ATT bridge over I-40

The design firm hired by the City of Durham to design a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-40 is hosting their second public meeting.

Even though the bridge over I-40 is approximately only 200 linear feet of the overall four miles being added to the American Tobacco Trail in Phase E, the bridge is the reason so many folks turned out to the first Public Meeting; Bridge Project. Sponsored by the City and Steven Grover and Associates, the architecture and engineering firm contracted to design the bridge, the meeting in November was standing room only.

Hello Friends of the American Tobacco Trail,

Mark your calendars! The second Community Meeting about the planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge crossing of I-40 for the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) will be at 7PM on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. This time the meeting will be held in the larger city council chambers on the first floor of Durham City Hall (101 City Hall Plaza) in downtown Durham.

This meeting, which will be hosted by the City of Durham Department of Public Works (and facilitated by Steven Grover and Associates) will focus on a selection of bridge concepts and designs for this long anticipated bicycle and pedestrian bridge.

This is your opportunity to get information -and more importantly - offer feedback, suggestions, thoughts, concerns, ideas, needs, goals, desires and other input to help make this bridge and connecting trail, the absolute best it can be.

We hope we’ll have another standing room only crowd at this meeting as it sends a clear signal to elected officials, NCDOT, the media and the public at large that there is significant demand for this project and for it to be completed as soon as possible.

Please share this information with everyone you know who is interested in the ATT and in improved pedestrian and bicycle access in the region.

Should you have any questions or input regarding this meeting, please contact Byron Brady, PD CPESC, Contract Engineer, City of Durham at 919 560-4326 x 296 or byron.brady AT durham.gov .

If you have any questions regarding this message, or want to chat about the trail or bridge, or don’t know who to ask or talk to about your ideas or concerns, please feel free to contact Bill Bussey Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 919 545-9104 americantobaccotrail AT embarqmail.com or me at 919 286 3827 daclever AT gmail.com

For more information on the American Tobacco Trail please see our website at www.triangletrails.org . I will send directions to city hall closer to the meeting date.

See you there!

Dan Clever
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
919 286-3827

Bill Bussey
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
919 545-9104
americantobaccotrail@embarqmail.com

www.triangletrails.org

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crosswalk

ATT ride on Durham Bull Pen

Durham Bull Pen, a new Durham blog, has up a photo essay of a January bike ride down the American Tobacco Trail. Take a look.

Will there be a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-40?

Construction dates for the American Tobacco Trail bridge over I-40 and the new pedestrian bridge over 147 are indexical: no matter when you ask, the answer is always “they should be completed in about 2 years.” As a member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission for the past 4 years, “When will the ATT bridge be built?” is the single question we are asked by the public most often.

A few local bloggers got together near the end of summer to create a questionnaire for the candidates in this round of municipal elections. A great idea, our list really gathered together some tough questions — the answers to which would have given the public some insight into what the candidates have in mind for some of the more pressing (and consistent) problems in Durham. Too bad not a single candidate responded with answers. My question (one of two that I asked) continued…

Can we get a straight (i.e., non-indexical) answer on when 1) the American Tobacco Trail/I-40 bridge and 2) the new pedestrian bridge over 147 will be built? What will you do to ensure that these two important projects are completed on the current schedule?

The election hopefuls may not have bothered to answer, but the City of Durham is hosting a community meeting to discuss the planned pedestrian crossing of I-40 for the American Tobacco Trail near Fayetteville Road.

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Durham City Hall, 2^nd Floor Committee Room

The contact for the meeting is Byron Brady, PE, CPESC, a Contract Engineer with the City
(919) 560-4326 ext. 296
byron.brady@durhamnc.gov

If you want to have any input on the kind of bridge that will connect the existing ATT with its future continuation at Southpoint, then you’ll want to be at this meeting.

No word, though, on the new pedestrian bridge over 147 which, last I heard, could have opened by now.

Thanks to Dan Clever for the heads up on this meeting.

ATT surface repair

This morning, I passed a crew from Durham’s Department of General Services patching cracks on the Tobacco Trail. If you’ve noticed the widening cracks along the trail, then you know what they’re patching. Before the cold weather gets here, they will be filling in the cracks with an expandable tar substance that prevents rain water (yeah, right… like it’s going to rain anytime soon) from seeping into the cracks where it might freeze, expand, and worsen the condition the trail.

So, a big thank you to General Services for their work on the trail.

ATT patch

what a difference a weekend makes

From the top of the hill

to the bottom

lamentable signage

Saturday was busy on the Tobacco Trail. Riding the length of the trail, I passed probably more than 75 people. It almost felt crowded at times. (And it looks like rollerblading is making a comeback.) While riding, friends and I noticed these two instances of confusing signage. Since photo-documentation has a track record of getting the most attention from the City, here goes…

At the northern terminus of the trail (Mile-Marker 0) is a sign stating the rules of the trail (foreground) and a kiosk (background) with some history about American Tobacco. While the hours of trail use were extended (from “dawn to dusk”) to 5Am to 10PM, and this change is clearly noted in the large letters below the original sign, the “dawn to dusk” language still appears in the original — which is the sign titled “Durham Open Space and Trails.”

The more significant problem is at the intersection of Cornwallis Rd and the American Tobacco Trail. Here, cars turning onto Cornwallis from Fayetteville St (map here) are presented with three signs in a row, each before the trail crossing. First, is a sign indicating there is a bike lane ahead, which there is. The bike lane begins just after you cross the Trail. The second sign sets the speed limit at 45 mph. And the third, merely feet from the Trail’s crossing, is North Carolina’s “bike crossing” sign.

Why not move the 45mph sign to the other side of the trail? Why not sequence the signs so that drivers are encouraged to drive 45mph only after they have passed the bike/ped path intersection?