Road Roundup: What do you think about Capital Boulevard?

A meeting on Tuesday will give the public a chance to share their opinions about Capital Boulevard.

Posted 4:07 p.m. Mar 21, 2019 — Updated 10:53 a.m. Apr 16, 2019

Brian Shrader

, WRAL traffic reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — A meeting on Tuesday will give the public a chance to share their opinions about Capital Boulevard.

When viewers talk with me about their least favorite roads, Capital Boulevard often is near the top of the list. It's the major entryway to the north part of Raleigh, and many people see it as a congested, dangerous tangle of concrete and eyesores.

A public input meeting will be held April 16 at 6 p.m. at the Body of Christ Church located at 4501 Spring Forest Road in Raleigh. You also can give your ideas at the city's Capital Boulevard North Corridor website.

"Long lights, terrible back-ups and almost no way to safely travel by foot or bike," wrote "Erin" on an online survey the city conducted about the Capital Boulevard corridor. "We need better public transit...we need more sidewalks, and we need bike lanes. Maybe even foot bridges to cross this raging sea of vehicles."

"Ronda J" wrote about the abandoned buildings along the stretch of highway.

"This was a good area for young families when we moved here," she wrote. "Now, thefts and burglaries are daily issues. I believe these problems stem from how run-down the businesses have become on this stretch of road."

Those are the kinds of ideas the city wants as it figures out what Capital Boulevard should look like in the future. It's conducting a study to create a vision to guide future decisions about development along the road between I-440 and I-540 in North Raleigh.

Expect more public meetings from NCDOT this spring as it plans to convert Capital Boulevard to a freeway north of I-540.

Early success for Citrix Cycle

Raleigh's bike-sharing program, CitrixCycle, launched Saturday, and opening weekend apparently was a big hit. The first two days of the program saw 156 trips and 291 miles cycled, CitrixCycle wrote on Twitter this week.

The program is starting with about 100 bikes and 13 Citrix Cycle stations set up in and near downtown Raleigh. Later in the spring, 17 more stations and a total of 300 bikes will be available.

Here's how it works: Download the Citrix Cycle app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Go to one of the docking stations, pay for your ride and leave the bike at a docking station. You can adjust the seats on the bikes, and some have electric motors to assist your pedaling up hills.

Raleigh to launch bike-share program Saturday

You can take advantage of the nice weather this weekend and take a Citrix Cycle to the N.C. Museum of Art's "Art in Bloom" event. Citrix Cycle is setting up special bike dock at the museum through the weekend.

More opportunities to get a REAL ID

We covered the crowds at N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles driver license offices last summer as people rushed to get REAL IDs. The state says more than 1 million North Carolinians have upgraded to REAL ID cards since May 2017. The NCDMV is trying to meet the demand by offering some special "REAL ID Express Days" through the summer.

Make appointment, gather documents to get REAL ID

These drivers license offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following Saturdays:

March 23 and April 13: Avent Ferry Shopping Center, 3231 Avent Ferry Road, Raleigh
March 30: North Main Crossing, 801A North Main Street, Kernersville
April 27: East Greensboro, 2527 East Market Street, Greensboro
May 4: Hendersonville, 125 Baystone Drive, Hendersonville

During the Express Day events, you can convert your current driver license or ID card to a REAL ID. Anyone with an expiration date six months before the October 2020 REAL ID date will be eligible to renew their license or card during their visit. You also can get first-time and duplicate ID cards.

NCDMV says the REAL ID Express Days should make quick work of getting the upgraded ID. The agency says that people did not have to wait in line at a REAL ID event in Charlotte, and their transactions were completed in 10 minutes. Once you've started the process, it's very easy, as I found out last year.

You also can get REAL IDs at the N.C. Azalea Festival on April 6 and 7 in Wilmington and at the Got to Be NC Festival at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh from May 17 to 19.

Beginning in October 2020, you'll need a REAL ID or valid U.S. passport to board commercial flights, visit nuclear sites, military bases or other federal facilities. Visit the NCDMV REAL ID site to learn more about the documents you need to bring to the office and answers to other questions.

Repaving scheduled for Wilson County roads

Get ready for a smoother ride on sections of U.S. 301 and N.C. 581 in Wilson County.

Crews will begin resurfacing a 5-mile section of U.S. 301 between Haynes Road and the Nash County line, as well as a section of N.C. 581 between U.S. 301 and the Wayne County line. The contract also provides repaving for 18 other secondary roads in the county.

New EV charging site in Raleigh

Electric vehicle owners have a new high-speed charging option in Raleigh.

Electrify America has opened a charging station at Pleasant Valley Promenade. Five CCS and 1 CCS-CHAdeMO chargers are available next to the Starbucks. It costs $1 per session, plus 30 cents to 35 cents per minute.

The company has another set of chargers at the Walmart at South Main Street and Ligon Mill Road in Wake Forest.

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