Children Deserve Safe Places to Walk and Bike, Starting With the Trip to School

‘They Just Made it Happen’

Durham’s Safe Routes to School program started humbly as an idea that Open Streets volunteers, Mark Dessauer and Jen McDuffie, wanted to see brought to Durham back in 2011. This has grown into an eagerly anticipated program, where Bike Durham staff touch the lives of thousands of elementary school students each year. 

Jen McDuffie, a public health professional, former Durham resident, and former Bike Durham board member, had been intimately involved with the Safe Routes to School Program for ten years until she passed the torch to our organization in 2021. 

John Rives, Mike Fink, Jen McDuffie, Frank Glover, Ellen Beckmann, and Dale McKeel (pictured Left to Right) at the Eastway Elementary Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day event in 2014

Starting in 2015, McDuffie wrote grants to buy bicycles and pay helpers - Durham Bike Co-op faithfuls Mike Fink, Ralph Griesenbeck, John Rives, Tim Smith, and Gary Tencer - to teach the classes with her.  In addition to the Co-op, she had connections with Durham Congregations, Associations, and Neighborhoods (CAN), the Partnership for a Healthy Durham, the East Durham Children’s Initiative, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), and at Durham Public Schools.  All these partnerships played an instrumental role early on, setting the foundation and tone for Safe Routes to School in Durham.

“When Jen Mcduffie first started, she recruited a bunch of her friends and would put the bikes in the back of their pickup truck to move them around,” said Jennifer Delcourt.  “It was an idea and they just made it happen.”

Coach Nisha Watson taking a selfie with students during the May 2015 Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day event

Delcourt started working with the Safe Routes to School program as the regional school coordinator in 2014, covering nine counties including Durham. She started working with McDuffie trying to provide as much support as she could to the schools in Durham, such as printing flyers and introducing Safe Routes to Schools to many schools in Durham. 

With one common goal in mind, they all came together to provide these programs and opportunities for students in Durham, despite the limited resources and challenges that they encountered. 

At one of those schools, Eastway Elementary, they found a real partner in Nisha Watson, the P.E. teacher at the school.  She has advocated for the program from the start. Although the idea of facilitating these activities for her students was intimidating, the support built in place made it easier for her to embrace this opportunity. 

“They all put me at ease since the beginning,” Watson said. “Coming in with that partnership has been huge because I don’t think I would have been able to do it on my own.” 


Keeping It Going

In 2019, McDuffie and Dale McKeel, the Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator for Durham, wrote a grant that was awarded by the state department of transportation to fund Safe Routes to School programming in Durham. Following delays due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2021 the City sought proposals for a contractor to lead the Safe Routes to School program.  McDuffie approached Bike Durham executive director John Tallmadge about a partnership, and together they were successful in winning the City contract.  This established Bike Durham as the funded provider of Safe Routes to School programming, including bicycle safety training courses, and support for schools, parents, and students in holding Bike, Walk, & Roll to School day activities each May and October.

McDuffie planned to move from Durham to Vermont in Summer 2021, so Tallmadge knew they needed to keep it going by finding new staff to continue what McDuffie had started.  Through the hiring process, Bike Durham was able to bring on both Jacopo Montobbio, a former bikepacking tour leader in Europe and New England, and Stephen Mullaney, a longtime classroom and outdoor educator working at Merrick-Moore Elementary, in part-time roles to carry on the program.

During that school year, with the fleet of bicycles that McDuffie had acquired in previous years, Montobbio, Mullaney, and volunteers Ruth Browne and Bes Baldwin were able to deliver bike safety classes at six schools.  By May, nineteen schools participated in Bike, Walk, & Roll to School events.  

Picking Up Momentum

The word was getting out to other schools in the Durham Public School system and more P.E. coaches were requesting classes than could be accommodated.  Fortunately, Bike Durham had also been successful in telling the stories of the young students’ lives that were being touched by this program, and additional funding started coming in.

During the Summer of 2022, Bike Durham received gifts from an anonymous donor connected to a former board member and from Crum & Forster, employer of another former board member, enabling the organization to purchase a second fleet of bikes for the third and fourth grade classes, and a fleet of balance bikes to start a kindergarten level class at Merrick-Moore Elementary.

During Fall of 2022, the Pedals to Possibilities fundraiser brought in additional money to pay more educators to teach the classes to more grade levels at more schools.  That school year, more than 1,200 students at twelve schools participated in bike safety classes.  More than 15,000 students participated in Bike, Walk, & Roll to School events. 

Bike Durham also learned in Spring 2023 that funding would continue for at least the next two years through a County-directed federal grant and the next round of Safe Routes to School funding from North Carolina Department of Transportation.

“Once you give seed money, it is up to the people who receive it to keep it going and get it permanently funded,” McDuffie said. “We’ve done that and it’s beautiful.” 

‘They’re Going to Be Advocates One Day’

Students with bikes and scooters celebrating their arrivial at Lakewood Elementary during the 2017 Walk, Bike, & Roll to School event.

Starting with kids getting to and from school is starting with the foundational and basic trip that every individual has taken throughout their childhood and educational career. According to Montobbio, our Education Program Manager, Safe Routes to School is about putting policies, physical infrastructure, and programs in place to enable families to choose to walk and bike to school, as well as other places, safely. 

The education program has been successful because so many kids love the feelings of accomplishment that comes from learning new skills, and they love feeling their bodies move around outside.  Momentum has built as Safe Routes to School becomes more prominent within the schools it works in. Students and parents are now expecting bicycle safety classes and activities year after year. But Safe Routes to School is intended to have a deeper impact than just teaching kids how to ride a bike. It teaches the benefits of having safe and accessible transportation and also teaches students to be advocates for themselves and their community. 

“They're going to be advocates one day like they're advocating now for themselves to have more of these classes,” said Coach Watson of Eastway Elementary. 

Over the years, the Safe Routes to School Program has been a strengthening partnership with the City of Durham, Durham County, and the Durham Public Schools district.  All have shared goals of making it safe and attractive for more families to choose walking, biking, and rolling to school.  Kristen Brookshire, the community transportation planner for DPS, believes that advocating for Safe Routes to School isn't just benefiting the students, but the community in Durham as a whole. 

“If we’re making it better for kids, it’s going to be better for everyone,” said Brookshire. “It’s going to be better for the parent with a stroller. It’s going to be better for the grandfather with a cane. It’s going to be better for the person trying to get to work.”

*According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Safe Routes to School is an approach that promotes walking and biking through infrastructure improvements, safety education, incentives, and many more methods to work towards the overall goal.

Vision Zero Durham

Remembering John Allore

As I was preparing to write this post last Thursday about our Vision Zero Durham rally and comments at the City Council public hearing on March 20, I heard the tragic news that John Allore, Durham’s budget director, had been killed while riding his bike in western Orange County.  I had known John from my years working at GoTriangle and more recently through Bike Durham’s advocacy on City budget priorities.  My impression of John was always that he was genuine, caring, and good at his work for the City.  I was also always interested to hear about his acting, too.  He was an avid bike rider, both for recreation, and as a commuter (bike-bus-bike from Carrboro to Durham).

I have been in touch with some of his family, as well as his colleagues at the City, about whether there is support we can offer to honor John’s memory.  We are also coordinating with advocates in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, where John lived.  As a reminder to all, we will host the annual Ride of Silence on Wednesday, May 17 at 6pm, starting downtown at CCB Plaza.  

John’s death is yet another tragic reminder that the time is past due for the local, regional, and state governments to change our approach to transportation to Vision Zero. 

Calling for Vision Zero Durham at City Hall

On Monday, March 20th, nearly fifty people gathered at the intersection of W. Main, Morgan, and Watts Streets to rally for safer streets and to protect one another as we rode to City Hall for the public hearing on the budget.  BIke Durham Advocacy Committee Co-Chair Erik Landfried remembered Tysiea Gurley and Mike Possley who had both been killed recently while crossing Durham streets.  He also spoke about the serious injuries suffered by Noah Goyette when the bike lanes on West Main Street were blocked by idling cars and he hit a pothole when swerving to avoid the cars.  On behalf of Bike Durham, Erik called for the City to invest in a Vision Zero Durham agenda:

  • Fund a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator. The person in this position will lead an interdepartmental, interdisciplinary team in identifying, prioritizing, and implementing measures to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. It’s important to hire this position now as a Vision Zero Action plan will be developed later this year.

  • Fund the repair of existing sidewalks, bring curb ramps up to ADA standards and convert all existing bike lanes into protected bike lanes.

  • Provide annual funding commitments for traffic calming and the completion of safe city-wide sidewalk and protected bike lane networks.  

Residents, many with their bikes, gathered to rally for safer streets.

Brian Hawkins spoke on behalf of the Durham Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC), stating, “...what we are asking for is the city to prioritize the usability and safety of the infrastructure in which we have already invested. Bike lanes are a welcome addition to our cityscape, but it is clear that simply painting a stripe on the road is not sufficient. In fact, we would argue that a bike lane that is suddenly and unpredictably unavailable creates a more dangerous situation than no bike lane at all, which we saw right here last month.

We call on the City Council to prioritize the following to address this issue: 

1. The addition of physical barriers to existing bike lanes

2. More consistent enforcement of parking restrictions 

3. A program and policy whereby the City conducts public visits to sites of serious and/or deadly crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists, and produces crash memos that describe how similar tragedies can be avoided in the future”

Following the media event, we created a cyclist-protected bike lane to start our ride to City Hall for the public hearing.  Seven of us signed up to speak to Council in support of the Vision Zero Durham agenda.  I highly encourage you to watch the remarks made at this link.  In addition to powerful comments in support of the Vision Zero approach to traffic safety, there were others advocating for expansion of the community safety department, known as the HEART program.

We received excellent media coverage, including CBS17, WRAL, News & Observer, IndyWeek, and 9th Street Journal.  

Why Do We Advocate for Vision Zero?

Bike Durham was incorporated ten years ago as a voice for residents who wanted streets safe for people on bicycles.  We have since broadened our vision to a transportation system that is safe, affordable, and sustainable for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they live.  One key approach to achieving this vision is known as Vision Zero.

According to the Vision Zero Network, Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has proven successful in communities across Europe — and is now gaining momentum in American cities and states.

Vision Zero is not just a catchy slogan.  It is a fundamentally different approach to thinking about our transportation system.  

Again according to Vision Zero Network, Vision Zero is a significant departure from the status quo in two major ways:

  1. This approach recognizes that people will sometimes make mistakes, so the road system and related policies should be designed to ensure those inevitable mistakes do not result in severe injuries or fatalities. This means that system designers and policymakers at the city, state, and federal levels are expected to improve the roadway environment, policies (such as speed management), and other related systems to lessen the severity of crashes.

  2.  This approach is multidisciplinary, bringing together diverse and necessary stakeholders to address this complex problem. In the past, meaningful, cross-disciplinary collaboration among local and state traffic planners and engineers, policymakers, and public health professionals has not been the norm. Vision Zero acknowledges that many factors contribute to safe mobility — including roadway design, speeds, behaviors, technology, and policies — and sets clear goals to achieve the shared goal of zero fatalities and severe injuries.

More is described in Vision Zero Network’s document Core Elements for Vision Zero Communities and their recorded webinar Vision Zero 101.

Here in Durham, the City Council adopted a Vision Zero resolution back in 2017, following the adoption of a Vision Zero program at the state level in 2015.  Our regional transportation organization also adopted a goal of zero deaths and serious injuries by 2050.  The goals have been set, but the paradigm shift has not occurred.  In recent meetings with NCDOT engineers, it is clear that safety is not yet prioritized ahead of minimizing traffic delay.  We still hear City staff putting too much emphasis on the behaviors of people driving, walking, biking, or rolling, and accepting enough responsibility for the changes that they could make to our streets to encourage slow speeds and safe spaces for everyone to use our streets.

We need our City leaders to recommit to Vision Zero through this year’s budget by approving:

  • Funds for a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator. The person in this position will lead an interdepartmental, interdisciplinary team in identifying, prioritizing, and implementing measures to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries. It’s important to hire this position now as a Vision Zero Action plan will be developed later this year.

  • Funds for the repair of existing sidewalks, bring curb ramps up to ADA standards and convert all existing bike lanes into protected bike lanes.

  • Annual funding commitments for traffic calming and the completion of safe city-wide sidewalk and protected bike lane networks.  

You can sign our petition in support of the Vision Zero Agenda and share it with your friends.  Our goal is 500 signatures by April 30.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Attendees standing vigil for the 22 victims of traffic violence in Durham during 2022. Luminaries were placed in the outside lanes of Guess Road at the trail crossing as a symbol of the type of measure that we would like considered to make this crossing, where Matt Simpson was killed while on his bicycle, safer for everyone.

On the Sunday, November 20, about 50 of us gathered at Westover Park for Bike Durham’s first observance of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.  It was a simple, yet powerful event.  We called for the City to complete a Vision Zero Action Plan by next November showing the roadmap for getting to zero deaths or serious injuries from traffic violence.  We also called for the City Council to fund a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator to lead this work. 

Tyler Dewey, representing the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said that for those who are walking, biking, or rolling on Durham’s streets, “The dangers are clear to us, but they don’t define us…Our vulnerability is not inherent to our bodies. It is imposed on us by systems and institutions that value speed over human life.” He continued, “There is a way forward…We must build for a people-centered future, rather than our car-dependent present.”

City transportation director Sean Egan confirmed the City’s commitment to Vision Zero and said that the city has applied, together with the regional transportation planning organization, for a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to develop a regional Vision Zero Action Plan.

Council member Javiera Caballero also spoke, challenging Durham residents to tackle transportation safety challenges the same way that we have tackled affordable housing. She said, “We need to be the…leader in the state. I know we can do it. When we put a bond, which is coming, in front of you all, we need you to resoundingly vote yes.”

Bike Durham executive director John Tallmadge and Bridget Bell lighting a candle for the vigil

Then Bridget Bell read a statement prepared by her friend Allison Simpson - widow of Matt Simpson who was killed while riding his bike across Guess Road, just steps from where we gathered.  This emotional moment was followed by lighting hand-held candles and reading the names of the twenty-two road traffic victims who had died this year in Durham, as well as 14-year old Riverside student Aliyah Thornhill who was killed while walking on a dark road in Oak Ridge, NC on Halloween.

We finished the vigil by placing luminaries in the outside lanes of Guess Road to narrow it from four lanes to two at the crossing where Matt Simpson was killed.  Twenty-two of the luminaries had the names of the victims and/or the dates of their crash. We all stood for twenty-two minutes to honor their memories and watched drivers slowly pass using the two center lanes of Guess Road.  We were grateful to the Durham Police Department for keeping us safe while we placed the luminaries in the street and retrieved them, and for producing this video summary of the event.

The following day at the city council meeting, council member Monique Holsey-Hyman (who also attended Sunday’s vigil) read a Mayor’s proclamation recognizing November 20th, 2022 as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Durham. Allison Simpson was able to make brief remarks virtually on Zoom in accepting the proclamation. You can watch the reading and Allison’s remarks here.

Our local event, covered by CBS 17 and ABC 11, was part of a larger, growing movement for Vision Zero across the country and world.  More than sixty communities in the U.S. and hundreds across the world held Day of Remembrance events on November 20th (recap here) with the theme of “Remember. Support. Act”.  

Importantly, US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sat down for an interview recognizing the Day of Remembrance (you can read remarks from the Secretary and watch a recording of his comments here). This was an important reminder that this year the federal government has set a direction to eliminate deaths and serious injuries.  NCDOT adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2015, the City of Durham adopted a Vision Zero resolution in 2017, and our regional transportation planning organization adopted a goal of zero deaths or serious injuries due to traffic violence by 2050.  

The direction has been set and is aligned from the federal to the state to the regional to the local level.  But resolutions and policy statements won’t save lives. This past Sunday, The NY Times ran a story about how the number of roadway deaths in the U.S. began increasing in recent years while it has continued to fall in countries across the world.

Now it is past time for our leaders and government agencies to act on their commitments.  Bike Durham will be working with partners and supporters to move our local, regional, and state governments to action in Durham, starting with our calls for a Vision Zero Action Plan to be completed by the 2023 Day of Remembrance and for funding a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator.

Walk and Roll to School Day is almost here!

As the community transportation planner for Durham Public Schools, I spend my days observing, planning, and coordinating ways to improve multi-modal school travel, this day is as close as we come to a holiday in my line of work (in addition to Bike and Roll to School Day, Bus Driver Appreciation Day, and Crossing Guard Appreciation Day).

Walk, Bike, and Roll to School events promote physical activity, sustainable travel, and strengthen social connections between families, schools, and the broader community. These events celebrate active travel to school and can also help build awareness for the need to prioritize the safety of young people walking and bicycling. 

Walk to School event at Merrick-Moore Elementary in Spring 2022

I sometimes feel conflicted when a walking and biking to school event requires detailed coordination, permission slips, and law enforcement support to close streets or to escort families along a route. I don’t dispute that these precautions are often necessary, but I also think it makes these events look like an extraordinary undertaking, when really, walking or rolling to school should be an easy, everyday occurrence—a choice that is safe, comfortable, and familiar for every family that lives close to the school their student attends. The ability to walk, bike, or roll to school can also foster independence and ensure that students observe and experience their world at a human-scale, not just through the passenger window of a vehicle. 

I see two key domains when it comes to increasing the number of families whose students can walk, bike, ride the school bus, or take transit—our built environment (i.e., land use, street design) and our social context (i.e., social norms, policies). We need to turn the tide on both fronts while also considering how these domains influence each other. 

A safer, more inviting environment for multi-modal school travel could look like streets with lower driver speeds and vehicle volumes; more dedicated space for walking and biking; conspicuous and accessible crossing locations; and a robust network of transit options. Ultimately, streets that work for our youth will work better for everyone. I recognize that the location and design of school sites also affects transportation outcomes for our students. While Durham Public Schools (DPS) can pursue initiatives that improve the safety and efficiency of internal site circulation and access onto campuses, we value our positive working relationships with the City of Durham, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Durham County, and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) to keep school travel in mind when identifying and prioritizing local and regional transportation projects.  

Photo of youth and adults participating in Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day for Pearsontown Elementary School in May 2022

Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day activity for Pearsontown Elementary School in May 2022

Safer streets are game changers for encouraging active travel, but we still need the next generation of Durham residents to be able and excited to ride bikes and to choose walking or riding transit when those modes are reasonable options for a trip. We also want the next generation to know what is possible when it comes to the design of our cities and how we get around so they can continue advocating for improvements. Bike Durham’s Safe Routes to School program, supported through a contract with the City, provides education and encouragement for walking, biking, and rolling to school.  Teaching Bike Riding and Walking Safety skills during physical education classes and coordinating Walk, Bike, and Roll to school events are important steps for shifting our transportation culture. Bicycle riding and walking safety education involves the development of skills, not solely the acquisition of knowledge, so it’s significant that these weeks-long classes provide the time and space for students to practice. The classes also have a multiplying effect since they empower physical education teachers to teach the curriculum in the future and as a conclusion to the classes, Bike Durham plans a bike festival at the school so that families can observe and celebrate their student’s improved bicycling skills. 

My children are four and a half and one and a half. My older child has been to a few Walk, Bike, and Roll events for my own version of “bring your daughter to work day.” When we are going somewhere new, she usually asks me if it will be a walk or drive. I’m dreading the day when she stops asking because she realizes that so many of our trips are drives. 

Photo of Kristen Brookshire with her young daughter

Kristen Brookshire with her young daughter

I’m glad we have Walk, Bike, and Roll events at least twice a year for the smiles they bring to the faces of thousands of students and for the visual reminder to grown-ups to stop and think about what it would take to see kids walking and biking more often. These events have taken place around the country for over 25 years and there is a good reason—they can inspire change. These changes could range from improving a single pedestrian crossing or PTA-led monthly events or walk audits, to a city-wide school traffic safety committee or a new school district policy codifying the importance of active school travel. 

I hope you’ll be out walking on Wednesday, October 12 or cheering along the kids walking and rolling in your neighborhood!

Kristen Brookshire

Community Transportation Planner

School Planning, Transportation, and Nutrition

Durham Public Schools

Another Hit-and-Run Driver Sends a Friend, who was Riding his Bike, to the Hospital

On the evening of Friday, September 9th, a Bike Durham member and frequent volunteer was struck by the driver of a truck while cycling through the Five Points intersection in downtown Durham. The crash was a hit-and-run, though we understand that the driver and vehicle have been located thanks to several eyewitness accounts. Two off-duty paramedics immediately assisted the crash victim until an ambulance could arrive at the scene.

Photo of damaged bike on ground at Five Points in Durham following crash when driver hit man on bike and drove away

Photo of damaged bike on ground at Five Points on September 9

The crash victim suffered a fractured pelvis and broken hand and is currently recovering in the hospital following three surgeries. Despite this, he is in good spirits and plans to continue biking and advocating for safer streets in Durham once he recovers from his injuries. Bike Durham wishes him a speedy and complete recovery.

Unfortunately, these types of crashes are all too common in Durham. On average every 16 days someone is killed or seriously injured while walking or biking in Durham. Just two months ago, Matt Simpson was killed crossing Guess Road on his bike with his family. These tragedies will continue to occur in Durham as long as motor vehicle speed and delay at intersections continue to be the number one priority for how our streets are designed.    

The formula for safer streets is simple:

  1. Reduce motor vehicle speed on all streets. Speed kills.

  2. Create fully protected places for people walking, biking, and using transit on larger streets. 

  3. Shift funding away from projects that make it easier to drive to projects that make it easier to walk, bike, or use transit.

Cities that have implemented a human-centered transportation system instead of a vehicle-centered one have achieved remarkable success. Oslo, Norway, a city twice the size of Durham, recorded zero pedestrian or cyclist fatalities in 2019 and only a single vehicle fatality. This is not some type of Scandinavian exceptionalism - Oslo had 41 traffic fatalities as recently as 1975. By prioritizing people instead of cars, Oslo made the streets safer for everyone, not just those walking or biking.

The City of Durham must do more to implement the Vision Zero program adopted in 2017. Vision Zero is a framework to eliminate traffic fatalities. There needs to be dedicated funding for the Vision Zero program in the City’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget, beginning with the hiring of a Vision Zero coordinator staff position.

The City should also begin conducting more holistic crash investigations that include people from the City, State (if it is on a State-maintained road), and transportation safety advocates. They should also produce follow-up reports available to the public following each crash that leads to a fatality or serious injury, similar to those done in Washington, DC.

Bike Durham Hears Support for Protected Bike/Walk Lanes from Residents Around North Miami Boulevard

On June 24th, Bike Durham joined with staff from Durham’s Department of Transportation to talk with neighbors of North Miami Boulevard about a proposal to add protective posts to the bike/walk lanes planned for this stretch of street between Raynor Street and East Geer Street.  This is a stretch of street where three people have been hit by drivers while walking in the past two years.  

The first woman who stopped to speak with us was Ms. Brown.  She was using her powered wheelchair in the curb-side travel lane because there is no sidewalk on stretches of the street.  She liked the idea of adding the bike lanes with protective posts so that she has a designated space to operate her wheelchair.  Next we spoke with Mr. Davis who lived around the corner.  He told us that he had purchased a bicycle two years ago, but doesn’t ride it because the streets are too dangerous.  He also supported adding bike/walk lanes with protective posts so that he could bike or walk his dogs in them.

In all, we heard from twenty-one residents who were all concerned that too many drivers go too fast up and down North Miami Boulevard, and reported hearing or seeing crashes on a regular basis.  In addition to speeding concerns, we heard concerns about gun violence in the area.  This is an important reminder that we need to think beyond street design in our advocacy for safe and healthy streets for everyone.

The City had already planned to restripe this street to reduce the driving lanes to one in each direction, adding buffered bike/walk lanes to each side.  In 2019, the City held their own public input process for re-striping this street and eight other streets totaling just over eight miles of new buffered bike lanes.  These projects, all funded with federal grant funds, were all delayed last year by NCDOT when they decided to slow down spending due to their financial problems.  We received grant funds from the American Heart Association to work with the City to install protective posts on buffered bike lanes.  This project should be completed this Fall.

We are hoping to secure additional funding to continue this work with residents in the neighborhoods where all eight miles of planned buffered bike/walk lanes that the City will stripe this Fall.  If they are supportive, we’d like to see all of these bike/walk lanes protected with posts. 

Transit Is Essential Connection to Healthcare Jobs

Standing away from the others at the bus shelter in front of the Duke Medical Center, Jani Hale waits for her GoDurham bus.  Wearing her light blue surgical gloves, she’s ready to take the bus home at the end of day working for Duke University Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.  She rides every day and has noticed that it is a lot emptier on the buses since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in Durham.  She has continued to ride because it’s her only way to work, and she appreciates that there is hand sanitizer on-board and that the city of Durham has recently made the buses free of charge. “It kinda lessens the heavy weight that we’re all carrying right now.”

JaniHale.jpg

Jani Hale, Duke University Medical Center Employee, waits on GoDurham Route 20

Photo Credit: John Tallmadge

On Sunday night, the City of Durham, followed by GoTriangle, the City of Raleigh, and the Town of Cary, suspended fares and required boarding through the rear doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As reported Monday in the Raleigh News & Observer, Sean Egan, transportation director for the City of Durham said these measures are intended to keep customers and employees safe. “GoDurham operators and all of our front-line colleagues face the same pressures as everyone else right now,” Egan said in a written statement. 

“They have families, kids out of school, loved ones with health concerns, and others may know someone already impacted by COVID-19. Despite these pressures, and despite understandable concerns, our workforce is showing up out of a sense of duty to the community.”

Egan said GoDurham will continue to operates as long as it is “safe and appropriate to do so.”  Durham Mayor Steve Schewel shared in an email that he’s “worried about the social distancing on buses.”  He is discussing with partners whether to run extra buses on busy routes “so we can cut down on the number of people on each bus. I’m not sure this is going to be able to happen, but I think it would be good if we could do it.”  

Jen an Occupational Therapist at Duke Hospital who lives about two miles from the hospital on Route 11B, remarked that “everybody seems to be adhering to the precautions about being six feet apart.  I just try to be careful and carry hand sanitizer with me and not touch anything.”

If the local bus systems or GoTriangle stopped running their services, or significantly cut back on their frequency, most remaining passengers would have few, if any, remaining options.   While Jen has a car, she does not pay for a parking space at Duke Medical Center, so if the buses stopped running, she believes that “she would be in a bit of trouble.”  Jen thinks she “might have to ask friends for a ride, which would be very inconvenient and scary for them.  They don’t want to be close to others right now when we’re supposed to be socially distancing.  I think that the bus is probably a better way to socially distance oneself than carpooling.”

Masti, a young woman who works in a lab at Duke University Medical Center, rides GoTriangle route 405 and connects to Chapel Hill Transit routes.  She has already had to adjust to last week’s cutback in Chapel Hill service to less frequent Saturday levels.  Monday morning, she missed her connection to work and ended up calling Uber to get to her job.  If GoTriangle were to discontinue or reduce service levels she is afraid she couldn’t come to work or would have to pay for an Uber most days.  Doug M., who works at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, and uses the same route as Masti, expects he would reluctantly switch to driving or taking Uber to work. 

Ms. Hale has considered biking, but like in most cities, few of the streets in Durham have been designed to be safe for all users.  She mapped out a bike route, but found “they don’t have the bike lane throughout the whole path coming here, so that would be kinda dangerous.”  She called out Duke University Road, Academy Road and University Drive as the three main roads along her route where she wouldn’t feel safe on a bike.  Jen also considered biking but noted that on day’s like Monday when it was raining, “it wouldn’t really be convenient to have to change once I got to work.”

For Hale, keeping the buses running is essential.  “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do if the bus system was to stop running.  I wouldn’t be able to get to work.  Where I live and where I work was based on the bus route.”  

IMG_0148.jpg


NOTE: This post is the first in a series about how people are using transit and bicycles during the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Durham.