[Durham INC] Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative Shares First-Year Successes

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

 

 

 

For Immediate Release:  June 24, 2011

 

 

Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative Shares First-Year
Successes

HUD, EPA, and NCDENR to Participate in Sustainability Discussion

 

DURHAM, N.C. - As the first community in the state to respond to a
national initiative to create a sustainable and livable community,
Durham will showcase the first-year successes of the Northeast Central
Durham Livability Initiative to federal and state agencies on Tuesday,
June 28. The public meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the
Golden Belt Facility at 807 E. Main St., Building #2, on the third
floor.

 

>From 10 a.m. to noon, officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), North Carolina Department of
Transportation (NCDOT), Triangle J Council of Governments, North
Carolina Department of Commerce, and the North Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) will discuss Durham's
sustainability efforts.

 

The second half of the day, from noon to 5 p.m., will feature the
Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative, its first year
achievements, and plans to tackle other quality of life issues in the
community in the coming year.  Led by the City's Neighborhood
Improvement Services Department and the Durham City-County
Sustainability Office with support from the City's Office of Economic
and Workforce Development, Durham City/County Inspections Department,
Durham City/County Planning Department, City's Community Development
Department, Durham Parks and Recreation, and the City's Transportation
Department, the initiative is a collaborative effort to plan and
implement a sustainable and livable community in Northeast Central
Durham. 

 

According to Constance Stancil, director of the City's Neighborhood
Improvement Services Department, the Northeast Central Durham Livability
Initiative is a result of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, a
federal program to coordinate housing, transportation, and protect the
environment. Led by City staff and Durham residents working with local,
state and federal agencies, the Northeast Central Durham Livability
Initiative is making significant  progress toward fostering "a walkable,
safe, diverse, and eco-friendly community, while encouraging smart
growth and healthy food access," she said.  

 

In the past year, the four resident-led schemes that make up the
Northeast Central Durham Livability Initiative have made advancements in
making this community more walkable, safe, and environmentally sound.
The Multi-Functional Community Open Spaces Scheme incorporated green
space concepts at Eastway Elementary School. Team leaders, City staff,
Eastway Elementary students, North Carolina Central University students,
and EPA volunteers planted 10 trees, a flower garden, and 12
raised-vegetable beds. In May, volunteers cleaned up the portion of
Goose Creek that runs behind Eastway Elementary School. Residents also
kicked off their summer fitness by joining the Bull City Cruisers
Walking Club. 

 

The Coordinated Public Transportation Scheme conducted two Durham Area
Transit Authority (DATA) bus stop and shelter assessments, with those
assessments now being incorporated into DATA's "Designing a Better Bus
System" survey. The scheme was also instrumental in getting a light
erected at the intersection of Main Street and Angier Avenue and has
been working closely with City and State transportation officials on
designing the widening of Alston Avenue. 

 

The Workforce and Economic Development Scheme crafted the Northeast
Central Durham (NECD) marketing slogan, "NECD: Where Access Meets
Opportunity" that each scheme is now incorporating into its projects and
goals.  The scheme is also working with the City's Office of Economic
and Workforce Development to have area businesses use the slogan to
promote their operations, especially along the Angier/Driver Corridor.  

 

Recently, the Safety and Healthy Environment Scheme co-sponsored the
first NECD Bull City Open Streets, in collaboration with Clean Energy
Durham, Partnership for a Healthy Durham, Triangle Transit Authority,
Durham Parks and Recreation, and District 1's Partners Against Crime
(PAC) group.  Driver Street was closed to vehicular traffic from Holton
Career and Resource Center to Angier Avenue to allow the community to
bike, skate, and walk to improve their physical health. 

 

For more information about the Northeast Central Durham Livability
Initiative, contact Stancil at (919) 560-1647, ext. 34247, via e-mail at
Constance.Stancil at DurhamNC.gov, or visit 
www.DurhamNC.gov/Departments/NIS/pdf/feasibility_report_0510.pdf.  

 

For more information about the City's sustainability efforts, contact
Tobin Freid, manager of the Durham City-County Sustainability Office, at
(919) 560-7999, via e-mail at TFreid at DurhamCountyNC.gov, or visit 
www.GreenerDurham.net.  

 

For more information about the Partnership for Sustainable Communities,
visit http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership/.  

 

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