8/17 Letters: Post-flood damage control is not enough

Reading about the kindness of strangers rebuilding Princeville in “Muslim and Methodist volunteers join in hurricane recovery effort” (Aug. 8) gave me hope, then pause, as I thought about how we restrict building in flood zones statewide. At the beach and even in cities like Raleigh, homes in flood zones are required to be built on high foundations. It amazes me that man hours and money are being spent to rebuild in Princeville and Lumberton in flood zones without preparing for the future.

When these houses are empty and gutted, it should be easier to do and money well spent to have a house-raising system at hand, and go from one house to the other and raise them up, requiring first floor breakaway walls to withstand flood debris. More often now, we are seeing rain bombs create instant flooding. As well as raising buildings, ameliorating city flooding by widening and/or deepening waterways in certain flood-prone areas must be considered, like Crabtree Creek, where flooding is always a potential. Levees and berms are not always perfect, but some places could benefit by just raising river and creek banks a few feet.

Don’t close NCSU club

I appreciated “NC State University Club members: Beltline widening could force us to close” (Aug. 9) and “ Meredith president opposes taking campus land to widen Beltline” (Aug. 7). The widening of I-440 (the Beltline) between Walnut Street and Wade Avenue is necessary. The massive taking of land between Wade and Hillsborough Street is not. The highway engineers explained to us that the taking is necessary because Wade Avenue and Hillsborough Street are too close to allow the mixing of entering and exiting traffic between these roads. Therefore, they say, the destruction inflicted on Meredith College and the NCSU Club is inevitable.

No, it is not. The best solution is to remove the entry and exit ramps to and from I-440 at Hillsborough Street. This street is no longer a major carrier of traffic. Cars coming eastward from Highway 54 can easily divert to Western Boulevard. East of the Beltline, Hillsborough is no longer a major carrier of traffic – the recent changes to Hillsborough near NCSU make this obvious. Let the heavy through traffic use Wade or Western. By doing so, protect Meredith, and save the club – one of West Raleigh’s most important institutions.

Stop GOP ‘shenanigans’

Regarding “Legislators OK rules to redraw voting maps” (Aug. 11): members of the GOP in the N.C. General Assembly want rules that will protect incumbents. Isn’t that what they already have?

Every time I read about the shenanigans by the GOP members at the General Assembly, it seems to me that what is needed are very stern, mature school teachers who know the difference between right and wrong in charge on Jones Street.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "8/17 Letters: Post-flood damage control is not enough."