Resources for early voting
You can vote at any early voting location in your county any day through November 2nd. See locations and hours here.
You can register to vote or update your registration when voting at these locations.
As a reminder, you’ll be asked to show photo ID this year. However, if you don’t have photo ID you can still vote! You’ll just need to fill out an “ID Exception Form” when voting. Here’s some information about voting with or without photo ID: https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/voter-id
Early voting is underway and we urge you to get out and vote yes for both Connecting Durham bonds on the back of the ballot - one for sidewalks and streets and one for parks.
This Spring, Bike Durham members advocated for the Council to put a referendum on the ballot to fund greater investment in sidewalks, bicycle facilities, and traffic calming. Since then, we have been teaming with the members of the Connecting Durham Campaign Committee, including Council members Caballero and Rist to inform Durham residents about the benefits that both the sidewalk and street bond referendum and the parks bond referendum will bring to Durham.
We feel strongly that these bond referenda are the right choice for the residents of Durham. Here’s why:
These projects match our values
Whether a long-time resident of Northeast Central Durham or a new resident near Southpoint, whether a worker at Duke Medical Center or in a restaurant kitchen, Durham residents have consistently said that improving our sidewalks, streets, and public transit system are among their top five priorities for investment (2022 resident survey, page viii). Most of us want a Durham that is inclusive and thriving. That requires a transportation system that works for everyone, whether walking, biking, using transit, or in a car. And we can have that by building and maintaining complete networks of sidewalks, protected bike facilities, safe streets, and great transit.
We have been held back from having the transportation system that we want and deserve because past leaders at the local level did not and current leadership of the General Assembly do not share our values. Developers were not required to build sidewalks until the mid-1990’s, and our General Assembly passed a law in 2013 forbidding the spending of state transportation funds on stand-alone sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure (article by Center for American Progress).
The sidewalk projects that have been identified for completion with these bond funds are key links in this network. They have been clearly identified and prioritized, and are ready for construction. The maintenance projects have been prioritized through recent assessments of street and sidewalk pavement conditions, and a Council commitment to pave all gravel roads. You can see the projects on a map here and you can read more detail about the new sidewalk projects here.
The parks projects were identified through the City’s Splash & Play Project, which was a multi-year community outreach project developed in partnership with East Durham residents. The parks and aquatic center projects came out of this planning process that involved thousands of residents who told Durham Parks and Recreation the features that they want in their local parks.
These Projects Will Make Us Safer
Completing our networks of sidewalks and protected bike facilities (some projects include multi-use paths) are essential elements of reaching zero deaths and serious injuries and zero carbon emissions from transportation. The bond would fund projects to address more than a dozen missing connections.
I was recently interviewed by reporter Michael Perchick of ABC-11 about the bonds. I asked him to meet me at LaSalle Street where it crosses the railroad. While I waited for them to arrive, I saw two middle school age girls walking on the other side of the street, pushing through tall grass with their hands, trying to stay as far from the traffic as they could. This is stretch of LaSalle Street will have sidewalks in the next few years if the bonds are approved.
Thumbnail of Instagram reel (click to view)
I also took a walk with Council member Nate Baker along Hillandale Road between the interchange with I-85 and Club Boulevard. We got our feet wet and muddy along the “goat path” on the side of the street, and stopped to pay respects to the memory of Seth Vidal who was killed on this stretch while riding his bike back in 2013. If the bond passes, this stretch of Hillandale Road will have a new multi-use path giving a safe space for people to walk and bike.
On the bond bike ride hosted by Council member Carl Rist to close out Move-A-Bull City, everyone stopped at the Southside neighborhood community center to see some of the traffic calming measures that were installed by the City at the request of the neighborhood last year with the repaving of their streets. If the bond passes, traffic calming will be possible in several neighborhoods across Durham slated for street repavings.
These Projects Will Improve Transit Access
One of the common complaints about our transit system in Durham is that too many of our bus stops are just poles on the side of the road. Everyone riding the bus deserves the dignity that comes with safe access, and a clean, comfortable bus stop. Seventeen of the sidewalk projects will connect to bus stops and will add ADA-accessible landing areas, large enough to accommodate benches or shelters.
Thumbnail of Instagram reel (click to view)
Leading up to the Week Without Driving, Council member Carl Rist and County Commission candidate Mike Lee did a ride-along on GoDurham bus route 9 with Bike Durham staff Kyle Sullivan and Kelsey Graywill, getting off on East Club Boulevard at a dangerous spot where there is currently no sidewalk. If the bond passes, this segment of East Club Boulevard will have continuous sidewalk on both sides of the street from N Roxboro Street to Glenbrook Drive.
Thumbnail of Instagram reel (click to view)
During the Week Without Driving, a challenge to transportation decision-makes and the community to experience what it’s like to move around our community without driving, I also walked with Council member Chelsea Cook along Northpointe Drive where there is currently a temporary material down on the grass to make a firm landing area at the bus stop, but no connecting sidewalk. If the bond passes, this segment too will be connected to the sidewalks between Guess Road and the sidewalks that start at North Pointe shopping center.
These Projects are ready to be constructed
The new sidewalk projects have already been completely or mostly through the design phase and property is being acquired, as needed. These projects are all expected to be bid out for construction in the next 1-3 years. The sidewalk repair, street paving and repaving, will move forward to construction beginning with the start of construction season next Spring and should all be completed within two years.
Many of the new sidewalk projects have been in the planning and design phase for years - too long really. The City had underinvested in its staff and consultant capacity to manage the design process and procure the necessary right-of-way for these and other projects. While we have been raising concerns about the pace of project delivery for several years, we are encouraged by steps that the City has been taking recently to speed up the delivery of these projects and believe that the leadership is there on the staff to resolve the systemic issues that have been slowing project delivery. We will be releasing a report about the City’s record on project delivery next month, but today, know that we’re confident that the City is ready to deliver on the completion of these projects in the next few years.
These Bonds are the Fastest and Least Expensive Way to Complete these Projects
The bonds are the least expensive and fastest way to fund the completion of these projects (see here). If the bonds pass, all the projects can proceed to construction on their current schedules. If the bonds do not pass, then many of the projects will have to be paused until alternative funding sources can be raised. This would likely add years to some projects, during which time inflation would further raise the costs.
I have heard some argue that these projects should be funded through the regular Capital Improvements Program. If you agree that these projects are important to our community and priorities to be completed, then this is either an argument that $200 million should cut from other projects or services over the next several years to make room for these projects, or it is an argument for raising the property taxes by 46.8 cents per $100 of valuation (currently only 11.5 cents per $100 of valuation for capital projects and debt). This is why taking on debt makes sense for large capital investments. The City gets a very low rate because of their history of good financial management leading to a AAA rating, and the bonds spread the payments over years. As Tim Flora, the City’s finance director, often says, “Paying with bonds is a strategy for generational equity. Bonds are repaid over the useful life of the infrastructure, spreading the project cost equitably among current and future taxpayers as they receive the benefits of the infrastructure over time.”
I’ve already voted Yes for the Bonds, i hope you will too
I'm convinced that this bond funding is the cheapest way to deliver these projects that are a critical next step in building the infrastructure that we all deserve in Durham.
You can help make sure these bonds pass so the projects can be completed by taking these steps:
Make a plan to vote and mark yes for both bonds on the ballot
Tell three friends or family members to do the same
Sign up for a shift to canvass or make phone calls to other voters