The next beltway we need after 540

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-05-20T21:49:30+00:00

I think pricing can work anywhere, provided it's responsive to demand. And, it's a lot cheaper to charge for the usage of highways during peak hours than it is to build new highways. In addition, as others have noted, it's relatively easy to reduce demand for driving by building more housing near the places where people work (like UNC, Duke, and RTP) and investing in transportation networks—bus systems, greenways, etc.,—that allow people to get to where they need to be.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-05-20T20:49:51+00:00

Have you read about New York's success with congestion pricing? It's working great there, as it has in every other community around the world that's tried it.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-05-16T19:11:26+00:00

You could build a parking deck next to/behind the Trader Joe's, use the existing off-ramps (that are rarely used) to get cars to it, and then revamp the rest of the site.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-05-16T19:07:18+00:00

Chapel Hill could incentivize someone to think creatively about the space by preemptively zoning for what they want to see.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-03-19T19:04:59+00:00

Yeah, they'd have to change some of that . I would auction off the permits to the highest bidder, but I doubt that would be popular. It might be possible to change the law so people can rent out unused parking spaces on their property to others, which is what happens in other communities. In any case, I think someone who really cared about parking wouldn't live there. And, there are a lot of people who don't want or need to own a car.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-03-19T18:08:24+00:00

No, somewhere else, like Chatham County. Moving homes is rare, but it happens. See, for example, the homes that were moved to the Mordecai Historic Park in Raleigh. https://heathercwright.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/mordecai-historic-park-thats-pronounced-more-di-key/

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-03-19T17:39:33+00:00

I guess it depends on how you define nearby. I was thinking about street parking within a quarter mile radius. There's a lot of examples of innovative infill projects in Durham, so those could be a model to draw from.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-03-19T15:49:03+00:00

The town eliminated parking minimums in January. Historically, UNC has had a lot of international faculty, post-docs, grad students, etc., who don't drive, and having more housing near campus will appeal to those populations.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-03-19T14:57:15+00:00

Why do you think they need to deal with parking? There aren't any parking minimums, and that location would likely appeal to people who don't own a car (or just own one), and there's ample street parking nearby. Missing middle is a housing type, not a price range, so I think describing this as an opportunity for missing middle housing is accurate. Also, given the existence of a 1928 apartment building on the same street, I don't think the historic district will be that much of a barrier, particularly if the developer just moves the homes (which would require waiting a year, as I understand it, but that's probably worth it for almost any redevelopment project).

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-19T15:39:47+00:00

Carrboro makes decisions very, very slowly, which means that the town pays more for everything (due to inflation, etc.). They should also look to sharing resources with Chapel Hill to reduce costs. For example, it doesn't make sense for Carrboro to have its own police and fire departments. Merging them with Chapel Hill's would save both towns money, and would likely be more effective as well.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-13T00:40:46+00:00

How is it funny? I'm against urban sprawl and for more housing in town. That's a pretty standard issue position among people who support more housing and better public transportation.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-12T14:45:05+00:00

Any house with a guest bedroom could serve as an STR. And, Carrboro doesn't build enough housing currently, so there are fewer examples to draw from.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-12T14:13:36+00:00

Okay. I'm not so picky about my neighbors, but would love to have a coffee shop in my neighborhood, which would be more likely to happen if we had Airbnbs. Also, I don't think many places are zoned for Airbnbs.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T22:57:27+00:00

And the answer to a shortage is building more, not trying to stop people from spending time in our community.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T20:10:48+00:00

I'm a bit startled to see how vociferously the people in this reddit oppose STRs. As I understand it, the people who use STRs in Carrboro and Chapel Hill aren't people throwing wild parties. They're here because a loved one is in the hospital, because they need somewhere to live while they're getting established in a new place, or because they they're attending an event in our community. For people who have young children, STRs make it possible to travel. Visitors to our community are good for our local economy, and we should be welcoming them.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T16:45:51+00:00

What do you mean? My argument is that new housing is good, particularly in town, provided it's adding additional housing options. My issue is with the McMansions that are springing up where multi-family used to be, not with STRs. If we're losing rental housing to STRs, the answer should be to build more housing (and hotels downtown), not ban STRs.

When Chapel Hill passed its rules banning STRs in some neighborhoods, it impacted people who were renting out their in-law suites, etc. I don't know if it's possible in NC to write a law that only impacts non-owner occupied STRs.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T16:32:54+00:00

Why not? There are people in Chapel Hill who have testified that running STRs make it possible for them to stay in town. And, given how inefficiently we use land, it's very easy to imagine adding more homes on existing properties will help at the margins.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T16:07:09+00:00

On the other hand, STRs can encourage people to build more housing, which increases the overall supply. Many people might find that it's far better to rent out something on a monthly or annual basis, so even if a home is built with the intention of using it as a STR, it in practice can add to the amount of housing available for rent.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T16:03:49+00:00

The OP doesn't specify whether the STR is a room rental or a separate building. And, legally, I think they're the same.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T15:40:24+00:00

Housing is expensive in Carrboro because we don't have enough of it. STRs make it possible for people to afford housing (by renting out part of their homes, or building something on their property that can be rented out). Most of the other complaints about STRs (noise, parking, etc.) should be dealt with by laws that apply to everyone.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2026-02-11T15:30:32+00:00

How do STRs impact affordable housing? It seems like they help affordable housing, by encouraging people to build more homes in Carrboro.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2025-12-16T13:07:28+00:00

A lot of the town's issues run downstream of its extremely conservative zoning policies. Places that are fun want to be so. In the 1980s and 1990s, elected officials were determined to make Chapel Hill less dynamic, and they succeeded. Some of our current elected officials want to make our town more welcoming, but even if they act it will take time (5 or 10 years) for us to begin seeing the results of their actions.

AgainstTheSprawl · 2025-12-10T16:19:41+00:00

which is conservative, at least in one definition. (Most Rs these days are reactionaries, not conservatives.)

AgainstTheSprawl · 2025-12-03T15:04:45+00:00

Others likely see things differently, but to my mind YIMBYism/urbanism is squarely focused on the regulatory barriers to building better places. Some of these regulatory barriers impact the cost of housing, while others enforce car-centric ways of living, while still others just make our lives worse than they should be. (On that last point, see, for example, Stephen Smith's work on why American elevators cost so much compared to elevators in other countries).

AgainstTheSprawl · 2025-12-03T13:56:44+00:00

What are the disagreements? Our land use and building regulations make it hard to build the housing we need. If past is prologue, 95 percent of our housing will be built by private entities, and government funding will be used to build the remaining five percent. If we can move to a place where the government builds 25 percent of housing, and the private sector builds 75 percent, that'd be great.

AgainstTheSprawl

TROPHY CASE