Our Comments on the 2050 MTP Draft Goals and Objectives

CALL TO ACTION

The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC-MPO) is responsible for transportation planning for Durham and the western part of the Research Triangle area. On August 12, they held a public meeting to discuss their 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) Goals and Objectives. This long-range transportation plan is updated every four years and guides transportation investments in the region.

While we agree with the inclusion of goals and objectives that go beyond the traditional measures of traffic speed and congestion delay we don’t believe that they are responsive to the values of our community. By 2050, we want to see zero disparity of access based on race and income, zero carbon emissions, and zero deaths and serious injuries on our streets and highways.

Please contact your elected officials on the MPO Board this week and ask them to direct staff to rewrite the goals to more clearly communicate the direction we want to go, and to rewrite the objectives to establish measurable outcomes for 2050 and interim years that will get us to zero disparity, zero emissions, and zero deaths. Ask them to vote against these goals and objectives unless they are changed.

You can view Bike Durham’s full recommendations on each of the Goals and their objectives below:

Goal: Protect the Human and Natural Environment and Minimize Climate Change

Objectives: Reduce mobile source emissions, GHG, and energy consumption; Reduce negative impacts on natural and cultural environment; Connect transportation and land use

We agree that this is a very important goal, and appreciate that the staff has included it. We believe the first objective should be net-zero carbon emissions from the transportation sector by 2050. The second and third objectives are directionally fine, but they do not specify the conditions we aim to achieve by 2050.

Goal: Connect People and Places

Objectives: Connect people to jobs, education and other important destinations using all modes; Ensure transportation needs are met for all populations (especially the aging and youth, economically disadvantaged, mobility impaired, and minorities)

We agree that this is an important goal, but we do not believe the language is adequate. We urge rewriting the goal as “Connect all people and places without disparity.” We urge the objective to be “Achieve zero disparity of access to jobs, education, and other important destinations by race, income, or belonging to a marginalized group.”

Goal: Promote and Expand Multi-modal & Affordable Choices 

Objectives: Enhance transit services, amenities and facilities; Improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities; Increase utilization of affordable non-auto travel modes 

While we support these strategies and tactics in achieving the goals of zero carbon emissions, zero disparity of access, and zero deaths on our streets and highways, the only goal defined here is affordability. We urge rewriting the goal as “Ensure that all have affordable access to the transportation system.” We ask that the objectives include: “No one should pay more than 40% of their income for housing plus transportation by 2050.” It may be valuable to establish objectives around the percentage of trips that use sustainable modes of transportation, but we would recommend that be established under the first goal, supporting the objective of zero carbon emissions, paired with an objective regarding the percentages of the motorized fleets that are electric.

Goal: Manage Congestion & System Reliability

Objectives: Allow people and goods to move with greater reliability; Promote Travel Demand Management (TDM, such as carpool, vanpool, telecommuting and park-and-ride); Enhance Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS, such as ramp metering, dynamic signal phasing and vehicle detection systems)

We agree that system reliability is an important goal. By that, we mean that connections are available when people need them, and that travel times are predictable. Measures of congestion are not as important as measures of travel time predictability, and travel times should be comparable for all system users. "Objectives 2 and 3" are strategies, not objectives.

Goal: Improve Infrastructure Condition and Resilience

Objectives: Increase proportion of highways and highway assets in 'Good' condition; Maintain transit vehicles, facilities and amenities in the best operating condition; Improve the condition of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and amenities; Promote resilience planning and practices; Support autonomous, connected, and electric vehicles

This is a well-defined goal and set of objectives—except for the last one. ​The last objective seems to be a strategy, and doesn’t have a clear connection to the goal. Also, “improving conditions” should not be equated with expanding capacity. There is a long tradition defining any transportation project as an “improvement” (i.e., Transportation Improvement Program).

Goal: Ensure Equity and Participation

Objectives: Ensure that transportation investments do not disrupt communities; Promote equitable public participation among all communities

We agree with the goal; however, the first objective does not acknowledge that the existing transportation system has placed disproportionate burdens on low-income communities, especially Black communities, and on individuals without regular access to a car. One objective should be a transportation system with zero disparities of access based on race, wealth, income, gender identity, age, or ability. We urge rewriting the second objective to read, “Ensure equitable public participation among all communities: geographic, racial, age, income, gender, and ability.”

Goal: Promote Safety and Health

Objectives: Increase safety of travelers and residents; Promote public health through transportation choices

This is an essential goal. Objective 1 should be stated as zero deaths or serious injuries on our streets and highways by 2050. Objective 2 should be measurable, such as “All residents will have safe access to active transportation choices by 2050.” Interim targets should also be established.

Goal: Stimulate Economic Vitality

Objectives: Improve freight movement; Coordinate land use and transportation; Target funding to the most cost-effective solutions; Improve project delivery for all modes

While the goal seems laudable, it does not indicate for whom. When we don't indicate for whom we are stimulating economic vitality, there is usually a group left behind, and that group is usually those who are Black or brown, and at the lowest end of our income and wealth scales. If our transportation system is to become equitable, it needs to stimulate economic vitality for all socio-economic groups, with objectives, and ways to measure progress, set toward that goal. We recommend a replacement goal of “Enhance inclusive local and regional economic opportunity.”

Second, "improve freight movement" is ambiguous. Does this mean shorter freight travel times? Or greater predictability of travel times? If a goal suggests the direction we're going, an objective should communicate where we want to end up. Improving freight movement doesn't do that. Neither does the fourth objective. The third objective is important, but it isn’t specific to this goal. We want cost-effective solutions that achieve multiple goals.

We recommend the following objectives: Maximize local-hire opportunities in construction, operation, and maintenance projects; prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access to local businesses over automobile access and parking; promote transportation-related businesses in ways that help ownership reflect the demographics of the regional population by race and gender; and ensure projects that benefit the local community without displacing residents.

Bike Durham's Letter to the City on the Move Durham Transportation Study

In late June 2020, the City solicited feedback on its Move Durham Transportation Study. The public was invited to post comments on the pdf in the above link through July 24.

While the study contains many admirable improvements to the downtown Durham streetscape, we feel it doesn’t go far enough in envisioning a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly city. On July 28, Bike Durham sent a letter to the Transportation Department summarizing our response. The text of the letter is below.

Bike Durham's Statement on Recent Events

Bike Durham has been considering how to respond to both the unjust murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the many others before them as well as to the violent use of force from police departments across the nation to silence the protesters. We support the protests calling for justice. We are fortunate in Durham to have peaceful protests, and acknowledge it took years of work from the Black community to reform our departments and elect Black leaders into positions of power to enable that peace. But the work is not over, and all of us need to participate. 

As a transportation advocacy organization, we are answering the call by looking within ourselves and our own organization, as well as the transportation system and decision-making processes within Durham—not just to undo the harms caused by historical racist decisions, but also to actively acknowledge the ways in which our current system upholds these racist outcomes. We also know that we need to go beyond words, and take actions to support leaders of color working for justice and to develop and strengthen our own relationships with communities of color.  

We are using this time to recommit ourselves to our mission statement: We believe everyone should have access to safe, affordable, and sustainable transportation regardless of race, wealth, gender identity, ability, or where they live. Bike Durham empowers people of all ages to walk, bike, and ride transit more often by promoting policy, infrastructure, education, and community events.

We encourage you to also engage in the work of dismantling racism. If you are looking for resources, there are many available online. You may find this one helpful. To deepen your understanding of the concepts of mobility justice, we urge you to read the work of the Untokening collective. We invite you to share resources that you have found informative and helpful via social media or email to director@bikedurham.org.

We have a lot of work to do. Bike Durham is committed to doing the work to dismantle white supremacy culture in local transportation processes and within our own organization. 

Sincerely,
John Tallmadge, Executive Director
Allison Shauger, Board Chair

Bike Month Webinar: City Update on Biking and Walking Projects

The final Bike Month webinar on May 27th featured City of Durham Transportation Planning Manager Ellen Beckmann. She laid out the timeline of the City’s upcoming pedestrian- and bicycling-focused projects, and talked about the various challenges to getting them implemented.

At the midpoint and at the end, attendees had the chance to ask Beckmann questions. Text from the meeting’s chat window is reproduced below the video.

Andrew Black: Apologies if this is being addressed, but I’m hoping for an answer on our safe/open streets.

John Tallmadge: Thank you, Andrew. That will be part of Ellen’s presentation.

Andrew Black: What about narrowing streets and adding bike lanes?

Craig Young: YEAH!!!

Lauren Dirgo: That’s great news

Cynthia Bland: Yes, it seems like a road-diet to add a bike lane would be a more cost-effective project, right?

Andrew Black: That’s a lot of progress, nice work!

John Tallmadge: FYI: The Neighborhood Bike Routes are an iteration on the Bike Boulevards concept.

Andrew Black: What is timing for belt line?

Carlye Gates: Question about the neighborhood bike routes project: At least one of the streets included on the map (Gray Avenue) does not currently have any sidewalks, unfortunately. Would sidewalks, in addition to bike lanes, be added to these streets? If not, it would seem concerning to have bike lanes without a safe place for pedestrians to walk, as it would not be safe (for cyclists or pedestrians) to have pedestrians walking in the bike lanes.

Dave + Renee: Would that BUILD grant help expedite the Belt Line?

Craig Young: Is the City updating their Comprehensive Transportation Plan to include the future NCDOT projects that you mentioned, so that the updated Complete Streets Policy will apply and the City will not be responsible for any cost sharing for bike & ped accommodations on these projects?

Jim Svara: How is the City examining how to preserve and expand affordable housing around trail projects, in particular the Duke Beltline?

Nate: On the planning commission, we regularly recommend approval for hundreds of acres of sprawl development. No connectivity. No street trees. What can your department do to help change that precedence?

Andrew Black: Can you provide more detail on slow streets plan? It’s embarrassing and frustrating that nearly every city in the developed world has something except us.

Lauren Dirgo: Does the cost difference between the independent and opportunistic projects have anything to do with the prohibition on using state funding for bike/ped infrastructure?

Steve Hinkle: Without sidewalks, the neighborhood bike routes might exacerbate bike/pedestrian danger.

Carlye Gates: Agreed, Steve. I'm not sure why a street without sidewalks would be included as a street in the neighborhood bike route.

John Tallmadge: The transit tax brings in $30-35 million per year and less than $10 million per year has been committed to ongoing services.

Cynthia Bland: Wow!

James Nishimuta: Is there a reason that the Transit Plan, and funding for it, only considers buses, rather than also biking and walking as forms of transit?

Andrew Black: Seems like the loop could be cut down by one lane and used for walking and biking.

Lauren Dirgo: Any chance of BRT being a part of the transit plan?

Dave + Renee: Triangle Bikeway!

Matthew Clark (he/him): Everyone that buys a candy bar pays that transit tax. As an outsider, I would love to see organizations like Bike Durham focus on what it means to spend the revenue equitably.

Alex M: Why does NCDOT (state gov?) manage city roads? Sounds like a horrible idea.

Nate: Do you think Durham is open to municipally-sanctioned pop-up urbanism projects for short term demonstration of non-automotive facilities?

James Nishimuta: I encourage everyone here also check out BikeWalkNC, an advocacy organization that focuses more on the state level. Seems like a lot of challenges here are related to NCDOT

Cynthia Bland: If biking/walking is such a high priority among residents, why is it so hard to get those funded and built? What can we do to make this happen?

Andrew Black: Love that idea!

Robert Bush: The State ownership of roadways dates back to the Great Depression. Generally the State owns major roadways and cities own the rest.

Cynthia Bland: Good stuff!

Andrew Black: Feel like Foster was closed for a year and it was fine—why not now?

Carlye Gates: Isn't there a two-bike limitation on buses though? Perhaps this is why there are fewer cyclists compared to pedestrians, going to bus stops?

Robert Bush: It’s more related to how many people walk vs bike over the short distance to access buses.

Steve Hinkle: Some buses have room for three. But other options are to bike to the bus and ride bus to destination, leaving bike locked at the stop for when you return. Some bike racks at high use stops might encourage this.

Katherine O'Brien: Bike racks are also very rare at bus stops.

Carlye Gates: Understood. Thanks, all.

Cynthia Bland: Thanks, Ellen! Great presentation!

Steve Hinkle: Thanks Ellen!

Graham Watkins: Thank you very much!

Bike Month Webinar: How Travel is Changing in Time of COVID-19

On May 20, Bike Durham held a panel discussion on how the coronavirus is changing the streetscape in cities across the country. It featured Durham community organizer and BPAC officer Aidil Ortiz; UNC-Chapel Hill professor Tabitha Combs; and special guest Warren Logan, who directs policy on mobility and interagency relations for the mayor’s office of Oakland, CA. The discussion was moderated by Bike Durham member Erik Landfried.

Bike Durham's Letter to the City, May 11, 2020

The City’s vitally important stay-at-home measures have changed the way Durhamites are using our streets. In a letter to transportation director Sean Egan, Bike Durham called upon City staff to address these changing circumstances with concrete action.

Here are the main points of the letter, in brief:

While the governor has begun the slow process of re-opening the economy of North Carolina, evidence suggests that the effects of the stay-at-home orders and physical distancing recommendations will continue to change the way people get around Durham in a profound way. Bike Durham believes there is an urgent need to do more to address the inequitable impacts of this change. This need will only continue to grow as the economy opens back up and more people need to travel around Durham.

For many Durhamites, the current crisis has created new transportation challenges (this is to say nothing of the overall impact of COVID-19 which we know disproportionately impacts people of color and those with lower incomes). The inequities that existed in Durham’s transportation system prior to the onset of the pandemic have only been further exacerbated. Bus operator availability led to the recent decisions to reduce GoDurham to Sunday-level service and physical distancing recommendations (essential to protect bus operators) now limit the number of people on board buses to 16. This has left people behind and created additional delays for those who rely on the service.

To address these inequities and facilitate safe physical distancing on Durham's streets, Bike Durham has requested that the City, with assistance from Bike Durham members and volunteers, do the following things:

• For the protection of riders and drivers, provide face masks free-of-charge to all fixed-route and paratransit customers who need them until the need for them ends.

• Develop strategies to ensure that Durham’s most vulnerable residents are still able to travel to essential jobs or services without extra delays or unreliability due to the new capacity limits on GoDurham buses.

• Create a network of Slow Streets, using clearly visible, simple treatments to prohibit through traffic on residential streets, giving people room to exercise in their own neighborhoods, as well as facilitating foot and cycle travel throughout the city based on the City's adopted Neighborhood Bike Routes plan. The main inspiration for this call for comes from Oakland’s “Slow Streets” initiative.

• Create a simple permitting process to allow individuals or neighborhoods to create their own Slow Streets, similar to one that was implemented in Kansas City in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full text of the letter is below.

Celebrating Bike Month During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bike Month is Here!

The month of May has been celebrated as Bike Month around the country for 64 years.  We celebrate the joy of riding, the way that riding for transportation or exercise or hobby can make us healthier, save us money, and connect us with nature and our community.  We encourage others to join us in enjoying the benefits of biking, and we call for safer streets so that everyone can ride.

While that remains true, this year’s Bike Month will be like no other.  The COVID-19 pandemic, and the stay-at-home orders that are keeping it contained, have forced us all to consider what is important, what is essential for keeping ourselves, our families, and our neighbors safe from this virus.  At Bike Durham, we’ve had to consider how travel is changing in our community, and how we should adapt.

With our roots as a bicycle advocacy organization, we have cheered the sights of more people getting out on their bikes for transportation and exercise with fewer cars on the road.  As an organization that is wrestling how to center racial equity in our work, we have observed that racial disparities that persist in our community reveal themselves in terms of whose travel is made more difficult through physical distancing requirements, and who has an easier time of keeping themselves and their families safe by staying-at-home.  This awareness led us to join many in our community in supporting essential workers, especially those operating and riding GoDurham buses.  At the same time we have questioned why Durham hasn’t yet followed the lead of other communities in designating slow streets and neighborhood bike routes to give more space for people to walk and bike safely in this time of required physical distancing.  

As we have looked for a way forward through this time, we have tried to keep these priorities in mind:

1. Everyone in Durham should have safe access to food, medical care, mental health care, and recreational space.  Essential workers should have safe access to their jobs and while at their jobs.  Safe access now goes beyond traffic safety, freedom from crime and over-enforcement by the police, and extends to safety from COVID-19 through physical distancing, hand washing, and face coverings.

2. Changes to our streets or transit system should be unwinding racial and economic inequities, not perpetuating it.

3. When moving about in Durham, everyone must consider not just how our actions affect our own safety, but the safety of others.  We need to learn how to expand our thinking about “rules of the road” to cover physical distancing.

These are all priorities that Bike Durham has held, but the pandemic and stay-at-home order has brought them into starker relief and forced us to wrestle with what is essential.  We have tried to acknowledge the differences that people are experiencing - supporting those who are finding their way back onto bikes as well as those essential workers who are anxious about safely getting to work on GoDurham.  This remains a work-in-progress, but it is the spirit in which we are carrying our work forward into Bike Month.  

Just in time for Bike Month, we’ve added a subscription to the RidewithGPS app as a new Bike Durham member benefit.  This May, when you’re ready to get out on your bike, we encourage you to try the bike routes we’ve planned in the RidewithGPS (including May the Fourth Be With You, Koala, and a tour of NCCU’s campus).  They’ll be fun, and the app should enhance the experience and give us a sense of togetherness, even while we’re keeping physical distance.  We’ll have webinars on topics ranging from using RidewithGPS to how to select safety equipment for yourself and bike to a panel on how travel has changed in Durham during the pandemic.  We’ll be profiling Durham bike riders throughout the month and encouraging you to share your stories about why and how you bike Durham.  We’ll close the month with a Scavenger Hunt week that we each can do on our own, while sharing the experience virtually, with prizes for winners.  More details on all of these activities can be found at bikedurham.org/bikemonth.

We want to thank our sponsors the Way to Go Durham program of the City of Durham, and the GoPerks program at GoTriangle.    

We also want to thank our partners in rethinking Bike Month and pulling this together - staff from the City of Durham, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

Bike Durham Supports Transit Workers and Riders

This IS Our Mission

Bike Durham believes everyone should have access to safe, affordable, and sustainable transportation regardless of race, wealth, gender identity, ability, or where they live. During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, our mission has led us to raise awareness that essential workers rely on our public transit system, and many of our most vulnerable residents continue to rely on GoDurham during the stay-at-home order in order to get to essential services. We have lifted up the stories of transit and paratransit operators who continue to drive the buses and vans of this essential service. We are continuing to partner with other local organizations in working with the City, GoDurham, and GoTriangle to ensure that our most vulnerable people can stay safe while riding GoDurham and ACCESS, and can reliably get to work and essential services without long waits. Our work is also connected to a national movement to draw attention to these issues and get more federal support.

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Many Durham Residents Still Rely on GoDurham and ACCESS Services

Despite a recent 40% decrease in ridership on GoDurham due to the COVID-19 crisis, many people in Durham still rely on the system to make essential trips for work, groceries, and medical care. The majority (73%) of these riders are black and 53% report a household income of less than $15,000 per year. More resources are needed to ensure that the bus and paratransit employees and riders are protected from the virus, and that Durham’s most vulnerable citizens are not additionally burdened in their essential travel.

Riders are being informed at Durham Station that the number of people allowed on the bus will be limited. Bike Durham supports the decision to limit the number of riders on board each GoDurham bus to maintain recommended physical distancing. However, this policy means that riders are being passed up at bus stops and are having to wait long periods of time to board the next bus if the one they are trying to board is full.

DeArman S. told Bike Durham’s executive director, John Tallmadge, that she has had to wait a full hour to get to and from her home in south Durham to her job at a McDonald’s on Horton Road in north Durham due to full buses on Routes 5 and 9. Brandon W. also has had to wait 30 minutes for the next Route 12 bus when going to and from his job at a Waffle House on Highway 55.

We Can Have Safety AND Mobility

GoDurham recently announced that they are increasing the limit on the number of people who can board a bus from 10 to 16. It is encouraging to see the City taking seriously the issues we’ve raised about customers missing buses leading to long waits, but this raises new questions about whether this allows for recommended physical distancing on the bus. It also does not fully solve the capacity issues.

According to data obtained from GoTriangle for a time period covering March 29–April 11, 2020, there were more than 16 riders on a GoDurham bus on 10% of weekday trips, 7% of Saturday trips, and 13% of Sunday trips. On Route 3, the busiest route in the system, 56% of weekday trips carried more than 16 riders at any given time. 

Riders who cannot board a bus because it has reached the capacity limit are faced with a difficult set of choices. They will either need to wait up to an hour for the next bus, which may also be full, or find another way to get to their destination. These alternatives likely include a combination of shared rides, walking or biking along roads that may or may not be safe, or simply not making the trip at all. This type of uncertainty is an unwanted added stress at a time when many are already risking their own health to make essential trips.

Bike Durham Requests Further City Action

Bike Durham has requested that the City and GoTriangle address the following urgent issues immediately:

1. Provide face masks free of charge to all customers and operators who need them until the need for them ends. Bike Durham has distributed more than 2,000 masks at Durham Station thanks to Covering the Triangle, but more are needed now and until this pandemic has passed.

2. Develop strategies to ensure that Durham’s most vulnerable residents are still able to travel to essential jobs or services without extra delays or unreliability due to the new capacity limits. This may require partnerships with other transit agencies to provide more bus service on crowded routes.

3. Ensure that safe alternatives to riding the bus are provided to facilitate physical distancing, such as temporary walking paths using underutilized road capacity, or partnerships with e-scooter companies currently operating in Durham. This is important now, and will be critical when the stay-at-home order begins to be lifted and more people who rely on GoDurham and ACCESS paratransit will need to travel again.
   

   For more information about Bike Durham’s request to the City and GoTriangle, please see our letter to Sean Egan, Transportation Director for the City of Durham.

We Want to Work With the City and GoTriangle to Address These Issues

Bike Durham understands that this is a challenging time to make additional requests of the City and GoTriangle, and we would not do so if we did not believe this is an urgent matter. Our organization has volunteers and board members who are ready to assist the City and GoTriangle to help identify and promote solutions to these issues.

Video: Bike Durham Supports Transit Operators

In these challenging times, some cities have suspended bus service. Durham has kept the buses running, which has provided crucial support to some of the city’s more disadvantaged communities. It’s also moved bus operators to the front lines of the battle to preserve the normal workings of the economy, while placing their personal safety at no small risk.

Bus ridership is down, and service and hours of operation have been cut back. While many customers are able to stay home or have found other ways of getting around, bus and paratransit van operators continue to work their shifts serving the remaining customers.

To protect bus operators and keep customers properly distanced, the City and GoTriangle have instituted fare-free, rear-door boarding. Some seats are marked unavailable, and operators can activate a "Bus Full" sign once 14 people are on the bus. The City of Durham is paying for operators of GoDurham buses and ACCESS vans to receive a 5% wage premium during the Stay-at-Home order.

Bike Durham appreciates the GoDurham operators and staff who are keeping the buses running during this time of crisis. #TransitIsEssential

Video: Bike Durham Supports Transit

As discussed in our two previous blog posts, Durham’s decision to keep the buses running during this time of “flattening the curve” has been crucial to the people who rely on it to get around. Mayor Steve Schewel’s “Stay at Home” order allows for “essential” services to continue operation; along with hospitals, this includes bicycle shops, grocery stores, restaurants, construction sites, utilities, and other places of work.

On March 23rd, GoDurham began offering fare-free, rear-boarding service to protect the safety of bus operators. Transportation Director Sean Egan says “GoDurham intends to provide service for essential trips in our community for as long as it is safe and appropriate to do so.” Bike Durham applauds this decision. #TransitIsEssential