Request for Durham City Council and City Staff to Move Forward with Design and Construction of the I-40 Bridge & Final Phase of the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, North Carolina

  • Author:
    n/a
  • Send To:
    Durham City Manager, City Staff, Mayor and City Council
  • Sponsored By:
    Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
  • More Info at:
Are you the Author?
By signing this instrument, I agree and represent that I have read, understand and agree with all of the foregoing statements:

1. We have recently learned that planning for the construction of the next phase of the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) in Durham is stalled. There are continuing delays in starting the design process as well as assigning department responsibilities and management oversight responsibility in Durham municipal departments. Though the City of Durham has worked out a municipal agreement with NCDOT, the City has not yet signed an agreement with Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) to begin design of the bridge and remaining trail. We'd like to ask that you look into this because the ATT is long overdue for completion in Durham.

2. We ask that you get the ATT moving again by hiring the design firm, Parsons Brinkerhoff - which was selected as the design firm over three years ago - so they can start design, project scoping and route definition of Phase E of the American Tobacco Trail.

3. We ask that you assign and task design and overall project responsibility to the appropriate City department(s), and utilize existing staff or immediately hire new staff as needed to oversee this project.

4. The design process needs to begin immediately. The longer this takes, the longer the timelines for both bidding and construction of the project will be pushed out. With construction-related costs increasing at 12 to 20\% each year there will be less money for both the bridge and trail if there are further delays.

5. We understand that all of the City's Departments are currently focused on projects to be built with 2005 Bond Funds. We certainly agree that the projects within the 2005 Bond Package are sorely needed, but we are afraid that the completion of the ATT bridge and trail will fall to the wayside. It is important to note that significant federal, state and local funds were set aside for the ATT in Durham well before passage of the 2005 Bond Referendum. Durham needs to finish the ATT and other earlier planned and budgeted projects first!

6. We understand that the existing and expected completion of the American Tobacco Trail was one of the principal reasons Durham was recently selected as one of North Carolina's first Fit Communities.

7. We urge the City Manager, City Staff, Mayor and the Durham City Council to remain focused on completion of the ATT in Durham. We ask that a contract with Parsons Brinkerhoff be signed within two months and that public meetings on the design occur before end of this calendar year. In order to avoid mounting construction costs, we would like to see bidding of construction by the middle of 2007.

3044 Signatures

  • David Sokal
    • Comments
    • Please move forward quickly.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Parkwood, Durham, NC 27713
  • David T Connelly
    • Comments
    • I saw 94 people on my last visit to the ATT
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Durham NC
  • Frank Bennett
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Raleigh NC 27606
  • Curt
    • Comments
    • Regular user of section south of NC 54. Need the bridge.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Durham, NC 27713
  • Dawn S. Rogers
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 2706 Carver St. Durham, NC 27705
  • Merywen Wigley
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 1609 Edgevale Rd, Durham 27701
  • markus steiner
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27517
  • Curtis T. Pope
    • Comments
    • although a major investment, the true potential of the trail cannot be obtained without it, I'm sure you already know this, but you have a lot of support out in the public for this!
  • Susan Poulotn
    • Comments
    • Please finish this wonderful trail
  • Alton Cobb
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Apex, NC
  • Charles Krupinski
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 4720 Lazyriver Dr Durham, NC 27712
  • Janice Sitzes
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Cary 27513
  • Michael F. Singer
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27516
  • Brian Hayes
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 211 Dacian Ave, Durham NC 27701
  • Carol Thomson
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Durham 27705
  • Anne Pojman
  • roger bailey
  • Eric Weis
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Rhode Island
  • Matt Lavoie
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 8217 Morrell Ln, Durham
  • Spence M. Foscue
    • Comments
    • I urge you to act on the petition and finish this important link to the trail. Durham is a progressive, forward thinking city and, as such, deserves a finished trail. As a long time touring cyclist I have seen first hand how these trails affect a community and bring in visitors and tourists.
  • Dori Germolec
    • Comments
    • This is long overdue
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Chapel Hill address but Durham County resident
  • David Myers
  • Chris Hoina
  • John Colvard
  • Dale McKeel
    • Comments
    • My family and I ride on the ATT weekly. Please finish the missing link of the ATT in Durham as quickly as possible.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 3559 Hamstead Ct., Durham, NC 27707
  • Daniel W. Mott
    • Comments
    • It's the right thing to do NOW, not later.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 2925 Claremont, Raleigh, NC 27698
  • Paolo Mangiafico
    • Comments
    • The trail is a wonderful resource for Durham - let's complete it.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • Durham, 27705
  • Robert Foss
    • Comments
    • I have ridden many hundred miles on the existing ATT and it is fantastic! Neither Raleigh nor Chapel Hill has anything nearly so good. Please finish the bridge so more people can use it to better ends. With the bridge complete, many of us will be able to ride or walk to Southpoint. I have spent many days working with dozens of other volunteers to help improve the ATT south of Southpoint and would like to be able to ride the whole thing without fighting traffic on Fayetteville road to cross I-40.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 600 Audubon Lake Drive, Durham, NC
  • Bob Mason
  • Maria Bilinski Shain
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 3539 Hope Valley Rd., Durham, NC 27707
  • john lloyd
    • Comments
    • Trail user and voter.
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27713
  • Neal Pollock
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 3023 Tavistock Drive, Durham, NC 27712
  • Cyndy Falgout
    • Comments
    • we need to get this done for Durham!!!
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 3122 Manchester Drive, Durham, NC 27707
  • Kathryn Herzog
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27705
  • Sean Brain
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • В
  • Karla Henderson
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 4022 Livingstone Pl, Durham, NC 27707
  • Tammi Floccare
  • Mac Kendall
  • Seth Vidal
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27705
  • Gary Kueber
    • Comments
    • Enough political posturing about "gateways" - just build the bridge!
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27701
  • Fred Hain
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • В
  • Gordon Stuart Bagwell
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 500 North Duke Street #53-103, Durham
  • Johannes Rudolph
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27705
  • Lisa M. Logan
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 400 W. Main St. Durham NC
  • Robert A. Weeks
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 6416 Amed Road Bahama, NC 27503
  • Branson Kimball
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27713
  • Sonja M. Dake
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27713
  • Thomas Mould
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 1101 Woodbriar Street, Apex, NC, 27502
  • John (Jack) Bly
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 410 Sawmill Road Cedar Grove, NC 27231
  • Mary Anne Barckhoff
    • Comments
    • В
    • Address, ST, Zip (As much or as little as you wish) ;-)
    • 27713