Gondola ride to Dix Park? Raleigh explores ‘bold’ connection from downtown
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh explores aerial transit and strollways to link Dix Park with downtown.
- Panel urges swift action to unify districts and boost park accessibility.
- City advances Chavis-Dix Strollway design through historic Fourth Ward area.
Pedestrian bridge? Gondola? Trolley?
Dorothea Dix Park is less than a mile from City Plaza in downtown Raleigh, but walking safely between the two is difficult.
On Thursday afternoon, city and community leaders unveiled options for a “bold and seamless connection” between the park and the edge of downtown during the Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s State of Downtown event.
“It feels like two separate districts,” said Kate Pearce, executive director of Dix Park. “And by creating a really strong, people-first connection, you will feel like one entity. And I think that feeling is what is so beneficial to the overall growth of our community, the overall quality of life in our community.”
A panel of experts at the meeting, held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, discussed how a connection could work.
“I think it does need to be bold and clear,” said Bill King, CEO and president of the downtown alliance. “I think visitors need to be able to come to this part of downtown and clearly know that’s how you get to the park. And it’s fun and worth doing.”
Gondolas or aerial transportation is “having a moment globally,” but the United States has not caught up, said Damon Circosta, executive director of A.J. Fletcher Foundation.
“Yes, we need to build [connections], and we need to move quickly, because Dix Park is a once in a millennium moment, and it’s having its moment,” Circosta said. “If we spend another 20 years connecting it to downtown, that moment is going to be over.”
Aerial transportation has gotten less expensive, he said. Why should Raleigh spend tens of millions of dollars to build new parking garages in and near Dix Park when that money could be spent connecting the two, using the parking garages already in the downtown area, he said.
Plus it’s fun, Circosta said, adding that it builds on the child-focused offerings already available in downtown.
“When you move to San Diego, you learn to surf,” he said. “When you move to Denver, you learn to ski. And when you move to Raleigh, it’s not for everybody, but the vast majority of us are raising families, and this is a place for kids.”
Chavis-Dix Strollway
One idea already underway is the Chavis-Dix Strollway, a route connecting Chavis Park to downtown Raleigh to Dix Park. A strollway differs from a greenway or sidewalk because it offers cultural interpretation, public art and other artistic experiences.
The city is seeking designers for the strollway’s first section, connecting Dix Park to Red Hat Amphitheater. Charles Flink, owner of Greenways Inc., came up with the idea and has completed work in 35 states and in Europe, Asia and South America.
This strollway would go through the former Fourth Ward, one of the city’s oldest and largest Black neighborhoods that the city destroyed through urban renewal. More than 1,000 residents were displaced, 600 homes and 60 businesses destroyed.
Flink pulled from his experience in St. Louis with the development of the Brickline Greenway that went through Mill Valley, which was wiped out similarly to Fourth Ward. They worked to create a memorial for the destroyed neighborhood to serve as a “unifying element.”
“Can I just say I think Raleigh has some of the most unique African American history of any city,” Flink said. “I do not understand why we don’t acknowledge it and celebrate it.”
Development near Dix Park
The former state agency headquarters has changed dramatically in the 10 years since Raleigh bought the 308 acres of land for Dix Park. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services should be leaving its old offices at the park by mid-October to move to its new headquarters.
Gipson Play Plaza, a new 18.5 playground and splash area, and a new grab-and-go food market opened this summer.
More than 400,000 people visited the play plaza during its first two months, Pearce said. Those visitors came from 42 states, 95 counties and every ZIP code in Raleigh.
Coming off the success of the Dreamville Music Festival, the city has signed a four-year deal for a new music festival at the park, design work is underway to restore Rocky Branch Creek along Western Boulevard and, just announced, international recycle artist Thomas Dambo will build five giant trolls in the park later this year.
On the downtown side, there’s been significant private and public development completed, under construction or planned. There’s been $1.1 billion in new construction completed or underway south of Davie Street since 2023. And another $2.1 billion in future development is planned there.
Red Hat Amphitheater is set to move a block over, with more seating, to make way for an expanded Raleigh Convention Center. Omni Hotels & Resorts was picked to build a 550-room hotel on city-owned land in front of the Martin Marietta Performing Arts Center.
A new sports bar, Bob’s Steak & Chop House and a coffee shop will all be located in the hotel along with its two ballrooms, a wellness center and pool deck, said Brett Cimorelli, vice president of construction and development services for Omni. They are also looking to add a Topgolf or similar simulation-type venue to the hotel, he said.
This would be the hotel’s first location in Raleigh, the third in North Carolina.
Raleigh will need multiple connections between downtown and Dix Park, and Thursday’s panel was meant to get people thinking of the possibilities, King said.
Regardless of what the city does, panelists agreed a decision needs to happen soon.
“I kept saying people were gravitating to parks and public spaces, because our parks became sanctuaries,” said Raleigh City Council member Mitchell Silver, referencing his time as commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s incumbent to me, we figure it out. There are multiple options. I think we need to figure out how to get it done and make it a priority.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Gondola ride to Dix Park? Raleigh explores ‘bold’ connection from downtown."
