Midtown Raleigh residents meet to discuss future growth

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Nearly 30 residents of Raleigh's Midtown-St. Albans area met Monday evening to discuss the area's growth.

Members of Raleigh's Citizens Advisory Council have been meeting since May 2018 in a visioning process to start a planning process for area improvements.

The council surveyed over 600 residents for their top concerns.

The top three included:

• Safety/comfort for walking or bicycling
• Effect of traffic on neighborhood streets
• Preserving residential neighborhoods

Residents have offered their input over the past several months during pop-up events with other ideas for improvement, such as addressing stormwater needs.

"Resources to do these do exist," said Jason Hardin with Raleigh's Department of City Planning.

Hardin led the meeting on Monday evening while highlighting the vision plan for North Hills and addressing resident questions.

One woman commented on the traffic she's anticipating when Wegmans plans to open in September.

"It's going to be a disaster," one man added.

Hardin said a traffic impact analysis would need to be completed prior to making a commitment for improvements.

"We know there are some constraints," Hardin answered.

Residents have also been given the option to attend future engagement opportunities in May to offer input as well.

They are as follows:

Saturday, May 11
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Hilton North Raleigh

Tuesday, May 14
6 p.m.-7 p.m.
Green Road Community Center

Monday, May 20
3:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Wake Tech Beltline Education Center

In the fall, the citizens advisory council with meet with the Raleigh City Council to present their ideas and recommendations.