Although many Durham residents do not rely on bikes for transportation, the League of American Bicyclists recently named the city a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community.
This year marked the first time Durham has received the distinction, with five other cities in North Carolina also given Bicycle Friendly designations. The league recognized the city with the honor Sept. 15.
“Durham was recognized for a lot of positive improvements over the past years,” said Meghan Cahill, director of communications for the league. “It has gone from zero to 21 miles in bike lanes over the past 10 years.”
Cahill added that the city has installed more bike racks and offered trails such as the American Tobacco Trail and the North-South Greenway Trail for cycling enthusiasts.
Durham is also compliant with the state’s Complete Streets policy, which requires that any road being resurfaced include bike lanes and accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists,
The league gave Durham a thorough review. The application, which the City of Durham filed, consisted of 90 in-depth questions relating to the league’s objectives, which include enforcement of cyclists’ rights and encouragement of cycling. Duke’s facilities were also included in the evaluation process.
Durham officials praised the league’s decision.
“This award is a distinctive recognition of Durham’s achievements to date in improving bicycle facilities and educating the public about how cars and bikes can safely share our streets,” said Alan Dippy, chair of the volunteer Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, in a news release. “At the same time, the Bronze level designation will serve as an important benchmark from which we can build on the momentum of these efforts and create a truly bike-friendly Durham.”
The award is also given in platinum, gold and silver levels, and there are currently only three U.S. cities that hold platinum awards.
Although the city received the Bronze distinction, some avid cyclists around town were not entirely convinced.
“[Durham] in general is a great place to bike with the trails and everything. The city is very congested, though,” said Tom Blainey, public relations director of the Durham Cycling Club. “I’ve biked in Europe, and we’re far behind them.”
Cyclists on Duke’s campus may have it better, said Christopher Martin, a senior and president of the Duke Cycling Club.
“Compared to the rest of Durham, Duke’s campus is maybe more bike-friendly. There’s less traffic here, and probably more racks and paths,” Martin said. “Still, Durham’s better than a lot of places.”
Martin, a Miami native, added that though Miami has proposed more initiatives in support of cycling, it has more obstacles encouraging cycling due to traffic issues.
“Since I’ve been here, I haven’t noticed huge changes in the biking facilities,” Martin said. “There have been a lot more events though, and their popularity has grown a lot.”
Cycling around Duke has become more popular, said Watts Mangum, manager of the Duke Bikes free loan program. Duke Bikes increased its fleet by 60 bikes this academic year, but Mangum said the program has still had to turn away about 100-150 students.
Transportation officials have kept biking facilities in mind when it comes to planning for the future.
In fact, as a part of the current Anderson Sreet resurfacing, crews are adding bicycle lanes to the street.
“We do have longer range plans for routes through campus,” said Sam Veraldi, director of Parking, Housing and Transportation.
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