Greenville Area Developments (Charlotte, Raleigh, Winterville: violent crime, light-rail, trolley)

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by Phil A. Delphia

Is #8 a replacement or in addition to the Red Oak FD?

There are portions of that area that are within the city limits that are not covered by Greenville F&R. I would imagine this is being done so all city residents are covered by Greenville F&R. I also imagine that this is in addition to Red Oak FD since Red Oak is in the county.

[frisch]

The radio tower on top of the old city hall was removed this morning. Taken down by a crane in one piece.

[Phil A. Delphia]

Originally Posted by Phil A. Delphia

The former Circuit City has been vacant for over four years now. That's quite a long time for an anchor store to remain empty in what is essentially Greenville's most popular shopping center. Would a Pep Boys be a good fit in that building. Research on the quick tells me PB super stores are 20,000 sq. ft. I don't know the footage of the CC that was there, but, in general, CC's ranged between 15K to 45K in footage. I'm assuming Greenville's CC was a mid-range store, certainly not full-scale. As far as if that location were to be a PB, perhaps the side of the building that faces the overflow parking lot could be where they could install a half-dozen car service bays, as the two-bay setup in the rear of the building that CC used for car audio wouldn't suffice. Pep Boys is definitely the kind of establishment that afford the lease on an anchor store that faces Greenville's busiest road.

The former Circuit City has a square footage of 28,526. Perhaps ever-so slightly too large for Pep Boys? Most mid-size stores, something like Marshalls, aren't willing to pay anchor leases. Hard space to fill, obviously.

[MrBojangles]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

There are portions of that area that are within the city limits that are not covered by Greenville F&R. I would imagine this is being done so all city residents are covered by Greenville F&R. I also imagine that this is in addition to Red Oak FD since Red Oak is in the county.

I don't know "officially", but I would take an educated guess and say it is in addition.

[MrBojangles]

East Carolina is moving full steam ahead in closing a part of Founders Drive, which bisects the Main Campus. Their intention is to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly.

[MrBojangles]

ECU is looking to build a new dance facility. It will be around 16k sqft to house all Dance program stuff.

[piratesrock]

Originally Posted by BMOREBOY

Ok, I understand; no need to say sorry. We're on the same page then in regards to everything you've posted, a interstate designation would be far better than what we have now. I'm going to take a long shot here but guys please don't bite my head off if you actually like what I'm going to criticize, but I'd suggest canceling the South West Bypass if the State would bump 264 up to interstate grade and even build a inland port that connects us to VA or Wilmington ports. I'm not sure of these type of highways exist yet, but I wouldn't mind a two lane road connecting Wilmington and Greenville together that only is only for transporting goods back and forth.

We really just need to bring jobs here that don't require as much education as a white collar does. Greenville has a decent amount of people with degrees and them finding jobs isn't a problem, but for those who don't have college degrees will have a tough time. Pitt Community College really seems as if it wants to focus on tech so it could really become a jewel by offering more certifications for those who don't want to pursue a degree and as our work force becomes more certified the more companies will want to expand and move here.

I understand where you are coming from when you say that they should cancel the Bypass if they made 264 a interstate but if they did cancel it then it still would not fix the major traffic problem that Gville has right now. Currently if anyone works near the hospital and lives in Winterville or even Ayden they must first drive down Memorial Drive directly through the middle of town and so the reason the traffic is so bad is because of the excess work traffic and the normal drivers there needs to be a second route in order to relive the traffic. Yes, they probably would have a better chance of getting the interstate status in the near future but in a couple more years it will be even worse and so it would be better for it to already be in the planning stages because we all know how slow the DOT is when it comes to Eastern NC.

[BMORE]

Originally Posted by piratesrock

I understand where you are coming from when you say that they should cancel the Bypass if they made 264 a interstate but if they did cancel it then it still would not fix the major traffic problem that Gville has right now. Currently if anyone works near the hospital and lives in Winterville or even Ayden they must first drive down Memorial Drive directly through the middle of town and so the reason the traffic is so bad is because of the excess work traffic and the normal drivers there needs to be a second route in order to relive the traffic. Yes, they probably would have a better chance of getting the interstate status in the near future but in a couple more years it will be even worse and so it would be better for it to already be in the planning stages because we all know how slow the DOT is when it comes to Eastern NC.

I also understand your reasoning but as a urban enthusiast I don't believe that highways such as the South Bypass encourage the growth that's needed within the city limits but instead it encourages sprawl to spring up along the route. If we want to be a proactive community, we need to look to cities such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Etc. and see what they've done right and what they've done wrong, obviously both of them need their beltways but building the outer-loop Beltway has encouraged even more sprawl in Raleigh which leads to even more traffic jams. All cities are prone to heavy amounts of traffic, especially the hubs of a region but I don't think this route will do it's job well.

And I'll be the first to admit that Memorial Drive has terrible traffic, hell I lived in West Haven so anytime I needed to leave I ran into traffic but how many of those cars are really going the route of the Southern Bybass? It seems like most of them are living in Winterville.

[Richard Martin]

I feel that the chances are excellent that the Greenville Police Department will be getting a great weapon to fight thug type crime in the near future. Police Chief Aden is a huge proponent of using high tech gear in the war on crime. At his previous assignment with the Alexandria Va. PD, he helped bring Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) to that department. From the Washington Post newspaper:

Aden, who was head of the Alexandria department’s 200-person patrol bureau, took a common-sense approach to policing and was an advocate for technology, according to people who worked with him.

He helped put police officers in schools as resource officers so children would have positive interactions with them, implemented “hot spot” policing in Alexandria’s higher crime zones and helped bring in automated license plate readers to catch car thieves and other criminals.

Alexandria's deputy police chief steps down to take job in N.C. - Washington Post

I don't think it's a stretch to believe he will do the same for Greenville's PD. There are privacy concerns, but if they don't store the information, then I'm good with ALPRs. It would certainly take the wheels right out from under the thugs.

[frisch]

Greenville already has some of those. They aren't on many cars, but some of the traffic units have them.