About
The Oakline reimagines how Raleigh connects people, nature, and history by transforming a fragmented corridor into a defining urban experience that links downtown Raleigh and Dix Park through an elevated, tree-lined garden promenade designed to reflect the city’s innovative spirit.
Today, the roughly three-quarter-mile journey between downtown and Dix Park is difficult and inaccessible for many people, requiring pedestrians to navigate steep terrain, rail crossings, and busy multi lane roads. The Oakline can change this by creating a safe, legible, and accessible greenway connection that unites disconnected spaces into an inspiring urban experience.
Along the route, visitors encounter public art, stories of Raleigh’s historic communities, shaded overlooks, and immersive landscapes filled with canopy trees, native plantings, and birdsong. Elevated above traffic, the Oakline offers sweeping views of both downtown and Dix Park while supporting walking, gathering, shopping, dining, and recreation. Not just a connector, the Oakline becomes a destination itself: an iconic civic landscape and sculpted gateway into the city.
The project also demonstrates a new model for public-private partnership and sustainable urban investment. Extending primarily along NCDOT rights-of-way, the Oakline can be built and maintained through collaboration between the City of Raleigh, NCDOT, nonprofit leadership, and private stakeholders. Its route aligns with major public and private investments already reshaping the corridor, including Bus Rapid Transit improvements, the Raleigh Convention Center expansion, the relocated Red Hat Amphitheater, Salisbury Square, City Gateway, Rockway, the Weld, and the Omni Hotel.
Together, these projects represent more than $2 billion in investment surrounding the Oakline corridor. At a fraction of that value, the Oakline strengthens Raleigh’s greenway network, enhances environmental performance, supports economic vitality, and establishes a lasting civic asset for generations to come.
The Oakline isn’t just a walkway, it’s Raleigh’s commitment to being a connected, resilient city that balances development with protecting its history.
