Title
Request for a Resolution and a Signed Letter in Support of the City of Durham’s Application for a TIGER Grant for the Two-Way Conversion of the Downtown Durham Loop (10 minutes)
Terry Bellamy, Director of the Durham Department of Transportation
Narrative
For decades, the Downtown Loop and the system of other one-way downtown streets have been viewed as a success for funneling commuters through Downtown Durham, but as confusing, unsafe, and a detriment to Downtown revitalization by others. The Durham Downtown Loop is comprised of several street segments that form a one-way loop around the City’s central business district. While the Loop was designed and built to move traffic through Downtown, it does not support the current Downtown businesses and retailers in the City’s central business district. It also has few accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists or transit riders, and creates a barrier between Downtown and adjoining neighborhoods. The 2016 update to the Downtown Durham Master Plan and a 2015 Charrette Report both called for the two-way multi-modal conversion of the Downton Loop. A feasibility study for the two-way conversion of the Downtown Loop was conducted in 2012. The City of Durham is applying for a TIGER Grant from the US Department of Transportation to support the conversion of the Downtown Loop to allow two-way traffic to improve safety, mobility, and accessibility, and facilitate economic development in Downtown Durham.
Recommendation
Board Action: Request that the MPO Board pass a resolution in support of the City of Durham’s TIGER Grant Application, and that the Chair of the MPO Board sign a letter in support of the City of Durham’s application for a TIGER grant for the two-way conversion of the Downtown Durham Loop.