From roadway safety improvements to expanded transit services, 2025 has been a year dedicated to enhancing mobility and safety for our community. As we prepare to close out another year, Transportation is taking a moment to reflect and honor key achievements within our divisions and programs. Each Division’s achievements tell a story of innovation, resilience, and commitment to our mission of making Transportation safe and accessible for all.
Traffic Operations:
The Traffic Operations division maintains over four hundred traffic signals, implements occasional road closures, and installs crosswalks, pedestrian push buttons, protected bike lanes, and other safety improvements. In 2025, this Division was recognized with a significant award that honors its commitment to excellence, advocacy, and innovation for its work.
The American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina awarded the Durham Signal System the Engineering Excellence Award this month. The traffic signals maintained and operated by the City were recognized for their communications grid infrastructure, safety, and operational enhancements to control traffic flow during peak hours, remote-controlled school flashers for enhanced safety, special cameras designed to expand communication across agencies (911 call centers, Durham TV Network, and the Durham County Courthouse), and overall design to improve operations in Durham. Of the signal network, 289 signals are wired for special priority, with 140 equipped with Emergency Vehicle Preemption, which increases emergency response times, and 149 have equipment to help GoDurham transit buses operate on schedule. This Division will continue its innovative implementation projects on traffic signals through the Fire Department’s Fleet.
Vision Zero:
Vision Zero is a strategy that aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries by enhancing street safety for all road users. The City’s Vision Zero coalition has made significant strides this year. Following the unanimous approval of the Vision Zero Action Plan by the Durham City Council, staff are continuing to work on making Durham streets safer for all through the development of the Vision Zero dashboard.
Our department launched the Vision Zero Dashboard this month. The dashboard is an interactive tool that compiles fatal and serious injury crash data from 2016 to 2025. This dashboard supports the goals of Durham’s Vision Zero Action Plan by making crash data more accessible, understandable, and applicable to ongoing safety efforts. The dashboard enables users to explore corridors, review crash patterns, and filter data by various factors, including crash type, roadway characteristics, severity, weather conditions, and lighting conditions. These insights help identify where infrastructure changes and safety investments can make the most significant impact.
Although the dashboard presents technical information, its purpose is centered on people. Every crash point represents a person whose life was impacted by a severe collision. By connecting this data with Durham’s Safe Systems strategies, the dashboard provides a clearer picture of the conditions influencing road safety throughout the City.
Mobility Services:
In 2025, the City continued with its fare-free service for GoDurham. Reducing fares helps our riders by limiting the financial burden that transportation expenses can place on families. Our commitment to ensuring every rider has access to safe, reliable, and efficient Transportation continued with various transit improvement projects throughout this year.
A significant accomplishment for this Division is the City’s Central Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. BRT is a high-quality, high-capacity bus system designed to deliver fast, efficient, and comfortable service. Think of it as rail-like service on rubber tires, featuring dedicated lanes, real-time arrival displays, and upgraded stations. With rapid and consistent growth, the City is undergoing, BRT can help decrease traffic congestion by providing residents and visitors with additional transportation options. This year, the project launched a feasibility study to gauge the public’s opinion, assess the potential impact on neighborhoods, identify suitable locations, and coordinate logistics with agency partners. Next month’s article will provide an in-depth look at the BRT project.
The City has ordered 14 new battery-electric buses, which are expected to arrive at the end of this year. The new buses will help keep our air clean by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing noise pollution, and providing our riders with a smoother ride. We have also purchased land for a new paratransit facility. This expansion will enable the City to expand the existing Fay Street Facilities and support growth as the Bus Rapid Transit and other service expansions develop.
Additionally, GoDurham Transit had multiple service changes this year. Noteworthy improvements include Durham’s first-ever ten-minute service along Holloway Street. This service change brings Durham to 49 miles of frequent service, defined as a bus arriving every 15 minutes or better. These improvements help GoDurham transit remain efficient in getting our riders to the places that matter the most. Furthermore, Durham Station is undergoing multi-million-dollar improvements aimed at enhancing safety, the ridership experience, and connections. The upgrades to Durham Station include additional shade and weather protection through enhanced canopies, additional public restrooms, integrated seating, and a new customer service and security kiosk. To support Durham’s expanding transit network, the number of bus bays will increase from 20 to 28.
Planning:
This Division is dedicated to leading the charge for the City’s protected bike lanes, sidewalk connectivity, and calming measures to protect pedestrians and cyclists. This Division collaborates with other divisions to achieve its objectives. The staff in this division completed 306 pavement marking symbols and 56,485 feet of crosswalk and stop bars in 2025. As of this article’s publish date, the crews have completed nearly 20 pedestrian improvement projects, installing pedestrian push buttons, traffic calming measures and increasing school zone flashers acorss Durham.
Additional key components of this Division include public engagement, surveys, public comment maps, and outreach for various projects. This year, staff hosted multiple public open houses for roadway resurfacing projects, two-way conversion projects, and Durham’s updated Bike + Walk Plan. These efforts continue our department’s commitment to working with our community to identify the most impactful improvements that ensure safety for all road users.
As we reflect on our accomplishments as a department, we are proud of what we’ve achieved and look forward to what 2026 will bring, including the introduction of new electric buses, BRT developments, and the nearing completion of construction at Durham Station. As we celebrate this year’s successes, we’re inspired to continue driving forward with renewed energy and a commitment to ensure our services keep our community connected safely and sustainably