[Durham INC] Transit Equity Campaign Launches in Durham, North Carolina

Tue Sep 1 08:00:20 EDT 2020

Good morning!

I hope you will read the following press release about this exciting new
campaign and let me know if you have any questions:

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Erik Landfried

Transit Equity Campaign Manager

Bike Durham

erik.landfried at gmail.com

919.257.9782

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Transit Equity Campaign Launches in Durham, North Carolina

As Director of Partnerships & Programs for Families Moving Forward, Tasha
Melvin’s goal is to provide a stable, safe, and healthy environment for
families in Durham who are experiencing the crisis of temporary
homelessness. Ms. Melvin is acutely aware of the role a strong public
transportation system plays in helping to provide that stability. “We can’t
even talk about the safety of the housing options unless parents can get
their kids to school and themselves to work. If housing is not on a bus
line, it’s just not an option.”

Holly McCoy is a former Families Moving Forward guest and lives near a bus
line in northern Durham with her one-year old daughter. She would like to
use the bus more often, but it does not come frequently enough and she does
not feel safe getting to the bus stop. “The neighborhood I live in is
dangerous and there is a section with no sidewalk or grass, so I have to
run in the street pushing my daughter in a stroller to get to the bus
stop.” Infrequent bus services means Ms. McCoy needs to wake up 2-3 hours
earlier than she would like so that she can get to work on time. She
believes that a better bus system in Durham would benefit her in tangible
ways. “I could get better sleep and I wouldn’t have to pay so much for Lyft
rides.”

The Transit Equity Campaign was born out of a desire to uplift the needs of
these riders, the transit workers that support them, and low-wealth Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in Durham that need
better access to the economic and social opportunities in Durham and the
larger region. Five organizations in Durham have signed onto the Transit
Equity Campaign thus far: Bike Durham, Durham Committee on the Affairs of
Black People (DCABP), Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA), People’s
Alliance (PA), and the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit (the
Coalition). These partners developed the following campaign statement:

Durham has a transportation system created through a history of decisions
that have led to inequitable outcomes along racial and economic lines. To
promote anti-racism and equitable outcomes, the Transit Equity Campaign
will hold the public agencies in charge of updating the Durham County
Transit Plan accountable to make sure the needs of current transit riders,
transit workers and low-wealth BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of
Color) communities are the first priorities in the Transit Plan.

“The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People believes that
high-quality and affordable public transportation will open up new and
deserving economic opportunities for Black people in Durham,” said Terrance
White, a member of the Economic Committee for DCABP. Currently, over 70% of
GoDurham riders identify themselves as Black. 16% of Durham BIPOC
households do not own a vehicle compared to only 4% of White households.

Spencer Bradford works with over fifty communities of faith on issues such
as racial justice in his role as Executive Director of Durham Congregations
in Action. “We have created an inequitable transportation system that
favors people who can afford to own and maintain a private vehicle over
people who cannot.” According to the most recent Durham County Resident
Survey <https://www.dconc.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=30130>, 62% of residents
are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the ease of travel by driving, yet
only 28% feel the same way about the ease of travel by bus.

Becky Winders of the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit is
concerned about whether the current public transportation system can help
mitigate displacement due to rising housing costs in Durham. “As low-wealth
families get pushed to the edges of the city, how do we make sure the
transit system is still able to provide quality service for these
residents?” Even where transit does exist near some outskirts of the city,
it is often less frequent than services closer to downtown Durham.

Marie Hill-Faison has been an operator for the paratransit service called
Durham ACCESS for 18 years and is a member of the People’s Alliance. She
wants to make sure the Transit Equity Campaign also incorporates the needs
of transit workers. “The focus should be on delivering great service to our
riders, but paratransit operators can only do that if we have the necessary
resources and training.” Hill-Faison also wants to make sure the needs of
persons with disabilities do not go overlooked in the updated Transit Plan.

With the demise of the light rail project in 2019, there is now room in the
Durham Transit Plan to add tens of millions of dollars of new projects
annually. Campaign Manager Erik Landfried, a former transit planner for
GoDurham and GoTriangle, believes that a paradigm shift is needed to
achieve the goals Durham has set for sustainability and racial equity. “We
want as many people as possible to ride transit in Durham.” Landfried said.
“But if Durham truly wants to take anti-racist action and support equitable
outcomes, the needs of those who have suffered from the racist policies of
this country must be the number one priority in the Plan.”

The Transit Equity Campaign is building a coalition of individuals and
organizations who support and uplift the needs of current transit riders,
transit workers, and Durham’s low-wealth BIPOC communities. It will also
organize and convene opportunities for individuals and communities to
develop and communicate a common agenda of priorities. Finally, it will
evaluate investment scenarios brought forward by the public sector Durham
Transit Team and hold decision-makers accountable through petitions, media
stories, and direct communication with elected officials.

For more information on the Transit Equity Campaign, including how to get
involved, please visit http://bikedurham.org/transit.

About the Transit Equity Campaign Partners

Bike Durham <https://bikedurham.org/> believes 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.

The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People <https://www.dcabp.org/>
was founded in 1935 as an organization to work toward the elimination of
racial discrimination or distinction in public and general private affairs.
It continues to be a leadership body for the Black residents of Durham.

Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA) <http://www.dcia.org/> organizes
communities of diverse faiths to work for racial justice, social equity,
and human dignity. They lead inter-faith learning and cooperation to
overcome poverty, racism and violence.

Since 1976, People's Alliance <https://www.durhampa.org/> members have
worked together -- across race and class -- toward establishing Durham as a
progressive model for the state and country on issues including school
integration, the environment, living wages, and affordable housing. PA is a
participatory, democratic organization that uses a collective voice to
demand a just, equitable and more inclusive Durham and hold public
officials accountable to those values.

 The Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Public-Service/Coalition-for-Affordable-Housing-and-Transit-304862066372339/>
is
a community-wide volunteer organization that works (1) to understand the
complex challenges of affordable shelter and transit and (2) to increase
the supply of both by advocacy for better public policy and by working with
other public and private partners on specific projects.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20200901/493cfc62/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Transit Equity Campaign Press Release.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 510825 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20200901/493cfc62/attachment-0001.pdf>