[Durham INC] Tobacco Trail's Southside connector opens (Durham News); Trail's connector makes its official debut (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Tobacco Trail's Southside connector opens
By Mary MacRae Warren, Durham News, 19 May 2010

The new Southside connector to the American Tobacco Trail officially opened Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"We have a history of the trail, the job and the neighborhood," said Panzola McMillon, 71, on hand with her 94-year-old mother, Pansy Cheatham. "I can remember when Roxboro Road stopped at Erie... This was all hard dirt and red clay. You had to spray off the porch each morning."

McMillon and her mother are longtime Southside residents, going back five generations. McMillon is a former babysitter to some of Durham's most prominent families, from E.K. Powe to Nello L. Teer.

"You made a dollar a day babysitting," she said, "but we were willing to work. We set an example for our kids. When you work for your money, it spends better." McMillon's example paid off. She has a grandson studying at Harvard University....

American Tobacco Trail users will be able to easily access South Street, Lawson Street and Roxboro Street permitting easy connections to nearby C.C. Spaulding Elementary School, N.C. Central University, Hillside Park, Durham Tech, and the Southside Community.

"Durham is in a great position, compared to other cities, to get around without a car. The American Tobacco Trail is a big part of that," said Dan Clever of Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

http://www.thedurhamnews.com/2010/05/19/201950/tobacco-trails-southside-connector.html

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Trail's South Street Connector makes its official debut
Herald-Sun, 16 May 2010

The Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the city of Durham on Saturday officially opened the American Tobacco Trail to South Street Connector path at 1630 South St.

The connector path project was planned, cleared and managed by volunteers of the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and paid for with a grant from the North Carolina State Parks Adopt-a-Trail Grant Program. Cole's Concrete was the prime contractor for the concrete path which connects the American Tobacco Trail and South Street across from the West Lawson Street intersection.

This connector will allow Southside community residents to more easily access the American Tobacco Trail. From there, users can access shopping, businesses, parks, schools and neighborhoods along eight miles of completed trails.

American Tobacco Trail users will be able to easily access South, Lawson and Roxboro streets. [And continue to CC Spaulding, NCCU and Durham Tech]

The American Tobacco Trail is a 22-plus mile rails-to-trails project that crosses several Triangle counties.

http://www.heraldsun.com

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