Background

History of Fayetteville Street

Fayetteville Street is a historic street running for six blocks in the heart of downtown Raleigh. The street dates to the original William Christmas Plan of 1792 and the founding of the City of Raleigh. Today the street is a ceremonial corridor for numerous civic and cultural events and portions of the street are closed over 30 times a year to support large scale outdoor public events. 

Recent Planning Studies

The Downtown Raleigh Economic Development Strategy – Activating the Downtown Core report (February 2024), identified reactivation strategies for Fayetteville Street. Among the key recommendations was to provide updated streetscape standards to allow increased flexibility for commercial uses, street furnishings, and plantings while providing increased space for pedestrians.

The report also recommended removing and/or consolidating existing streetscape elements such as benches, planters, and newspaper kiosks. These components would be replaced with new standard infrastructure and enhanced activated spaces with additional lighting and plantings.

What is a Streetscape Plan?

Streetscape Plans are regulated through Raleigh’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO defines minimum dimensions for elements such as sidewalk width, tree planting spaces, or street furniture. A Streetscape plan for an area can provide customized standards for public realm elements. Once City Council approves a Streetscape Plan for a specific boundary, the plan supersedes the standard requirements found in the UDO.

An official streetscape master plan for the larger downtown Raleigh boundary was adopted in 1992 when the street was a pedestrian mall. When reconstruction of Fayetteville Street happened in 2006, a customized design for the streetscape that did not adhere to the guidance of the 1992 plan. However, no superseding regulating plan was ever created for Fayetteville Street at that time. Since there was no Streetscape Plan created, the construction drawings of the capital project served as the regulatory standards for the corridor, which was never intended. These drawings do not allow for any variation from the original design. The rising likelihood of major projects, new construction, or the adaptive reuse of older office buildings along the corridor, has created the need to develop and adopt guidance for reviewing and approving projects that would alter the existing streetscape.