Raleigh already knows which intersections are most dangerous. The question is how quickly the City can redesign them before the next crash becomes another data point.
For pedestrians, Raleigh’s streets are a gamble. Six Forks and Millbrook. South Wilmington and East Davie. New Bern and Sunnybrook. These aren’t just intersections—they’re choke points.
Now, for the first time, the City knows exactly where the danger is. Raleigh has formally mapped where severe crashes cluster. The newly finalized Comprehensive Safety Action Plan identifies the intersections where fatal and serious injury crashes happen most often—and outlines the infrastructure changes officials believe could prevent future deaths and injuries. But even the City admits the scale is massive.
DTR
Of the city’s ~10,000 intersections, just 200 account for roughly half of all fatal and serious injury crashes. And while intersections like Six Forks and Millbrook, South Wilmington and East Davie, and New Bern and Sunnybrook rank among the city’s most dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and scooters, Raleigh’s newly developed High Injury Intersection list makes clear the danger isn’t isolated to a few notorious crossroads.
This is not anecdotal—this is a decade of crash mapping. The City built a formula to pinpoint where risk clusters most heavily. Raleigh’s High Injury Intersections are defined not by fatalities alone, but by a combined crash score factoring in fatal, serious, moderate and minor injury crashes. For pedestrians and bicyclists, Raleigh used a separate 10-year dataset tracking all pedestrian-involved crashes regardless of severity.
It’s not random—it’s a formula. These wrecks happen in predictable places with predictable conditions. “Fast growth intensifies road safety challenges as travel patterns, traffic volumes and transportation modes evolve,” said Mayor Janet Cowell. Raleigh’s risk equation boils down to speed + sprawl + split attention. Heavy traffic volumes, high-speed roads, constant turning traffic, poor visibility and long crossing times all contribute to the danger. The pattern is remarkably consistent: multilane roads built for speed colliding with growing pedestrian activity, bus stops, commercial driveways and cars turning in every direction.
In many cases, the danger isn’t a single catastrophic design flaw—it’s cumulative friction: a fast-growing city layered onto infrastructure originally designed to move cars quickly, not necessarily people safely. “The City of Raleigh—both elected officials and staff—is committed to eliminating all fatal and serious injury traffic crashes and creating a safer, more resilient transportation network,” said Cowell, acknowledging their pledge to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries by 50% by the year 2040 and 100% by 2055.
CBRE
Beyond identifying where these crashes happen—the question is how fast the City can fix them. To address the problem, Raleigh is leaning into what transportation planners call the Federal Highway System’s “Safe System Approach”—a strategy focused less on perfect driver behavior and more on making roads themselves more forgiving when mistakes happen.
The strategy was formally presented to Raleigh City Council this spring as part of the City’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, which prioritizes projects based on crash severity, risk patterns and resident feedback.
In practice, that means protected left turns, high-visibility crosswalks, refuge islands, upgraded signal timing, curb bump-outs and lower DTR speed limits—as well as better signage on street signs, pavement markings and improved lighting. “A lot of accidents happen at night,” noted Cowell. “We can also increase things like the median so pedestrians have a safe place to stop in the middle of a really wide street.”
Projects are prioritized using more than crash history alone, says Vision Zero Program Manager Sean Driskill, including pedestrian volumes, feasibility, anticipated costs and overlap with infrastructure projects.
But redesigning dangerous intersections is rarely fast—or cheap. Many of Raleigh’s proposed improvements remain tied to larger corridor projects, state partnerships or funding mechanisms that could take years to materialize. “Roughly half of the top 200 High Injury Intersections have already had some level of safety improvement completed in recent years or planned as part of a future project,” says Driskill. Still, many remain conceptual, unfunded or tied to larger infrastructure efforts that could extend the timeline.
Since 2022, the City says it has improved roughly 40 intersections through signal upgrades, enhanced lighting, pavement markings and other safety measures. While “no single intervention has been identified as universally most effective,” says Driskill, “instead, improvements are tailored to the specific crash patterns and roadway conditions present at each location.”
In one recent successful example at Bland Road, Falls of Neuse Road and Pacific Drive, converting a southbound left turn to protected-only movement during certain times reduced total crashes by 38% and injury crashes by 83%, with serious injuries dropping from two to zero.
Raleigh doesn’t have a mystery on its hands. It has a map. The challenge now is how quickly the City can redesign its most dangerous roads before the next crash becomes another data point.
CBRE
How the City Built the Map
Raleigh’s crash rankings are based on years of traffic data—not just headlines.
Overall rankings use crash data collected between 2019–2023
Pedestrian and bicyclist rankings use a separate 10-year dataset (2014–2023)
Unlike the broader rankings, the pedestrian list includes all pedestrian-involved crashes—not just fatal or serious injuries
Rankings will be updated periodically as new crash data becomes available
CBS 17
Safety Playbook
Raleigh’s “Safe System Approach” focuses less on perfect drivers—and more on roads that leave less room for catastrophic mistakes. What the City is doing:
Protected left turns
High-visibility crosswalks
Median refuge islands
Signal timing changes
Curb bump-outs
Improved lighting
Bus stop relocation
Lower DTR speed limits
Danger Zones
Highest-risk intersections for pedestrians & cyclists—and what the City says it’s doing about them.
New Bern Ave. + Trawick Rd. New pedestrian crosswalk added; more upgrades tied to New Bern BRT corridor
Millbrook + Six Forks Rd. Pedestrian improvements planned through revised Six Forks Road Improvements project
Capital Blvd. + Calvary Dr. Crosswalks & lighting upgrades complete; redesign plans include bus stop relocations, intersection geometry & median fencing
Capital & Crabtree Blvd. Signal timing changes in place; broader pedestrian safety overhaul in development
New Bern Ave + Hill St. + Sunbury St. Planned upgrades alongside BRT project
New Bern Ave. + Shanta Dr + Sunnybrook Rd Safety improvements tied to future BRT construction
South Saunders St. + Pecan Rd. + Carolina Pines Ave. Seeking federal funding through Safe Streets for All Implementation grant application
Kent Rd + Method Rd + Western Blvd Signal upgrades complete; new pedestrian crosswalk planned after nearby I-440 work wraps
GlenwoodAve. + Brier Creek Pkwy. Future upgrades planned through NCDOT’s broader US-70 improvement project
The Raleigh Commons
Where Speed Wins
These intersections rank among Raleigh’s most dangerous overall for all modes, where speed and volume collide—literally.
S. Wilmington St. + Tryon Rd. Planned upgrades include high-visibility crosswalks, signal timing improvements, curb bump-outs & sidewalk gap fixes
New Bern Ave. + Trawick Rd. New pedestrian crosswalk installed; additional upgrades coming in conjunction with BRT corridor.
Capital Blvd. + Huntleigh Dr. Backplates, signal timing upgrades, new concrete curb ramps, additional signal heads & signal hardware upgrades planned through NCDOT partnership
CBS17
Capital Blvd. + Calvary Dr. Crosswalks & lighting upgrades complete; redesign plans include bus stop relocations, intersection geometry & median fencing
Poole Rd. + Rose Ln. Conceptual redesign complete; City exploring funding options
Forestville + Louisburg Rd. Converted into “Reduced Conflict Intersection” designed to limit dangerous turning movements, plus pedestrian crossing across Louisburg Rd.
Hammond Rd. + Rush St. Planned improvements include new pedestrian crossings, signal timing upgrades, backplates & additional signal heads
Saunders St. + Ileagnes Rd. Seeking federal funding through Safe Streets for All Implementation grant application
Glenwood Ave. + Brier Creek Pkwy. Future upgrades tied to NCDOT’s US-70 Improvement Project
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. + S.Salisbury + S. Wilmington St. Improvements planned as part of an NCDOT Spot Mobility Project
Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts’ long-awaited plaza upgrade is finally complete—and for the thousands flowing in and out on show nights, the difference starts the second you arrive.
Twenty-five years after the curtain first rose, Lichtin Plaza—aka the venue’s “front porch”—was well-overdue for a face-lift. Designed to better reflect the diversity of touring acts and homegrown shows alike, the update reinforces the center’s role as a cornerstone of the DTR arts scene.
The redesign sports a dedicated drop-off lane (read: patrons can pull up directly to the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium lobby), swaps the fountain-turned-garden for a far more flexible event-ready space, ups accessibility with new wheelchair ramps, and enhances greenspace to create a more inviting arrival for eventgoers.
“It looks like it was always meant to be like this,” maintains Kerry Painter, director and GM of the larger Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex. “It’s perfect for the building: Elegant, regal, and it matches the architecture—and it’s so much more open for the community now.”
The project—which turned around in just ~six months after breaking ground in September—lands amid a broader transformation for DTR and a new, dynamic era for the plaza’s neighbors, including the highly anticipated forthcoming Omni Raleigh Hotel and Raleigh Convention Center expansion, slated for 2029 completion and further uplifting culture and tourism nearby.
Bottom line—whether you’re catching a Broadway tour, concert, an opera or even comedian, the city’s main stage now has a front porch to match.
Gas is up—burnout is higher. This is your cue to swap airplane mode for a Raleigh reset: room service, rooftop pours and a nightlife scene that does the heavy lifting. No packing spiral—just a plush pause with your PTO preserved and vibes fully intact, and just enough distance from your routine to feel like you left. Whether your ideal escape involves golden hour cocktails, post-show bites or a Wolfpack-fueled weekend, consider this your local itinerary.
Raleigh’s long-awaited S-Line reshapes how the region moves.
Move over, light rail—Raleigh is getting high-speed rail. Reaching speeds up to 110 mph, the incoming S-Line will deliver riders between Downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest in less than 20 minutes by 2031.
Across the board, one of Raleighites’ biggest complaints is transit—full stop. Already a highly car-dependent city, Raleigh is growing up and out quicker than our transit system and roadways can keep up, leaving residents with few modes to get around—and traffic to absorb the rest.
More than 20 years in the making, the S-Line ultimately promises to level up transit beyond Wake Forest, eventually connecting Raleigh to Richmond with future stops in Youngsville, Franklinton, Henderson, Norlina and Petersburg.
Pulling in from North Raleigh, the railway will run alongside Atlantic Avenue and Wake Forest Road before crossing over Capital Boulevard—over the Conlon Family Skatepark, says NCDOT Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation Julie White—before chugging down West Street in the final stretch to Raleigh Union Station.
Existing rail already leads the train’s path through DTR via CSX freight lines that NCDOT is in the final stages of purchasing, but high-speed rail will require improved tracks and a larger buffer than slow-moving freight trains, along with new bridges and underpasses at multiple crossings.
In short, growth doesn’t come without compromise, and adjacent properties won’t be left untouched.
While the fate of the track-bordering buildings along West Street—think The Cardinal, Stella’s, Transtar Aftermarket Solutions, and FlowCorps, to name a few—isn’t certain, the question of impact is: The S-Line footprint expands beyond current tracks, putting properties in close proximity to a potential right-of-way zone.
In NC, railroad right-of-way varies anywhere from 30 to 200+ feet from the centerline of the track, but until the final railway design is nailed down, exactly how much space the S-Line will claim is unclear.
While local businesses will be affected—and possibly forced out—NCDOT tries not to cause turmoil without a plan—or without permission. The agency met with the mayor of every town and city bordering the S-Line in 2019, White tells RM, building on community engagement that launched in the early 2000s.
“Our rule is we don’t want to be doing something in a community that the community doesn’t want,” maintains White. “All the rails go through the middle of the downtowns, so we asked if it aligned with their goals.” The answer was overwhelmingly yes.
Impacted property owners were part of the conversation. “They’re aware of the project and the existing plans,” maintains White. Because land can turn over fast—especially over the course of a two decade-long project—NCDOT circles back to engage with new owners more frequently than law requires.
While multimodal transit naturally remains the focal point of the project, White doesn’t expect everyone to abandon their cars and hop on the rail. “It’s not the point,” she notes. “But if you can shift some folks over to take the train, even those who don’t take the train have more space to get where they want to go.”
The goal, she says, is to lessen traffic and maintain consistent commute times for riders and drivers alike—similar to our Northeastern counterparts.
The outcome? NCers can more easily live and work where they want to, whether that’s a rural town or city center. The corridor won’t just fill a missing link for Raleigh, but for the entire Southeast. Once fully complete, it will effectively slash travel times to DC and beyond, while upping convenience via more frequent trains and reliable service.
“The train time doesn’t change, so giving people the ability to live where they want to live and work where they want to work is a wonderful strategy that goes far past Raleigh,” says White. In a city where getting anywhere can feel like a gamble, that kind of mobility changes everything.
This was originally going to be a very different story. For months, rumors ran rampant that Raleigh’s flagship indie music fest Hopscotch Music Festival might not return—met with radio silence from organizers.
Sources told RM the fest’s owners, local ticketing company Etix, were undecided about its 2026 run and were unresponsive to repeated requests to comment. Typically tickets are available in early December, but sales still hadn’t launched. With less than six months to go before its typical September mic drop, there was no confirmation in sight. Then, on March 13, Raleigh got its answer: Hopscotch is back for 2026. And the collective sigh of relief wasn’t irrational.
In recent years, Raleigh has watched major festivals come and go. Dreamville announced its fifth year would be its last. While IBMA Bluegrass Live! was never intended to be permanent, the city submitted a new contract and the fest declined to renew, ending its Raleigh run. Despite their departures, the impact of both still ripples through Raleigh—and their finales weren’t tied to a lack of support.
After IBMA Bluegrass Live! organizers opted to “try something new,” former collaborator PineCone quickly launched the parallel Raleigh Wide Open fest without missing a beat. And while the City of Raleigh promised a successor to Dreamville’s fifth and final—with J. Cole‘s “hands all over it”—they have yet to deliver, though sources suggest a 2027 spring fest is up for consideration.
But even when departures aren’t spurred by a lack of community, the pattern raises a bigger question: Can Raleigh sustain a music festival long-term?
The answer is complicated. For starters, this isn’t just a Raleigh problem. “If Hopscotch goes away, it won’t be alone,” says Dave Rose, founder of Deep South Entertainment and an informal advisor during the early years of Hopscotch. Across the country, festivals are facing rising costs, tighter margins and increasingly high-risk economics.
While festivals are a labor of love, says PineCone Executive Director David Brower, they’re also famously “a good way to lose money very slowly.” Unlike a venue or brick-and-mortar business, festivals reset every year—raising and spending millions in a matter of months.
“In reality, you’re starting from square one every single year,” says Brower. “You raise all the money you need, then spend all the money you got.” From artist fees (which often spike for festival appearances) to temporary infrastructure—stages, sound, security, bathrooms—and the staff to keep things on track, the costs stack up fast.
While fests offer more bang for your buck than a single concert, betting on audiences to show up for a full lineup—not just one headliner—is a far riskier play. Add in premium artist pricing, says Rose—and the likelihood they won’t return to the same market for a year unless the demand is sky high—and margins tighten quickly.
Rodney Boles
As Brower puts it, “festivals curate a village that only lasts for three days, and then work the entire next year to create the community again.”
In Raleigh, some say those challenges are compounded locally. A former longtime Hopscotch employee told RM that permitting and policing costs have increased—off-duty police officers starting at $35/hour, with additional charges for structures and pyrotechnics—while city support has allegedly become less consistent, adding pressure to an already precarious model.
Still, the payoff can be massive. “We don’t have many events Downtown that use our storefront businesses as event spaces—but Hopscotch does,” remarks DRA President Bill King. “A lot of businesses do really well.” Thanks to its unique format, Hopscotch draws ~25,000 people annually, funneling foot traffic directly into Downtown locales in a way few events can.
“It’s our biggest weekend of the year by far,” says Slim’s owner Bill Johnson. “This festival is unique because it pushes people inside the bars—we pretty much have a full house from noon till 2am.”
But beyond economics, there’s cultural capital. “It’s not exactly a Top 40 festival,” says King, nodding to the cool factor. “Headliners tend to be more indie, and it’s a nice blend of out-of-market and in-market shows.” For more than a decade, Hopscotch has been scouting and booking indie acts just before their big break—elevating NC artists and cementing its place as a defining part of Raleigh’s music identity. Which is why the stakes feel so high.
“We are above average as compared to the rest of the country, but we could still do better to nurture festivals,” Rose maintains.
The bottom line: Raleigh needs to nurture events like Hopscotch—for its own sake. Festivals don’t just happen. They require sustained investment and coordination—plus the community needs to show out and secure tickets. And while Raleigh has proven it can host fests, keeping them is the real challenge.
