[Durham INC] INC Passes Resolution on Traffic Enforcement

[Philip Azar]

Today’s bad weather (and closings) provide an excellent opportunity to spend some time on the keyboard or with elected officials to make Durham a little safer, more walkable and bike-able! 

INC, at its meeting Tuesday, February 25th, passed a resolution on traffic safety, unanimously with no abstentions.  (The text of the resolution is at http://bit.ly/1lm8UnQ .) The Durham Bike and Pedestrian Commission (“BPAC”) endorsed in principle a draft  of the resolution, and intends to take up the final resolution at its next meeting.  Scott Carter, in his capacity as INC president, will be sending a letter to council members and county commissioners, with a copy of the resolution.  

WHAT YOU CAN DO:  Call or email members of the city council or county commissioners* 

For people who might want some guidance, here are some general guidelines that I try to follow (not necessarily right/do what makes sense to you).

		a.  Use the last names of elected officials in emails, with their titles.  Unless reaching out to a particular council member, use the Council at DurhamNC.gov address.  Individual addresses and phone numbers can be found at http://durhamnc.gov/ich/cc/Pages/Home.aspx  at the right hand column.  

As far as I am aware, there is no group email for the county commissioners, so it’s

		mpage at dconc.gov  
		bhowerton at dconc.gov  
		ffoster at dconc.gov  
		wjacobs at dconc.gov  
		ereckhow at gmail.com

or you can go to http://dconc.gov/index.aspx?page=52 and click on the relevant name and get phone numbers.

My experience is that our elected officials love to hear from us, especially, when the message is positive (we can make Durham safer and better by . . . ).

		b.  It’s a long resolution with a multiple moving parts, so speak to the parts that speak to you.  

The general thrust is to improve safety for people who walk and bike by have a strategy around traffic enforcement with clearly identified resources and someone in charge (presumably not the same person who is in charge of the entire department) who regularly reports out on the successes of that strategy.  Possible other aspects that may appeal:

			i.  Traffic enforcement on neighborhood streets is a safety issue and should be a police department priority with the trappings of a priority:  A plan, defined resources, and public reporting.

			ii.  We are growing as a city, we are becoming denser, the 3,000 apartments going in in and around downtown assume high levels of pedestrian and bike activity, the plans for Liberty warehouse call for bike racks to handle over 100 (? that’s my recollection) bikes, and we need to evolve to address the needs of a more urban population.

			iii.  Some statistical evidence, plus perceptions of unsafe drivers, are limiting our walkability, bikeability, and health indicators. Durham is a great place to live, but we can do better.

			iv.  Some of what we need to do will need assistance from other jurisdictions and the State General Assembly, either now or in less divisive times.  We need driver’s license exams that stress pedestrian and bike safety.  It would also be great if Durham and other local jurisdictions had the right to use speed cameras to enforce speed limits near parks, schools and hospitals.  (One suspects that that approach is much cheaper that over time than using law enforcement officers.)  The Durham delegation to the general assembly should be requested to start engaging on these issues and to seek allies among other urban areas in the state. 

			v.  Law enforcement needs elected officials to provide more guidance around police priorities.  There is a lively debate over what our law enforcement resources should be used for and in what neighborhoods.  This resolution, among other things, requests our elected officials to provide that guidance more directly and to consider asking the Police Department to prioritize traffic safety in a coordinated manner throughout the city.  This discussion is particularly relevant at a time when people are openly questioning whether some neighborhoods are over policed, and whether the resulting use of sentencing guidelines and arrest records for minors in those neighborhoods are causing detrimental impacts on those neighborhoods. Perhaps some of those police resources should be shifted to “under policed” areas of the city, as  a gentle reminder that is everyone’s obligation to drive safely, or that the possibility of ticketing is something we should all have to consider more regularly? The resolution does not ask to remove officer discretion as to whether to issue a ticket (as opposed to a warning) or a magistrate’s discretion as to whether to only require court costs (as opposed to costs and fees).  

			vi.  In the main, we have the resources to do this.  There is the necessary expertise in the Police and Sheriff’s departments, there is equipment, and there is a willingness for greater coordination between the Police and the Sheriff’s departments, and there is public support.  At the very least, this is an opportunity for continuous improvement.

			vii.  The entire resolution is the best thing since the wheel and city council and county commissioners should use it as a blue print for a community traffic enforcement plan that is holistic and supports the smart growth our residents and elected officials have been working on for decades!  (Pick something in the resolution that you like, and support it, where it matters, with our elected officials!)

Please also cross post to neighborhood and other stakeholder listservs!


Thank you for helping to make Durham a safer and better place.  Please pick up the phone and/or the keyboard to reach out to our elected officials and encourage them to make this happen! 


Philip Azar
Chair, INC Committee on Traffic Enforcement


*  Also look out for people who are walking and biking when you are driving, bike and walk safely with awareness of what is going on around you, and encourage your neighbors to the same.  That said, traffic enforcement on neighborhood streets has been underemphasized in Durham for a while, and we need your help to emphasize improve traffic enforcement on neighborhood streets.
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