Alston Ave. widening

I don't have much to add to what Gary, Kevin, and Aidil have already said about the Alston Ave. widening project. Just that the city has talked a great game over the past few years when it comes to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other, non-automobile transportation modes. But when the rubber meets the road, so to speak, it appears to be same old same old.

If you want to add your voice to the opposition to this project, and in support of the alternative being put forward by community activists and some city staff*, you can email the entire city council directly at council@ci.durham.nc.us

I'm told that Howard Clement and Farad Ali are likely to be swing votes on this project. Their contact information is here.

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And this is what we can do. Although people seized on the "shift the money" thing publicized a few weeks ago as a way to manipulate the process, the suggestion was: shift the state money to Fayetteville St., and let NCDOT do their unitary suburban highway design down by Martin Luther King. Then shift the city money that would have been spent on Fayetteville to Alston - so that the city can design a better road. Combined with streetscape funds from the Office of Economic Development, we could build a functional and beautiful street that would be the envy of other parts of Durham.