Durham considers funding more bike lane protection

Following the biking death of its budget director, the Durham City Council is considering funding vertical protection to separate bike lanes from cars on the road.
Posted 4/7/2023, 11:25:45 PM Updated 4/8/2023, 1:00:12 PM

ORANGE COUNTY AS WRAL'S

DESTINY. PATTERSON REPORTS

CYCLISTS SAY THIS IS JUST THE

BEGINNING.

>> THIS IS ONE OF THE LOCATIONS

WHERE REFLECTIVE PLASTIC

BOLLARDS WOULD GO UP IF CITY

COUNCIL APPROVES THE FUNDING TO

GET THE PROJECT STARTED HERE

IN DURHAM, THE COST IS

ESTIMATED AT MORE THAN

$198,000. A LARGE PORTION OF

THAT MONEY WOULD COME FROM A

FEDERAL GRANT. I'M GLAD IT'S

COMING TO FRUITION. THE

PROPOSAL COMES JUST ONE WEEK

AFTER CITY BUDGET DIRECTOR IN

RENAISSANCE MAN, JOHN, THE WAR

WAS KILLED WHILE RIDING HIS

BIKE IN ORANGE COUNTY. IT'S

HARD TO BELIEVE THAT JOHN IS

GONE AND A LITTLE MORE THAN A

MONTH AFTER CYCLISTS KNOW AGO

YET WAS THROWN FROM HIS BIKE

IN DURHAM DUE TO PEOPLE

ILLEGALLY PARKING IN THE BIKE

LANE. A PROBLEM. HE SAYS HE'S

REPORTED TO THE CITY'S DURHAM.

ONE CALL SERVICE SYSTEM, AT

LEAST 20 TIMES OVER THE LAST

6 MINES. THE FACT THAT IT EVEN

HAPPENED, IT BLOWS MY MIND.

THE NORTH CAROLINA

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

RECOMMENDS PHYSICAL SEPARATION

FROM VEHICLE LANES ON STREETS

AVERAGING MORE THAN 6,000

VEHICLES PER DAY OR AVERAGE

VEHICLE SPEEDS AT OR ABOVE.

35 MILES PER HOUR. THESE FLEX

POSTS PROTECTING AND BIKE LANES

IS REALLY.

>> A TEMPORARY SOLUTION.

ORGANIZATIONS LIKE BY DURHAM

HAVE OPENLY DISCUSSED THE NEED

FOR MORE BIKER AND PEDESTRIAN

SAFETY IN THE CITY.

SPECIFICALLY BY IMPLEMENTING

A RE COMMITMENT TO THE VISION

0 PROGRAM, WHICH AIMS TO

ELIMINATE TRAFFIC FATALITIES

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