The people of Durham on Nov. 5 are going to vote on a 0 million bond referendum to improve streets, sidewalks and parks across Durham. The referendum is split into two separate votes, one being 5 million for streets and sidewalks and the other million for parks and recreation. These changes will be focused on the east side of Durham according to the city.

The streets and sidewalks bond will focus on “high priority projects that have already been identified,” said At-Large City Council Person Carl Rist. 

 

“We hear annually on our resident survey from residents. They love living in Durham. They love the city of Durham. The one thing they want to see improved and done more quickly is repairing streets and sidewalks,” Rist said.

 

The referendum will add 12.4 miles of new sidewalks, repave 100 miles of streets, add bike lanes to certain roads and pave 13 miles of currently unpaved streets. These are all parts of the city that are currently marked as high priority, and the city is ready to break quickly if the bond is passed. The bond does not include additional crosswalk or other infrastructure to help pedestrians cross the street more safely.

 

According to Rist, The parks and recreation bond will focus on building a “major aquatic center” for $43 million at a new park called Merrick-Moore Park and renovating pools and other infrastructure at East End and Long Meadow Parks with the remaining $42 million. 

 

“Both a significant investment in parks but also significant investment in parks that have been in communities that have been underserved by Parkland in the past,” Rist said. “So there’s definitely an equity component as well as an important component to promote recreation and healthy living.”

 

The bond does not provide money to help restore the safety of multiple parks across Durham that have been found to have toxic amounts of lead in the soil. However, because the bond provides money for renovation of other parks, there will be more money available to put towards the affected parks, along with $5 million dollars set aside by the city for initial planning and remedial efforts to clean up the parks, Rist said.

 

The streets and sidewalks project could start as early as Spring 2025, and the city hopes it can be completed in around two years. According to Rist, the parks and recreation work will take longer because they are not deemed high priority items, but the city hopes it will be completed by 2029.

 

The bond will be paid for by a 3.46 cent property tax increase for each $100 of property value. This means for a property worth $300, the annual tax increase would be around $104 extra dollars per year according to the city of Durham. There are already tax relief programs in place for those in the bottom 20% of median income in Durham. The goal of these programs is to make sure those who are not as well off are less affected than those who can afford to pay the tax increase, Rist said.

 

“We also are aware that we don’t want to unfairly burden families of lower incomes, and so this low income homeowner relief program provides that relief to make sure taxes are fairly allocated across income levels.”

 

Rist said the people of Durham seem receptive to the idea of the bond and hopes both bonds will be passed in November.

 

“So I’m hopeful, but, I’m not resting on my laurels,” Rist said. “We want to make sure that we communicate well to make sure folks understand what this can mean for the future of Durham.”

 

Edited by Isha Pattanaik