All about the Dix Park Issue and What You Can Do
Lorilyn Bailey

I posted a letter, similar to this one below, to a neighborhood discussion group on February 2, 2007:

Okay, if you don't want to read all of the background info below, please just read this:

1. http://dixpark.org/video/video.htm - Select the second format (320x240) of the video; that one worked for me.

2. http://www.dix306.org - What you can do to help.

3. At minimum, contact your legislators:
http://www.dix306.org/contact_government.htm (Contact both the the city council and legislature. The legislature will want to know if the city council supports it. The city council should support it if their constituents -- you -- do.)

4. Forward this information to your friends, relatives, co-workers, and neighbors.

BACKGROUND:
Some of you may have read about the use of the Dorothea Dix campus in the future. The issue hasn't been made very clear, I don't think, and it's vital at this point that we tell our legislators what we want our city to be like.

I'm sharing this because I think this is an important "quality of life" issue for ourselves and the generations that come after us. Because it's about six miles from Brentwood, I think that it definitely would affect the value of our neighborhood, being so close to an incredible resource.

This is it in a nutshell:

The Dix Park campus (306 acres, mostly open land) is owned by the state. The land is next to Boylan Avenue, and it is very rare to have that much open space next door to a downtown. It's wonderful land. Truly precious.

The state legislators will most likely vote this session about what to do with it. Previously, there were two choices on the table: both had the land being sold to developers for condos, retail, offices, and parking lots. Land not developed would be reserved for "park land." Unfortunately, much of the "park land" is sloped or watery land not suitable for development and not too useful for the general public, either.

(By the way, the decision to close Dorothea Dix Hospital and do something with the land has already been made. No use in arguing whether it should be closed or not. That ship has sailed.)

Enter three advocacy groups. They all want the same thing. They want Dix Park to be preserved as a "destination park."

What is a destination park? I like to define it as a place of natural beauty where individuals, families, and children can go to have a good time. It might include gardens, rides (carousel?), pond, horse-drawn carriages, a restaurant, walking trails, and other activities, but still, the park's natural beauty is preserved and savored. Central Park is known as a "destination park." People go there to enjoy it and to have fun. See what attractions they have: http://www.centralpark.com/pages/attractions.html

Dix Park campus at 306 acres is half the size of Central Park. That's still pretty big, big enough to do wonderful things. Just like in Central Park, developers and other organizations and groups would cooperate with the city and state to build a great park.

Okay, the three advocacy groups are:

1. Dix Visionaries - Led by Gregory Poole. According to the N&O, he has discussed the issue with top developers and decision makers, and it appears he received a positive response. If Dix Park becomes a "Raleigh Central Park," then surrounding areas will rise in value and will make all of downtown a much more desirable place. And it's just the right thing to do.

2. Friends of Dix - Their web site is http://www.dixpark.org They are a group that has worked hard on this issue for years. They paid a company to create a proposed park plan, and you can find it all on their web site. They also have a video on their site, one that I highly recommend you see.

You will find that highly respected leaders of our region agree a destination park is a great idea. Go to: http://dixpark.org/video/video.htm (try the second option.) You can compare the "Friends of Dix Park" plan to the current "houses/retail/development " (ULI Development) proposed park here: http://dixpark.org/compare_fddp_uli.htm

3. Dix306.org - This is a grassroots group. I donated some of my web design skills to create their site: http://www.dixpark.org Starting today, they have yard signs available to spread the word. This site gives great ideas about what you can do -- there are lots of ideas.

SUMMARY:
On a personal note -- I grew up in a city the size of Raleigh that was bordered by a lake and a river. Whenever we wanted to get out and walk around somewhere, or if we had friends visiting, we would go to "the beach." There, we found a sandy beach, the gorgeous vista of a lake (that looked like an ocean), a custard stand, a pier, and an antique carousel. It wasn't big. But it was fun. It was a place to go and hang out and look around. A destination park.

Wouldn't it be great if our state's leaders would recognize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use this open land as a resource for all citizens to use and enjoy, not just turned into yet more condos, retail stores, and parking lots? Haven't we seen enough of that type of development in the Raleigh area the last decade?

We, as a city, are going to continue to grow tremendously in years to come. We'll see far less green space. Do you remember the woods where Target and Lowe's are now, on Capital Blvd? Do you remember when Spring Forest Road had...forests? I do. Green space will continue to disappear unless we take action to preserve some of it. There are some great vistas at Dix Park. They should be preserved.

Please contact our government leaders and spread the word by forwarding this message to anyone who lives in Raleigh or even in the state. If anyone knows of other area neighborhood discussion groups I could contact, that would be great.

The basic message is this: We want ALL 306 acres of Dix Park to be preserved as a destination park.