I was happy to see that a tenacious N&O reporter, Matt Garfield, went the distance in our recent 4-hour Parks and Rec Board meeting. The quote he printed came near the end of that way-too-long meeting.
I wrote before of my disappointment with how the news media covers parks issues. The coverage of Thursday’s meeting is a big improvement and hopefully part of a larger trend to better cover the parks that the people of Raleigh love.
I was quoted again in the N&O, this time during Thursday’s marathon Parks and Rec Board meeting. We were debating the Moore Square Master Plan and discussed a letter presented by the State Property Office [PDF] objecting to including restrooms and a kiosk on the square. I thought it was ridiculous not to add restrooms to a park anticipated to attract young families:
“I find it a little surprising that the state prefers a line of Porta-Johns,” said Mark Turner. “I don’t know if I could support this [plan] without the structures.”
I’m still mystified at how the state could object to this. The letter signed by Moses Carey, Jr. states that there are public restrooms at the Moore Square Transfer Station and at Marbles Kids Museum. That may be true for the bus station but if Marbles’s restrooms are public it is certainly news to them.
The state cites the historic nature of the square in their objection to structures, yet for over 70 years there were structures on the square: a school and a church. The facilities in the plan are minor by comparison and in the case of the restrooms, tucked underneath the proposed slope. What’s even more ironic is that the state itself obliterated the other two original public squares, building the State Capitol and the Executive Mansion on them.
I think the state should either go along with the proposed plan or put forth one of its own. Better yet, perhaps the city should outright purchase Moore Square from the state. For the last century, the City of Raleigh has been a faithful steward of the square for the state. The city has earned the right to have a greater say in its use!
Moore Square could be such a wonderful gathering place for the folks who visit downtown. It could be a delightful escape from the skyscrapers and asphalt. The Moore Square Master Plan respects the history of the square and adds to it, bringing it into the 21st century. It’s time the state got on board with this centerpiece component of Raleigh’s downtown revitalization.
