The holiday season is here, and we are proud to celebrate our work to continue making Durham a great place to live, work, and play for everyone. Our department has been busy for quite a year. Join us as we reflect on a few of our top accomplishments for 2024 and welcome our plans for 2025.
Vision Zero:
We welcomed Vision Zero Coordinator Lauren Grove to our department in December last year. Vision Zero is a national safety initiative to end deaths and serious injuries on roadways with traffic calming initiatives, strategies, and education for drivers and pedestrians. The City of Durham committed to Vision Zero in 2017, and in 2023, we received funding and approval to hire a full-time staff person to lead the program. Lauren began her role by analyzing crash data and soliciting feedback from the community on areas they don’t feel safe navigating. From tabling, hosting lunch and learns, conducting walk audits, participating in media interviews, and facilitating a two-day workshop, Lauren’s efforts this year have made strides toward developing a call to action for safer streets through the Vision Zero Action Plan for 2025-2027. 
The plan will be shared with the public in February and will feature key program highlights to make ending deaths on our roadways a priority. Using crash data, analysis, community feedback, and the City’s goal to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2035 and end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2045, the plan reveals the strategies for how the City will reach its goal by 2045.
Awarded the RAISE Grant:
In February, our department applied for the Federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program. We applied for this funding to improve pedestrian safety along the Holloway Street Corridor, the route with the highest ridership in Durham. In the application, we proposed multiple safety improvements to expand sidewalks, create people-focused intersections, and provide more shelter, seating, and trash cans to ensure our riders have an equitable and dignified experience as they navigate this area.
In July, we learned we won the grant and were awarded $12 million in federal funding to support 33 intersections with new ADA curb ramps, two mid-block crossing improvements with new flashing beacons, and upgrades to all 32 bus stops with shelters, lighting, benches, bike racks, and more. This project is in the design phase, and construction will begin in 2026.
Durham Station Improvements:
In March 2022, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a $10.8 million award for Durham Station Improvements. We later received an additional $1.7 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA), bringing the total federal contribution to $12.5 million. The project has a local match of $13.5 million from the Durham County Transit Plan, making the total investment $26 million.
This December, we hosted a revitalization groundbreaking ceremony alongside City and County officials at Durham Station. The event marked the start of construction for the upcoming improvements to help address the needs shared by riders while enabling future growth for our community’s transit options. The investment will improve the bus island by installing additional shade and weather protection through enhanced canopies, additional public restrooms, integrated seating, and a new customer service and security kiosk. Construction will begin at the end of this month and is expected to be finished in 2026.
Micromobility Program Expansion:
This year, in May, we expanded our Shared Micromobility program to include e-bikes and seated scooters. We solicited an RFP and selected two companies to facilitate the program, Lime and Spin. In August, the department hosted a launch party for Spin devices at Durham Station. Residents could test-ride the vehicles, get a coupon for free rides, and get fitted for free helmets.
Across Durham City limits, residents and visitors have made enough trips to make one million miles from August to November of this year. In December, seated scooters from Lime were placed around the City and made available for short-term rentals alongside the other micromobility devices. Expanding our fleet of micromobility devices to seated scooters is a part of our initiative to increase accessibility and bridge first- and last-mile gaps in public transit. By improving access to essential services such as employment, education, healthcare, and grocery shopping, we aim to foster a more connected and accessible community for all.
Sign and Signal Shop:
This year’s work plan comprised of 22,000 feet of stop bar/ crosswalk installations, 600 traffic pavement symbols, and 3,700 signs installed/replaced or repaired. Over the past year the crew led numerous biking and pedestrian improvement projects, mitigated traffic flow during power outages or events, and worked to prepare for storm impacts and recovery. Read more on their accomplishments in 2024 here.
2024, what a year! We are rolling into 2025, looking forward to a plan of action for our vision zero network, design strategies for improvements along our busiest transit corridor, new developments to our bus station, and new micromobility devices to carry on everyday tasks. We welcome 2025’s new projects, results from surveys, adventures, and opportunities to continue making Durham an excellent place for all to live, work and play.
