develop better connectivity to and through the corridor; leverage State and local policies and investments to support coordinated growth; and guide development in order to conserve natural systems and landscapes.
The purpose of the study is to develop a plan to improve vehicle and pedestrian connectivity and to leverage state and local policies and investments to support growth and to guide development in order to conserve natural systems and landscapes.
Extensive groundwork has been completed over the past three years to organize and engage more than 200 interested parties in the area's future. To build upon this groundwork, the planning process has begun (informed by the visioning session results) by engaging an outside consultant with funds secured from stakeholders and the recently awarded Sustainable Communities grant.
The final study will include a detailed summary of all the work and findings from the process, along with detailed recommendations on coordinated land use; transportation projects; housing; open space and greenways; infrastructure planning processes across jurisdictions and within agencies; an assessment that captures the benefits of sustainable development; economic development; and zoning and comprehensive plan amendments.
On-going outreach efforts are intended to ensure input from the State, City, institutions, business interests, property owners, neighbors, and interested residents. The public visioning workshop on April 2, 2011 was publicized through a City of Raleigh initiated press release to news media and an email, using both the City's system and the database compiled by the stakeholder group over three years of meetings and outreach. Turnout for the workshop, estimated at about 90 participants, fully utilized the capacity of the venue. The study will continue over the next nine to 12 months.
In June the Raleigh City Council has approved the receipt of a $40,000 grant from the North Carolina Sustainable Communities Task Force. The grant will be used to partially fund the Blue Ridge Road District Study. In addition, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has pledged $50,000 to the project. A group of core stakeholders have been meeting for three years and individually have contributed a total of $68,000.
The City released an RFP on June 20. Proposals were due August 1. A selection committee met on August 10, and by mid-September the committee interviewed the short list of three - five front runners for the contract. The City team currently is compiling an inventory of the area that includes economic and market data, urban design, social, cultural and historic resources, along with the physical conditions of transportation, environment, and infrastructure. The project kicked off in December 2011.
The consultant team includes:
Urban Design Associates, LTD: Urban Design and Public Process
Robert Charles Lesser & Co (RCLCO): Market and Implementation Tools
JDavis Architects, PLLC: Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Martin/Alexiou/Bryson, P.S.: Transportation
Long Leaf Historic Resources: Social, Cultural, and Historic Resources