The community of Knightdale sits due east of Raleigh. Starting as a gathering place for local farmers, many in the tobacco trade, the town is named after Henry Haywood Knight, the man responsible for bringing a railroad line to the area. Parkside is a cup-shaped development northwest of Knightdale’s downtown core, sitting just south of Route 64. Pine Forest Trail provides the one road in and out of the neighborhood. It forms the bowl of the cup, extending from Parkside Commons Drive. A smaller loop, actually a private drive into an apartment complex, forms the handle.
The two-block-wide neighborhood is densely populated with apartments making up the majority of the homes. Most of the development went in after the mid-1980s. Before that, there were only a few homes dating back to the 1940s. West of Parksdale is a mixture of open farmland and wooded area. To the north is a commercial zone along Knightdale Boulevard, home to Wal-Mart, Food Lion grocery, and an assortment of fast food restaurants. The residential area is tree lined and pedestrian friendly.
Following Knightdale Boulevard west leads to the Shoppes at Midway Drive, a sizeable mall that has Home Depot and Target as its anchor stores. In addition to the usual food court, the mall offers a row of free-standing restaurants on its southern end, among them IHop and Chili’s Grill & Bar. Lockhart Elementary is the closest public school, north of Route 64. Knightdale High School is a bit farther north. The private Filmore Academy is a half mile to the east. The Rebirth Deliverance Ministries and Knightdale United Methodist Church are also to the north. The closest Triangle Transit bus stop is near the shopping mall.