Council sends Fayetteville Street streetscape recommendations to committee, endorses short‑term changes

City planning staff presented a multi‑phase streetscape update for Fayetteville Street and City Plaza that would reallocate sidewalk space to expand outdoor dining at building frontages, create a flexible activation zone in place of fixed planters and remove some permanent obstructions to better support events and daily use. The council voted to send the proposal to the Economic Development Innovation (EDI) committee and urged quick action on lower‑cost Phase 1 changes. Ken Bowers, representing Planning and Development, said Fayetteville Street opened in 2006 and lacks a formal adopted streetscape plan. He described a proposed reallocation that would move outdoor dining to an 8‑foot building‑front spillout zone, create an 8‑foot clear pedestrian path, convert the current 12‑foot furniture zone into a flexible activation area, and retain the tree canopy. "We want a streetscape that has fewer fixed objects in the way and more opportunity for temporary installations and activations," Bowers said. The plan would remove some benches and larger news‑rack shelters in Phase 1, while preserving the utility cabinets that contain infrastructure. Bowers outlined a phased implementation strategy: Phase 1 would be a low‑cost reallocation and removal of obstructing fixtures; Phase 2 would be a larger investment including paving changes, enlarged tree pits and relocating utility hookups; later phases would consider longer‑term plaza work and possible water features. He said staff will prepare a short‑term budget estimate and that larger changes would be considered in a future capital budget request. Councilors voiced both support for quick, low‑cost changes and caution about large capital features. Councilor Branch opposed a long‑term water feature on maintenance and structural grounds, saying water features can create ongoing maintenance and potential leaks above parking decks. Councilor Silver suggested bringing the item into EDI to coordinate work on Market and Exchange plazas and to advance Phase 1; Member Milton moved to send the item to EDI, a motion seconded and approved. Council members and Downtown Raleigh Alliance participants who attended the outreach expressed support for activating the street but emphasized that ground‑floor activation by businesses is necessary for the dining reallocation to succeed. Staff and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance discussed public art, movable furniture, and event staging alternatives to a water feature; staff said any permanent material changes would require further budgeting and design. The council asked staff to coordinate with ground‑floor business owners, event organizers and the DRA and to return to committee with actionable Phase 1 recommendations and a budget for quick implementation.