MAY 11, 2009 / By ADMIN

Bridge the Railroad

The revitalization of downtown Durham is proceeding well and many important steps have already been taken. One of the most important parts of this process is improving the automobile and pedestrian circulation through the city. Returning Chapel Hill Street and Main Street to two way traffic, fixing the intersection at Five Points, and aligning Foster and Corcoran Streets were long overdue and have greatly improved traffic flow. And we all know that fixing the loop is critical.

Another major challenge will be to create better north-south connection across the railroad tracks that currently segregate the city. Fixing Ramseur Street as the southern half of the loop will help, but only so much. What really needs to happen is to add more ways for people to cross the railroad tracks. There are strong limitations on the ability to do this. Currently the only way to cross the railroad tracks from the within the loop is to use Chapel Hill, Corcoran, Mangum, or Roxboro. None of these Streets are particularly friendly for pedestrians. While each of these intersections can be improved, especially Chapel Hill Street, there is still a long distance between the Chapel Hill Street crossing and the Corcoran Street crossing.

The vibrant and growing Five Points area is located due north of the American Tobacco Historic District, and it is no farther away from American Tobacco (as the crow flies) than it is from Major the Bull at the CCB Plaza. Yet these two neighborhoods feel completely isolated from one another, and all the nice folks at American Tobacco who want to come to Toast for lunch have to either walk the long way via Corcoran or risk a treacherous hike across Pettigrew, up the step bank, across the tracks and Ramseur. Lots of people risk the mid-block route. People usually walk the most direct route whether a path exists for them or not. Why not give them a path where they already choose to walk?

There is a subtle and elegant formal relationship between Five Points and American Tobacco. The southern facade of the South Bank building is on axis with the smoke stack at American Tobacco. If you stand on the South Bank front steps and look south across Five Points, you look straight down the public sidewalk beside Kimbrell’s Furniture which leads to the public parking lot off Ramseur Street. And that view beautifully frames the the Lucky Strike smoke stack.

This is a golden opportunity to connect these two vital neighborhoods. The sidewalk beside Kimbrell’s could include a ramp that leads up to a pedestrian bridge spanning over the parking lot, Ramseur Street, the railroad tracks, and Petigrew Street. On the south side of Petigrew the bridge would connect to the corner of the new parking garage as well as ramping back down to grade as it spills into the courtyard at the headwaters of the American Tobacco river.

This would do a lot of good things for the connectivity of downtown. It would add a vital link across the tracks in the middle of it’s widest block. It would take a lot of pedestrian traffic off of Corcoran street so that fewer people are crossing the tracks at grade. It would activate the massive parking deck at American Tobacco for use by people living, working, and dining inside the downtown loop. It would help stitch together the interior of the American Tobacco fortress with the fabric of the rest of downtown. This will only become more important as more areas south of the tracks are developed, especially the very large University Ford site.

And the pedestrian bridge itself could become a landmark figure in downtown, a functional piece of public sculpture that helps to energize the city. Pedestrians, as well as cyclists and skateboarders, would enjoy spectacular views walking across it. And it would form a dramatic gateway to downtown for those in cars and trains passing underneath it.

All great cities have great bridges, so should Durham.