[Durham INC] Bike Durham asks the city to revisit the Club Blvd design

[Jack Warman]

Friends,

Following on the release of our policy statement last week regarding
implementing Complete Streets design in Durham, Bike Durham today sent a
letter to Durham's Director, Department of Transportation Mark Ahrendsen,
Mayor Bill Bell, Council Member Don Moffitt (Council Liaison to BPAC),
Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Dale McKeel and Bicycle and Pedestrian
Advisory Commission Chair Erik Landfried asking that the city reconsider
the existing design for W. Club Blvd. From the letter;

"Bike Durham feels strongly that the implementation of a Complete Streets
Plan is important to address the needs and safety of the community as a
whole.  We realize that this action will take time and that the city plans
to update sections of road within Durham before that implementation is
feasible. [...] Until a Complete Streets Plan becomes the standard for road
design in Durham, Bike Durham would like the city to align streets designs
with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans. In the case of West Club Boulevard,
this means revisiting and likely updating the design to meet the needs and
safety concerns of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists."

The complete letter is below for your reference.

Kind regards
Jack

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Jack Warman
Durham, NC

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August 18, 2014

Mark D. Ahrendsen, Director

Department of Transportation

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701


Dear Mr. Ahrendsen,

Bike Durham is aware of the recent attention and discussion associated with
the redesign plan for West Club Blvd between Broad Street and Hillandale
Avenue.  We appreciate the efforts of the city to make roads safer and more
accessible for multiple types of transportation users; however, we
encourage a reevaluation of the design to ensure alignment with the Bicycle
and Pedestrian Plans adopted in 2006.

Our organization broadly addresses the issue of street design within Durham
in the attached policy paper, Call for Standard Use of Complete Streets in
Durham Road Design.  Bike Durham feels strongly that the implementation of
a Complete Streets Plan is important to address the needs and safety of the
community as a whole.  We realize that this action will take time and that
the city plans to update sections of road within Durham before that
implementation is feasible.

As recently reported
<http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/28/4035729/road-worrier-durham-traffic-calming.html>
in the News & Observer, the neighborhoods that border Club Blvd have seen
the largest increase in bike commuters in recent years.

Six percent of all commuters in these Durham neighborhoods travel to work
on their bicycles, according to the 2012 American Community Survey
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s more bike commuters than
anywhere else in the Triangle except Carrboro – and a sharp increase since
the 2000 census, when bike commuting here was pegged at 1 percent to 1.6
percent.

Until a Complete Streets Plan becomes the standard for road design in
Durham, Bike Durham would like the city to align streets designs with the
Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans. In the case of West Club Boulevard, this
means revisiting and likely updating the design to meet the needs and
safety concerns of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.


Thank you,

Jack Warman, Chair

Christin Lampkowski, Vice Chair

cc: Mayor Bill Bell

Don Moffitt

Dale McKeel

Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission
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