Why Raleigh must fight to preserve landmarks like Seaboard Train Station

Seaboard Station

The writers co-chair Save Seaboard Train Station.

Raleigh’s beautiful Seaboard Train Station opened in 1942. Over the decades, millions of travelers passed through its splendid porticoes. Now, it’s the home of Logan’s Garden Shop, with its popular Seaboard Café.

Turnbridge Equities, a N.Y.-based real estate and investment company, proposes to demolish this landmark and replace it with a parking garage to serve two 22-story buildings. First, Turnbridge must get the Raleigh City Council to approve rezoning to allow buildings of this height.

We implore Council not to grant this rezoning, unless it includes preservation of the train station. The station should serve as the signature showpiece of the development.

While the Council is proudly “pro-development,” that does not mean they favor the destruction of the historic buildings that make Raleigh an interesting city.

Raleigh is a safe, clean city with good weather and good schools. To attract and retain the creative folks who will continue to improve our city, we must also offer unique character. We must therefore preserve our remaining historic landmarks.

Matthew Brown

Dana Deaton

Devereux Meadow

A March 17 Forum letter about the proposed Devereux Meadow park decried that the park is designed only for walkers and cyclists and asked: “Couldn’t there at least be a shuttle to a nearby parking lot or bus stop?”

In fact, GoRaleigh Route 12 directly serves the proposed park, and Routes 1, 2, 3 and 6 have stops just two blocks away. Raleigh also has 50-plus parks with lots of parking for those who want to drive to a park. There are 10,000-plus people who live downtown, and another 40,000 (at least pre-pandemic) who work downtown.

Devereux Meadow is a linear park along Pigeon House Branch flood plain which will be restored to free flowing after 75 years in a pipe. I’ve been around Raleigh long enough to have sat in the ballpark stands there.

Gerry Cohen, Raleigh

Durham clean-up

As a follow-up to my March 6 Forum letter asking the City of Durham to clean up the old police station building, I want to commend the city for doing it promptly and with care. Special thanks to Kevin Lilley, assistant director of the General Services Department. The mayor’s office and city manager’s office also helped. The city not only cleaned up the site but found a safe and comfortable home for a homeless woman who lived there off and on. Good job, public servants.

James Gray, Durham

Mark Meadows

Regarding allegations of voter fraud involving Mark Meadows... It’s hard not so see the sheer hypocrisy in his alleged actions, but it finally explains the GOP’s obsession with widespread voter fraud. If members at that level are allegedly engaging in fraudulent actions, they likely assume many others are.

This is an excerpt of what Meadows signed when he registered: “I attest, under penalty of perjury, that in addition to having read and understood the contents of this form, that... I shall have been a resident of North Carolina, this county, and precinct for 30 days before the date of the election in which I intend to vote...” It also states in bold red letters “Fraudulently or falsely completing this form is a Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the N.C. General Statutes.”

Karin Singleton, Raleigh

Child tax credit

In his State of the Union address President Biden asked lawmakers to bring back the child tax credit program that provides monthly payments to families with young children. That program expired at the end of 2021 and child poverty went from a rate of 12% to 17% in January, affecting an estimated 3.7 million children.

March 15 marked the third month without a child tax credit payment. Because of the situation in Ukraine, I waited to address this ongoing issue, but when the U.S. Senate found the time to address Daylight Saving Time last week I realized they could tackle anything they had a mind to fix.

It’s time to bring back the child tax credit. It works and mechanisms are in place to get payments out quickly. Congress just needs to act. Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis must make the time to lift children out of poverty.

Patti Maxwell, Cary

Take a bus

The writer is a Raleigh Transit Authority member.

Thank you for printing “Tips on navigating Triangle public transit” (March 11). Since it’s currently free to ride the bus in the Triangle, now is the perfect time to try out the bus, especially given high gas prices and concerns about climate change.

Not included in the article were the websites for easily figuring out the bus routes and schedules that get riders to their destination. Visit goraleigh.org or gotriangle.org and simply enter your address and where you want to go. These trip planners are easy to use and provide bus numbers and times for your trip, including time walking to your bus stop.

Use goraleighlive.org or download the free Transloc app for real-time information on when your bus is coming, so you don’t waste time waiting at a bus stop. Google is another way to figure out bus routes. A GoRaleigh ID card is not necessary to hop on a bus. Give bus riding a try and get around for free!

Karen Rindge, Raleigh