The first six months of 2023 set the tone for our department for the rest of the year. For the remainder of 2023, our team has laid the foundations to continue making Durham a great place for everyone to live, work, and play.
July 2023:
Our Transportation Planning Manager, Erin Convery, and Bike Durham’s Executive Director, John Tallmadge, discussed Durham’s biking and pedestrian infrastructure and improvement projects on the CityLife TV show. The City’s communications department facilitates this program because it is an additional way to inform residents of important news and updates. The segment aired in August but was filmed in July. During the segment, Erin Convery shared that transportation planning is more than designing bike lanes and implementing sidewalks because their work includes equitable engagement to ensure our vulnerable populations can travel safely.
Where Are We Now:
The work to provide simple, safe, sustainable, and accessible connections to transportation and resources has remained a key priority for our department. New projects, including the Neighborhood Bike Routes, have started construction and will be completed next year. This project will create seven miles of bike lanes on streets with low traffic volumes and speeds in downtown Durham. The roads are also suitable for walking and will help connect residents in Durham to stores, jobs, libraries, and other places across downtown.
Our department’s Sign and Signal Shop installed a series of high-visibility crosswalks, protected bike lanes, speed humps, and reduced speed limits across the City.
The fiscal year 2024 budget approved funding for a full-time Vision Zero Coordinator. This position is essential for our department because it aims to end fatalities and serious injuries in transportation by developing strategies to increase safety and mobility. Staff recruited, conducted interviews, and selected Lauren Grove for the position. Lauren brings extensive knowledge of Vision Zero due to her background in the City of Houston, where she worked as the Project Manager to create and implement a Vision Zero program in Houston. In her new role, she will engage with various stakeholders to identify how Durham roads can improve for everyone.
August 2023:
Our department’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) staff attended the Association for Commuter Transportation Conference (ACT) in Seattle, Washington. At the conference, they led an exciting presentation explaining how e-bikes enhanced mobility equitably and sustainably during the Bull E-Bike Pilot. The City’s team was also awarded the 2023 Outstanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award for the program’s efforts and impact on a diverse commuter base. This award was given to the recipient who showcased a commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the transportation commuter and TDM community.
Where Are We Now:
Staff have continued the conversations and led e-bike tours with other municipalities and TDM partners to showcase e-bikes as a viable and safe mode of transportation. The findings from the Bull E-Bike Pilot were recently published in an Executive Summary and Implementation Guide. Since the pilot has concluded, our staff are working to create an e-bike library for City staff to use as a more sustainable way to travel to meetings and events during the workday.
September 2023:
Early in September, Mayor O’Neal, Director of Transportation Sean Egan, and additional staff hosted public officials from across the state to learn about intercity passenger rail opportunities. The Rail Response Workgroup is an initiative of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, and they travel across the state to explore and understand options for the Intercity Passenger Rail. The group proposed train travel improvements to connect city and town centers better. Using funding from the 2021 Federal Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill, North Carolina can compete for groundbreaking federal funding to supply financing for rail projects statewide.
Where Are We Now:
In July, NCDOT announced new train schedules, increasing connectivity for Durham residents and visitors. Most recently, in December, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Raleigh to celebrate President Biden’s administration’s $1 billion bipartisan investment to build passenger rail service between Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia. The Federal State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (Fed-State National) Program supports the new rail service. The project is connected to the Federal Railroad Administration’s awarded $8.2 billion passenger rail projects budget. The Biden-Harris Administration has announced almost $30 billion for railroad improvements nationwide. The new rail service will make traveling to and from North Carolina safer and more accessible.
October 2023:
Director of Transportation Sean Egan participated in Lakewood Elementary School’s Walktrain on Walk Bike and Roll to School Day. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is the event organizer, and schools participate nationwide. The event was for school children and their families to explore sustainable travel on their way to school by walking, riding scooters, or riding bikes while practicing learning bike safety techniques.
Where Are We Now:
Our department supports the SRTS program with partnerships among local biking and pedestrian advocacy groups. The Way to Go Durham program frequently donates bike lights, reflectors, traffic safety education books, and other bicycle safety equipment year-round. This year, we received a grant to purchase bicycle helmets for youth. During the Earth Day Festival and National Night Out, helmets were fitted and distributed to children in the community.
November 2023:
Transportation staff learned about the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster’s Innovation Awards and submitted the Bull E-Bike Pilot for three nominations. The awards were created to recognize Cleantech initiatives, projects, and innovations from companies, organizations, and government agencies that have contributed to the growing cleantech ecosystem in North Carolina. The pilot became a finalist in all three cleantech innovation categories: Equity, Transportation, and Local Government. We were awarded the Equity in Cleantech Award and were recognized for our commitment to equity in implementing a cleantech project.
Where Are We Now:
Our department continues to use an equity lens on all our projects because we recognize the impact of equitable and accessible transportation for all. Next year, we will showcase the Reimagine Durham Freeway Study findings. The study will gather community members, institutions, and businesses along the Durham Freeway to evaluate the conditions of the highway and develop concepts and ideas that potentially reconnect communities impacted by the highway construction.
December 2023:
During this year’s Community Partner’s Event, Director of Transportation Sean Egan and Assistant Director Evian Patterson spoke on the importance of transportation’s investment in equitable community engagement to continue building trust and partnerships with underrepresented, underserved communities in Durham, historically excluded from transportation decision processes. The City of Durham’s Neighborhood Improvement Services led the event. This event created space for community members to express their thoughts to preserve Durham’s history and to help shape Durham’s future.
Where Are We Now:
Our department will continue working with Neighborhood Improvement Services to bring the voices of our community to the forefront of our new developments, programs, and initiatives.
2023, what a year. We welcome 2024’s new projects, adventures, and opportunities to continue making Durham a great place for all to live, work and play.