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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?

 

A white and black fluffy-haired cat sits on the bike path most mornings, just south of the Apex Street bridge.

It doesn’t panic when I approach, like the mourning doves, rabbits, and squirrels do. It doesn’t dart in front of me in a poorly conceived plan to avoid my bike.

It just sits and lazily turns its head as I roll by. It makes no noise, no sudden movements, and watches the wheels spin in only a half-interested way.

It sits half on the paved path and half on the gravel screening to the side. Its head, the only thing that moves on an otherwise still body.

 

Grassroots politics works. See below…

Hi American Tobacco Trail supporters,

As some of you may know Dan Clever and I presented the petition Requesting Durham City Council and City Staff Move Forward with the Design and Construction of the I-40 Bridge and Final Phase of the ATT in Durham, to the Durham City Council at the City Council workday on October 5.

Dan did a great job in the presentation. Thanks to everyone’s support there were over 2700 names and comments on the petition. And Council members have them all!

Councilman Eugene Brown said “It is time to move beyond rhetoric and get to work!” Immediately after the presentation, Durham City Manager Patrick Baker offered to meet with us on October 12.

Yesterday, October 12, Dan Clever and I met with Durham Assistant City Manager Theodore Voorhees and Public Works Director Kathryn Kalb at the City Manager’s office. In the update, they said that Durham was awaiting funding amount approval from the North Carolina Board of Transportation. Once that amount is finalized and formalized, Durham will submit a revised Municipal Agreement and a professional design services contract to NCDOT for their approval. Durham anticipates that these two items may be in place before the end of the calendar year.

Cross your fingers!

After the NCDOT approves the Municipal Agreement, Durham can hire the design contractor, which at this point will be Parsons Brinkerhoff. Durham is currently negotiating with PB now under the presumption that the funds will be approved by NCDOT.

This is progress that would not have been possible without all of your support. According to the memo from Engineering Manager Lee Murphy, (below) the ATT project was transferred from General Services and Parks and Recreation to the Public Works Department in July 2006 AFTER our June 9, 2006 letter to the City Manager and others were mailed and after the petition was started.

Our meeting yesterday with Mr. Voorhees and Ms. Kalb and arranged by Mr. Baker, was not offered or set up until AFTER the petition with over 2700 names was delivered last week.

I think you will agree with Dan and me that the letter and petition have had a major effect and are largely responsible for getting the city to quit stalling and move on the ATT. Thank You!

We plan on leaving the petition up for awhile so folks can still sign and make comments on it. It will be valuable to decision makers in the coming weeks and months ahead. We’ll keep reminding staff and elected officials of it!

If you haven’t been there yet, please visit it at http://www.petitiononline.com/att2/ or at www.triangletrails.org

In any event, thank you for all of your support for the ATT on this petition and over the years. Thanks to you, the American Tobacco Trail is well on the way to being the Treasure of the Triangle.

Please let us if you have any questions and how we can be of service.

Please feel free to post this to interested lists and groups.

Happy Trails,

Bill Bussey
President
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
www.triangletrails.org
919 545-9104

 

There’s a giant tree down on the Tobacco Trail, just south of Otis St. It probably blew down last night during that fierce wind.

It completely blocks the path, so you’ll have to go around using neighborhood streets. Here’s how I got around it. DETOUR

Hopefully it won’t take long to clean it off the trail.

 

If you haven’t done so yet, please add your name to the petition to finish the American Tobacco Trail. Bill Bussey of the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy says that his organization is making one last push to get more than 2,000 signatures before taking the petition to Durham’s City Council on October 5th.

(Bill Russ, photographer for the NC Division of Tourism, took this photo on the ATT)

So… sign the petition. What are you waiting for?