Comparisons of Cameron Village and Fayetteville Street
Something we noticed in comparing the Cameron Village to Fayetteville Street is the differences in parking and street design. In regards to Jeff Speck's step 1 and step 5, Fayetteville Street's design is more walkable and pedestrian friendly. First of all, Fayetteville utilizes the idea of protecting the pedestrians with street level parallel parking. It puts the pedestrians closer to their intended destination, and makes the sidewalks more convenient. Furthermore, Fayetteville also has narrower roads which promotes slower traffic and more walkability. In contrast, the parking layout in Cameron village is significantly more open and takes up a lot of space, making the whole area somewhat hard to navigate. In addition, the streets are exceptionally wider making a more car-friendly environment which can be detrimental for pedestrians.
Both streets take good advantage of step 8: Plant Trees. In Cameron Village they have planted trees along most of the pedestrian walk ways and in medians between parked cars. This softens the appearance of the shopping center and makes it overall more visually appealing. Fayetteville street also takes advantage of trees. The street is lined with trees creating another level of separation between moving/parked cars and the pedestrians. This creates another level of protection and gives pedestrians the enclosed feeling that is beneficial to a pedestrian friendly downtown. The trees, like in Cameron Village make the street more visually appealing and provide a level of shade which makes walking more appealing. Another ecological element that Fayetteville street has are planters the line the walkways in between the trees. This gives the appearance of more green space but serves two purposes. These planters are large and made of concrete which serve as another protective barrier and they allow for people to sit down and rest in the shade as they walk down the street.
Another similarity between the two is the development of multi-use buildings, which is step 2 and Jeff Speck's ten step process. However, it is apparent that Cameron Village is still in the beginning stages of development whereas Fayetteville has many more examples of multi-use buildings. These buildings combine residential housing and businesses into one building to minimize automotive dependence and reduce urban sprawl. For example, the apartment complex Crescent Cameron Village is located above two restaurants (Brixx Pizza and Faire) in the same building. Fayetteville street has examples of this style of housing throughout the street, utilizing the idea of building up rather than out.
Both Cameron Village and Fayetteville street rank about the same in terms of step 4, public transportation. Both areas are serviced by Capitol Area Transit/Go Raleigh Buses as well as Triangle Transit. This allows people without cars, or those who choose not to use their cars, to move easily around the city as well as around the surrounding towns. One advantage that Cameron Village has over Fayetteville is that it is regularly serviced by North Carolina State University's Wolfline. This free bus service allows students and the public to get to and from Cameron Village and greatly expands the amount of customers who have access to that shopping complex. The Wolfline does run to Fayetteville but only on weekends which reduces the number of students traveling downtown. An advantage that Fayetteville has is the R-Line Downtown Circulator. This free bus service runs all around downtown Raleigh and makes traveling around downtown easier and quicker for people. Another aspect that goes along with transportation is step 6, Welcoming Bikes. Both of these areas have a lot to do in terms of bikability. While they have places to store your bikes while shopping or working, neither street has the infrastructure that truly encourages biking. For example neither place has dedicated bike lanes. Downtown Raleigh is working to make itself more bike friendly with its BikeRaleigh campaign but in terms of Fayetteville St, it still has a lot of work to do.
Both streets take good advantage of step 8: Plant Trees. In Cameron Village they have planted trees along most of the pedestrian walk ways and in medians between parked cars. This softens the appearance of the shopping center and makes it overall more visually appealing. Fayetteville street also takes advantage of trees. The street is lined with trees creating another level of separation between moving/parked cars and the pedestrians. This creates another level of protection and gives pedestrians the enclosed feeling that is beneficial to a pedestrian friendly downtown. The trees, like in Cameron Village make the street more visually appealing and provide a level of shade which makes walking more appealing. Another ecological element that Fayetteville street has are planters the line the walkways in between the trees. This gives the appearance of more green space but serves two purposes. These planters are large and made of concrete which serve as another protective barrier and they allow for people to sit down and rest in the shade as they walk down the street.
Another similarity between the two is the development of multi-use buildings, which is step 2 and Jeff Speck's ten step process. However, it is apparent that Cameron Village is still in the beginning stages of development whereas Fayetteville has many more examples of multi-use buildings. These buildings combine residential housing and businesses into one building to minimize automotive dependence and reduce urban sprawl. For example, the apartment complex Crescent Cameron Village is located above two restaurants (Brixx Pizza and Faire) in the same building. Fayetteville street has examples of this style of housing throughout the street, utilizing the idea of building up rather than out.
Both Cameron Village and Fayetteville street rank about the same in terms of step 4, public transportation. Both areas are serviced by Capitol Area Transit/Go Raleigh Buses as well as Triangle Transit. This allows people without cars, or those who choose not to use their cars, to move easily around the city as well as around the surrounding towns. One advantage that Cameron Village has over Fayetteville is that it is regularly serviced by North Carolina State University's Wolfline. This free bus service allows students and the public to get to and from Cameron Village and greatly expands the amount of customers who have access to that shopping complex. The Wolfline does run to Fayetteville but only on weekends which reduces the number of students traveling downtown. An advantage that Fayetteville has is the R-Line Downtown Circulator. This free bus service runs all around downtown Raleigh and makes traveling around downtown easier and quicker for people. Another aspect that goes along with transportation is step 6, Welcoming Bikes. Both of these areas have a lot to do in terms of bikability. While they have places to store your bikes while shopping or working, neither street has the infrastructure that truly encourages biking. For example neither place has dedicated bike lanes. Downtown Raleigh is working to make itself more bike friendly with its BikeRaleigh campaign but in terms of Fayetteville St, it still has a lot of work to do.
Suggestions for Cameron Village
Cameron Village could be improved by addressing some of the issues mentioned above. Instead of having huge concentrations of businesses surrounded by giant parking lots, the area could be better designed to accommodate for pedestrians by integrating the businesses within other buildings to make them mixed use, as well as having more parallel parking options. This would discourage driving, and encourage walking. Overall the area would be more welcoming if there wasn't such a large percentage of the land use going towards parking. In addition to parallel parking, underground parking would also be a viable option.
The sidewalks and streets could be better designed as well. Having wider sidewalks with room for more plants, trees, and benches like there is on Fayetteville Street would create a better environment for pedestrians and make the area more aesthetically pleasing. The wide roads could be made narrower as well to make the area less car oriented and more people oriented. Improvements on the sidewalks and roads can have a profound effect on the safety and comfort of a pedestrian. Narrower roads would cause cars to naturally drive slower, and it would be generally easier to navigate the area if there were larger sidewalks.
The sidewalks and streets could be better designed as well. Having wider sidewalks with room for more plants, trees, and benches like there is on Fayetteville Street would create a better environment for pedestrians and make the area more aesthetically pleasing. The wide roads could be made narrower as well to make the area less car oriented and more people oriented. Improvements on the sidewalks and roads can have a profound effect on the safety and comfort of a pedestrian. Narrower roads would cause cars to naturally drive slower, and it would be generally easier to navigate the area if there were larger sidewalks.