Hi there,
It is easy to be against an abstract idea. For drivers, a street closed to cars sounds like an inconvenience. State money spent on a bus bench sounds like the lowest priority. Does building infrastructure that benefits bicyclists and bus riders help that many people?
What I keep seeing in Durham is how fast that changes when the idea becomes real and people can see it or touch it or experience it.
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Last Sunday, more than two thousand people came out for Move-A-Bull City Open Streets and spent a day walking or riding downtown streets that normally belong to drivers. Nobody standing in that crowd was thinking about traffic. They were thinking about where to dance, who to talk to, how good it felt to move through their own neighborhood on foot.
At our On the Bench station, attendees watched a bus bench built from scratch and then picked up a brush to paint three benches themselves, and the question of whether a bench is worth it stopped being a question. Durham has more than 850 bus stops and nearly half have nowhere to sit. Even if you don’t ride the bus, it is easy to see the point of a bench the moment you watch someone sink onto it, grateful, after a long day.
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By the way, On the Bench is a partnership among Play NC, Bull City Woodshop, and Bike Durham, and right now every contribution to continue this program for the next two years will be matched two-to-one through the generosity of Susan and Michael Hershfield. If you know someone who cares about this city's streets, send them the page. They can learn how we get the benches out there for our transit riders.
And on West Main near Broad, the first element of the vertically separated bike lane project is now on the ground. Durham staff installed the city’s first “floating bus island” (picture below), a short ramp that carries the bike lane up and through the bus stop so that people biking and people catching the bus are no longer forced into the same few feet of pavement. On paper it reads like an extra project. In person it is obvious. This is simply how a street should work.
Your support and advocacy leads to these improvements. Support more of these changes through your Donor-Advised Fund today, National DAF Day.
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None of these are abstractions anymore. They are here, people have stood in them, and that is how the case for a better Durham gets made, one real thing at a time.
There's more below, including our Week Without Driving panel at this month's community meeting, Change Agent Training, and upcoming bike classes.
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Tell Congress: Reorient the federal transportation program toward safety. The next surface transportation reauthorization provides an opportunity to reorient the federal transportation program. Use the button below to tell your members of Congress to act on this opportunity.
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Canvass with us for regional transportation Join us at Durham Station to talk with riders about the service they deserve. No experience needed, we'll show you everything. Saturdays, October 10 and October 24.
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Community Meeting: Week Without Driving panel
This month we're reflecting on a Week Without Driving (Oct 1-8) with a panel of decision-makers and residents who took the challenge, going a week without driving to experience how Durham moves when you can't drive. Join us Monday, October 26.
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Build a bench at East by Northeast
Sunday, October 4th, 12-4pm | Downtown Durham
October 4 is the best day of the year in Durham, and we need you to help make it happen. Greet neighbors, help activities run, and keep the route moving. No experience needed. Give a few hours, be part of the day.
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Register for Upcoming Classes
Learn to Ride
Never ridden a bike? No problem! This class is focused on the basics of bicycling.
Ready to Ride
Build your street skills and confidence in the saddle.
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Your local nonprofit working to improve the way we walk, bike, and use transit in the Bull City.
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