Drivers' ideas used to revamp Raleigh's Capital Boulevard corridor

The proposed plan will widen Capital Boulevard to six lanes for the entire stretch between Interstate 440 and downtown and add new interchanges at Peace Street and Wade Avenue. The changes will cost $60 million, and the City Council will decide next month whether or not to implement the plan.

Raleigh planners and drivers agree the gateway is not attractive.

"Too many old warehouses and buildings," said Barbara Bono. "They need to be razed, all the way from 440 to Peace Street." 

"Right now it's a place you drive through," said Mitchell Silver, a Raleigh planning director. "In 2030, it will be a place you'll stop and experience and want to come back again." 

City planners also hope that some areas will be suitable for residential development. Silver says that brings new problems and that many of the buildings currently in place shouldn't be there to begin with.

"A big portion of Capital Boulevard is in a flood plain, which limits what you can develop," Silver said.

Recreational areas such as parks and greenways can help to handle flooding and would visually improve the area, he said.

In their meeting Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council also approved a plan to study development in the Blount Street-Person Street corridor. Consultants will consider the community history, resident input and traffic impact in making recommendations.