Bike Durham: Traffic Calming in Burch Avenue

COMMUNITY-LED TRAFFIC CALMING

Bike Durham's main objective for this project was to create an environment where passing motorists mindfully navigate the neighborhood alongside pedestrians, cyclists, and the visually/mobility impaired.

This work is thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Duke Office of Durham & Community Affairs.

stakeholders Our project included strategies installed on streets throughout the neighborhood affecting about 300 local households and some visitors, many of whom enjoy the local children's playground and frequently walk/bike around the neighborhood; a handful of small businesses/organizations on the periphery whose members often enter the neighborhood for parking; and Duke students who live in homes or apartments in the neighborhood, some of whom report to the local Arts Annex.

- 576 people living in the Census block group where this project work was done - 34.5% are non-white or of Hispanic / Latino origin - 56 people (9.8%) have incomes below the poverty line - 21% of households are car-free - 14.8% are age 17 or younger and 7.3% are age 65 or older - 10% of people are living with a disability

(2019 American Community Survey Data)

project timeline

1. Gather Preliminary Data:

Interview residents and businesses to gather local use cases

2. Establish Key Themes:

Examine and discuss local conditions via neighborhood walk audits

3. Prioritize Local Needs:

Achieve consensus on the most critical issues via meetings and workshops

4. Design Proposals:

Facilitate solutions development, negotiation with stakeholders, gain City approval

5. Implementation:

Coordinate labor, communications, and supply acquisitions among volunteers

6. Measure:

Monitor traffic behavior and resident perceptions of safety over the coming months

engagement process Bike Durham ensured that enough resources and time were allocated towards informing all local households/businesses of our mission, channels for communication, and providing convenient locations and flexible times for in-person meetings and neighborhood walk audits.

key findings

1

Passing motorists fail to yield at crosswalks and often speed down straightaways.

The City agreed to repaint/add crosswalks in select locations and allowed dozens of yard signs with Vision Zero templates to be positioned in the public right-of-way.

To eliminate conditions for speeding, neighborhood chiances (see middle) were suggested as a means to guide oncoming vehicles into and later out of an artifical turn. Code requirements for installing such measures were deemed not suitable by residents.

3 ft

7 ft

Edge lines delineate the driving lane from on-street parking. Case studies have shown that these markings encourage slower speeds by visually narrowing the roadway.

2

Passing motorists fail to obey various traffic signs; in some cases, these signs were not legible.

The City agreed to trim excess vegetation blocking visibility, relocate select signs, and add more signs.

Burch + Gattis (30ft away)

Burch + Gattis

Burch + Brewster (30ft away)

Burch + Swan (5ft away)

Burch + Gattis (10ft away)

Burch + Gattis (10ft away)

Burch + Maplewood (30ft away)

Burch @ park (20ft away)

3

Residents and visitors park too close to intersections which intereferes with turn visibility.

Curb extensions (see left) were installed to indicate where on-street parking is prohibited.

In addition to signs/markings, traffic armadillos (see below) deter motorists from cutting over the painted zones, requiring a slower and more careful navigation of intersections.

Sparsely-networked sidewalks force visually/mobiltiy impaired users to walk the shoulder.

As a short-term solution, a semi-protected walk/bike path on Brewster St was requested.

Redesignating a 400-foot section of on-street parking was later denied by the City upon a petition review. With a majority of on-street parking unutilized, a final request (see right) was made to offer some semblance of a marked off zone for those walking the shoulder.

4

Turn signals, giving cyclists sufficient road space, and yielding at crosswalks were promoted as well.

traffic calming implementations Managing a flexible timeline allowed us to propose alternative solutions when some were denied by the City; for example, handing out +100 high-visibility slap bracelets to residents so they can safely navigate low-light conditions this winter.

Playground-adjacent crosswalk dividers temporarily narrows both lanes to 9.5ft, and roughly 2500 yards of edge lines (see right) were approved by the City.

Freshly painted crosswalks and stop bars.

22 traffic armadillos and 16 curb extensions were installed to promote greater visibility and safer speeds at intersections