Comparing Capital Cities: Raleigh and Richmond

Editor's note: This column was prompted by Publisher Tom Silvestri's Commentary piece two Sundays ago, which offered a preview of the Greater Richmond Chamber's intercity visit to North Carolina's capital region. About 100 business, government, and nonprofit leaders from the Richmond region will make the 2½-hour bus ride to Raleigh/Durham on Wednesday for a close-up look at one of the South's most dynamic metropolitan areas. They'll return -- with many ideas, no doubt -- on Friday.

As an 11-year resident of Chesterfield -- who formerly lived in the Raleigh area, Charlottesville, Chicago, and Atlanta -- I have watched over the years the reports of the Greater Richmond Chamber's visits to multiple cities.

Since I did live in the Raleigh area (the town of Wake Forest, to be specific) and my daughter and her family now live in Raleigh, I found some of the comments in Tom Silvestri's recent commentary interesting and decided to offer some observations about Raleigh and comparisons to Richmond.

First is the undeniable effect of the annexation prohibition that affects Richmond. A review of the history of annexation in Raleigh shows its pattern of following major thoroughfares or developments and bringing them into the city, specifically the Capital Boulevard (U.S. Route 1 North) and Glenwood Avenue areas as well as the Cary area. Major subdivisions such Wakefield, Bedford, and Brier Creek have added significantly to the tax bases. Maybe it is time for a similar change here under the governor's new government reform task force.

Second is the cooperative nature of the governing bodies, which recognize they must coexist, not oppose one another. As Silvestri noted, with the development of Research Triangle Park now approaching 50 years ago, the state and the area created a base for their economic development for many years. In fact, certain licenses and franchises then owned by the state have been sold and produced good returns for the citizens. Admittedly, Richmond has made some attempts to replicate this in West Creek and White Oak -- and West Creek, thanks to Capital One, is beginning to show promise.

Third -- and of major interest to my daughter and her three sons -- is the Wake County school system. The city and county school systems were merged around 1976 as a remedy to court-ordered actions. At that time, a system of magnet schools was created to provide more educational opportunity for minority children and better integration based on cultural and economic diversity plans, with a racial interest as a secondary consideration. The system was instituted at all levels, K-12.

In the early 1990s as a cost-management tool, the Wake County public school implemented year-round school options. As might be expected, these changes were not without some controversy. The diversity program and year-round schools disrupted the concept of neighborhood schools as students were frequently bused out of their areas. And there was some very poor planning of schools.

Major developments were built with inadequate consideration for school requirements. For example, my daughter lives in the Bedford/Falls River area, where there were perhaps more than 3,000 homes built with no new schools included. The Wakefield area north of that area included new elementary, middle, and high schools, all of which are overcrowded.

New schools nearby are being used but students are bused out of their home neighborhood. Oddly, as you approach Raleigh, in Wake Forest at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 98, you will see a Wakefield Ninth Grade Annex in a shopping center. This was a Winn-Dixie 10 years ago.

Despite these problems -- but also due to the changes -- the Wake County schools have some of the best graduation rates and overall performance in North Carolina. But as a result of the current situation, a recently elected school board is seeking to undo many of the plans that have existed for more than 30 years. The magnet schools -- one of which will be part of the intercity visit and another which my grandson attends -- are in jeopardy. Currently, the entire educational environment is in a state of acrimony, with bitter accusations flying back and forth, posing the risk of significant decline. Like most school systems, Wake County's are experiencing budget problems.

Fourth is the Durham area, which is renowned for Duke University and the Durham Bulls, but is also recognized locally as a problem area. The city's recently opened Durham Performing Arts Center is a gem and the area is rightfully proud of it, but safety in the area continues to be a concern. Quick and easy access from the Durham Freeway makes this and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park attractive venues.

I also will address miscellaneous attractions. Silvestri mentioned the concern about the Richmond Coliseum. While Richmond fiddles or burns, the Raleigh Durham area has built the previously mentioned ballpark and arts center in Durham, plus Raleigh's RBC Center and the Progress Energy Center, home of outstanding musical theaters. Richmond can boast remodeling the Carpenter Center. Other major attractions for Raleigh are the state fair, North Carolina State University's venues, and an arboretum.

Richmond lost the Virginia State Fair, at least in part, due to the lack of cooperation from Henrico in rezoning East End property. Two big pluses for Richmond are the NASCAR races and the SportsQuest complex under construction in Chesterfield. Hopefully SportsQuest can be embraced as a community asset and capitalized on -- perhaps even as a site for a new baseball stadium.

I applaud the efforts of the Chamber to build Richmond into the city it can and should be, but I believe the current government structures and competition among local governments will continue to be an impediment. Perhaps rather than looking at the nice facilities and so forth on the trip to Raleigh/Durham, the focus should be on government structure -- including the state level -- that facilitates progress.

Earl Bishop is retired from the Virginia Telecommunications Industry Association, where he was the executive vice president from 1999 to 2007. He retired from Sprint Local Operations in 1996. Contact him at EARLBISHOP@aol.com.