Raleigh City Council to decide Tuesday on fate of South Street, Red Hat Amphitheater

The City Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to follow through with plans to close one block of South Street to make way for a new Red Hat Amphitheater downtown.

If it does, the city will then need to decide how to reroute traffic, pedestrians and cyclists who would normally use that section of the street.

Closing South Street between Dawson and McDowell streets is part of the city’s plan to replace the amphitheater and make room for the expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center .

City transportation engineers have come up with a proposed connector just south of the new amphitheater that would allow eastbound drivers to get from Dawson to McDowell. The single-lane connector would end at a new traffic light on McDowell, where drivers would turn left toward the heart of downtown.

The city still needs approval of the N.C. Department of Transportation, which owns Dawson and McDowell, but the early feedback has been positive, said Bradley Kimbrell, the strategy and development administrator for the city’s transportation department.

“They’ve looked at this concept. They’ve given us some comments back on it,” Kimbrell said. “Overall, they are supportive of it, because they see the value.”

Kimbrell said the connector would allow drivers coming east on South Street and south on Dawson, which is a one-way street, to get over to northbound McDowell and the rest of downtown without having to use the interchange with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Meanwhile, drivers coming west on South Street or north on McDowell would still be able to use Lenoir or other cross streets to get over to Dawson and the Boylan Heights and old Fourth Ward neighborhoods.

Some residents oppose closing South Street

Residents of Boylan Heights have objected to the city’s plans to close South Street , saying it’s an important link between their neighborhood, Dorothea Dix Park and the rest of downtown. The Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association asked the City Council to look at alternatives that would keep the street open. Last week, the Forest Park Neighborhood Association passed a similar resolution.

But Kerry Painter, director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, says the city considered alternatives and determined it must close South Street to build a Red Hat Amphitheater that’s about the same size as the existing one. Squeezing a new amphitheater between Lenoir and South streets would require elevated seating that would cost the city tens of millions more, Painter said.

The City Council seemed persuaded. Last month, it approved a resolution saying it intends to close South between Dawson and McDowell streets and asked staff to remove the block as a public street from the city’s comprehensive plan. It also agreed to buy a small lot from NCDOT on McDowell where the amphitheater would cross South.

The council will consider actually closing South Street on Tuesday, after a public hearing on the issue. A hearing is required before the city can close part of a public street. It will take place during the council’s regular meeting Tuesday, which begins at 1 p.m.

A different plan for pedestrians and cyclists

Another challenge for the city would be rerouting cyclists and pedestrians around the relocated amphitheater.

South Street is the likely path of the Chavis-Dix Strollway , a planned 1.2-mile pathway connecting Dorothea Dix and John Chavis Memorial parks. The Strollway will include art, historical markers and other features to encourage walking and cycling between two signature downtown parks.

One option is to simply direct pedestrians and cyclists one block north to Lenoir Street. Under the amphitheater plans before the City Council, Lenoir would be rebuilt between Dawson and McDowell, with wider sidewalks to accommodate crowds outside the venue.

City officials are also looking at other options south of the relocated amphitheater that include following the proposed connector for cars or building a new path off the street entirely

Sign Up for RDU on the Rise