DURHAM, N.C. – Anyone with an opinion on how to improve the long-standing issue of poor pedestrian connectivity along downtown’s Blackwell-Corcoran-Foster Street corridor should mark their calendar now to attend the first-ever “Urban Design Studio” focusing on this issue.
The public meeting is set for Tuesday, July 17, 2012, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Historic Parrish Street Forum, 108 W. Parrish St.
Hosted by the Durham City-County Planning Department, this issue will be covered as part of a new ongoing series intended to be pro-bono design charrettes or visioning workshops the department will develop and run for a variety of projects, such as the Blackwell-Corcoran-Foster Street corridor issue.
“We are very excited to offer Urban Design Studios as a part of our community engagement efforts. There are always important urban design issues that benefit from a public dialogue and vision, but are not specifically on the Planning Department’s work program,” said Durham City-County Planning Department Director Steve Medlin. “This series will allow our Urban Design Center staff to work collaboratively with community stakeholders on projects which have the potential to dramatically shape our environment, but would otherwise not receive our attention.”
The goal for this first studio project is to develop potential ways to address the long-standing issue of poor pedestrian connectivity in this area of downtown. The event will include a variety of visioning and brainstorming exercises to engage stakeholders in identifying obstacles and devising solutions. The results of the studio will then be used by a group of City departments to prioritize future pedestrian improvements in this corridor.
All interested parties are welcome to attend. Any person with a disability may receive an auxiliary aid or service to effectively participate in this event by contacting the City’s ADA Coordinator at (919) 560-4197 or by email to ADA@DurhamNC.gov, as soon as possible, but no later than 48 hours before the event.
For information on the Urban Design Series, visit http://bit.ly/O14Fcj or contact Urban Design Center Supervisor Sara Young, AICP, with the Durham City-County Planning Department, at (919) 560-4137, ext. 28256 or by email at Sara.Young@DurhamNC.gov.
About the Durham City-County Planning Department
The Durham City-County Planning Department is the planning agency for the City and County of Durham. The department works with the community to develop long-range and special area plans containing policies to direct growth. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, the department helps to make Durham a great place to live, work and play by working to create a strong and diverse economy, and thriving and livable neighborhoods. For more information, visit http://durhamnc.gov/ich/cb/ccpd/Pages/Home.aspx.