INC NEWS - question asked at Centerfest + answers

[RW Pickle]

At Centerfest, we had a large piece of paper that had the question:

What are your neighborhood concers?

As people walked by, they had the opportunity to express the concerns they
had in their neighborhood. In the course of time I spent at Centerfest, I
had only one lady that said her neighborhood didn't have any. She said it
was small (14 houses) and was just a long cul-de-sac. Another lady said
she did have some but the City seemed to currently be addressing them all.
I suggested to her she was lucky and she said she was blessed. We didn't
try to get people to write something; it was all voluntary. Below is the
list of concerns expressed by the individuals who took the time to write
them.

There are a number of things mentioned on this list that seem to be simple
to fix. Cut some brush for better vision at an intersection, put up a sign
or two, stripe some pavement for crosswalks, etc. Some are not that simple
and will require some effort on the part of the departments that need to
address a particular issue.

Overall, there seemed to be a resounding theme that indicated movement.
Cars and speeding or the need for speed bumps or not. Activie lifestyle
things like sidewalks and paths. And perhaps the biggest thing I noticed
when transcribing these to this post, was that there seemed to be very
little mentioned about crime. It's something that we as a City seem to be
talking about alot. But the residents must feel it's fairly safe.
Otherwise I'd think we would have seen it on the list a number of times.

A vendor (from Wallace, NC) took the time to ask me some questions about
Durham (as she had taken a break from her food booth to check out the
festival and I had fallen in love with her candied nuts). Her comment
seems to echo several areas of this list. Her impression (because she saw
a number of people on bicycles) was that Durham was a very "active" city.
She said the town where she now lives wasn't this "alternative vehicle
friendly" and had no bike trails (like the ATT that I explained to her).
She said where she had grown up in South America was "alternative vehicle
friendly" and she missed that. It looks like if some of the concerns
expressed by the citizens who wrote this  list  are addressed, we can be
more active (on sidewalks and trails). It's all part of making Durham an
easier place to get around without having to jump in a car. Here's that
list (in no particular order):

* Adopt the Bike Plans - complete I-40 bike/pedestrian bridge

* More downtown retail stores and cafes for walkers and downtown spirit

* more bus stop shelters

* Intense neighborhood patrol

* Senior Services... Carolina Bus Tours

* No "soliciting" - no cash at the door (Lochside/Grandale Place

* No speed bumps or 4 way stop signs - it wastes fossil fuel

* End homelessness! Affordable housing!

* Walltown and West Club Blvd. need traffic calming for kids to play!

* Stop sign on the corner of Berkley and Green

* Ways to facilitate foor traffic between Walltown and Trinity Heights

* Perry and Broad crosswalk is dangerous

* Markham and Onslow crosswalk needs a sign

* Northgate Park needs a dog park

* Northgate Park needs an affordable grogery store (we do love Red & White
tho)

* No safe walking/biking trail from Watts-Hillandale to Duke (doctors walk
the gravel train overpass) (NOTE: I happened to talk to this young Duke
doctor and suggested that this would be something good to partner with
Duke in doing)

* Need safe biking to Riverside High School from Watts-Hillandale
neighborhood!

* more/better street lights

* fix the sidewalks so I don't trip on them every time I use them

* Pot holes in streets (all over)

* speeding motorists near school bus stop stop!!

* no sidewalks by schools

* not enough soccer fields (kept up)

* Bumpy streets!!

* waiting for water/sewer 12 years!

* pot holes on 55 near Cornwallis

* oncoming traffic visability leaving Grey Cliff

* dog chaining - barking - pooping in yard without being scooped

* litter

* speeding/speed bumps!!!

* slumloards/tenant rights - rental housing regulations - codes

sidewalks (Garrett Rd.)

* lack of activities for middle/high school students

* more neighborhood drop-ins - MCC (NOTE: this is what it says but I have
no clue what it means)

* parking in yards

* the appearance of rental properties in neighborhoods

* SIDE WALKS!!!

* traffic calming devices on the South Street corridor - choakers!

* need a grocery store in or near downtown

* an end to door-to-door begging

* achievement gap in DPS middle schools

* asking artists or art organizations to do stuff for free - culture isn't
free