Alston Ave. widening project pulled from Council agenda

City Manager Patrick Baker commented over at Kevin's place the other day that the proposal to accept the NCDOT's plan (and funding) for widening three or four blocks of Alston Ave. north if I-85 was not going to be on the agenda for this Thursday's work session, and the published agenda bears that out.

That's pretty good news. Word last week was that Mayor Bill Bell thought he had the necessary four votes to get the project approved. He may still have them, but racially divided 4-3 votes in Council, especially for a project that is generating opposition within the community most directly affected, are not a good thing for Durham. Once again, you can email the entire City Council at council@ci.durham.nc.us and tell them you support the city's Transportation Department and Office of Economic Development in wanting something better for this part of town. Councilmembers Farad Ali and Howard Clement are said to be open to persuasion on this issue. Their contact information is here.