Many thanks to those who attended the first community conversation last Saturday in Oval Park! We received lots of helpful feedback on local safety issues and learned some ways you feel hindered by unsafe road conditions. There was lively conversation around these issues as well as excitement about the wonderful community in which we live.

Our next conversation (similar to the first) will be held Wednesday, April 20, 7-8:15 p.m. at Blacknall Presbyterian Church (1902 Perry St., Durham). We'll meet in the Community Room- look for the entrance on the left as you're facing the church on Perry Street. This will be another opportunity to share your experiences and help Bike Durham move forward in our work. Monuts has kindly provided donuts for us to enjoy!

For those who cannot make our in-person events, we invite you to share your input via email (safestreets@bikedurham.org). We can also set up a phone call or local in-person discussion with you. Our goal is to involve as many stakeholders as possible in these discussions. Please forward this email to your neighbors, subscribe to the Safe Streets email list and visit this site for updates. We'll use the email list (as well as the neighborhood listservs) to keep folks updated on our progress of gathering input, developing solutions and working with the city to make our neighborhoods safer.

In the weeks to come, Bike Durham will identify the themes being brought up so as to observe which issues are most prominent; where they exist within our geographic scope; what their root cause is, and much more. This comprehensive approach can only manifest with the community’s participation, because without it, we will find ourselves playing whack-a-mole with traffic issues; i.e. fixing one stretch of road only to have impatient motorists move over to an adjacent block within our neighborhood.

There are several phases of our work together, with a timeline as follows:

Mid-Late April: We will loosely establish any key themes/priorities related to safety, and map which areas of our neighborhood contain traffic issues. We'll continue to connect with residents, organizations and businesses that can share their thoughts.

Early/Mid-May (Dates TBA shortly): There will be 2-4 walk audits this month. The input we’ve gathered thus far will help inform several walking routes –think of them as community tours. Neighbors are invited to take part in several 1-1.5 hour group walks around the area to observe/discuss/document weekday rush hour and weekend traffic behavior. Key intersections and other problem areas will be incorporated into the route for us to explore what can be done! Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Mid/Late May: Several small-group sessions are necessary to segue into our solutions-building phase with the City. We will identify the underlying issues/spaces that require investment. Building consensus as a community is key, so our remaining focus in this project can go towards discussions with the City to get our needs met while also adhering to their code/safety protocol when altering the public right of way.

We’ll post another update after our April 20 meeting.