Durham Open Space and Trails Commission (DOST)

DOST Features

Each month or so DOST will feature an open space area or trail that the commission is working on.  We hope that you will enjoy these articles, and that you will also experience and enjoy the areas we are highlighting.  We hope too that you will get involved in your community by making others aware of these areas and by volunteering to help keep these areas clean and safe. 

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October 2010:  The R. Kelly Bryant Jr. Bridge Dedication

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On Thursday, September 17th the long awaited R. Kelly Bryant Jr. Bike and Pedestrian Bridge over Highway 147 was formally dedicated.  Mayor William Bell headlined the program and City Councelman Mike Woodard read the resolution passed by the Durham City Counsel naming the bridge in honor of long-time DOST member, civil rights leader, Scoutmaster and church leader R. Kelly Bryant Jr.  DOST members helped with the ceremony and DOST Education Committee Chair Chuck Eilber took the following photographs. 

       
Kelly urging those in attendance to adopt the                 The bridge was in use even as the ceremony
bridge and take care of it.                                                progressed.

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September 2010:  The Burton Park Trail and the R. Kelly Bryant Jr. Bridge

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When the Durham Freeway was built in the early 1970s, a large swath was cut through one neighborhood in downtown Durham.  Churches, schools and stores were separated from the rest of the neighborhood.  A pedestrian bridge was built over the freeway, but it was poorly maintained and eventually fell into disrepair.  In 1995 the bridge was closed. 

In 2003 a new bridge to replace the old, closed bridge was proposed.  The bridge project is detailed at the Durham Public Works Department's website.

In early 2009 construction began on the new bridge.  Unlike the first bridge, which was an eyesore, this attractive bridge is well designed and well lighted.  Construction was completed in the summer of 2010 and the dedication of the bridge was held on September 16th, 2010.  The Durham City Council has dedicated this new bridge to R. Kelly Bryant, Jr., a longtime resident of the Durham neighborhood most affected by the Freeway construction and the original bridge closing.  Kelly has served on the DOST Commission for many years and is currently the chair of the Trails Committee.  Kelly also served for many years as a Boy Scout leader and civil rights advocate in Durham.  Kelly received the Bartlett Durham Preservation Award in 2006 and was featured on the WUNC State of Things in the spring of 2009.

While this pedestrian and bicycle bridge is a vital link for the immediate community on both sides of the bridge, it is also a part of the broader network of trails in Durham.  The DOST Trails Master Plan has several trails that connect to this bridge.  On the north is the newly named Bryant Bridge Trail, running from Alston Avenue to the bridge and providing a connection to the Burton Park Trail.  The Burton Park Trail runs from Bacon Street through Burton Park and will connect to the Rocky Creek Trail, which in turn connects to the American Tobacco Trail.  See the map below for the planned and existing trails.

In the spring of 2010, members of the DOST Trails Committee and residents of the McDougald Terrace neighborhood held a trail cleanup day.  We made a good start at cleaning up and clearing the old Burton Park Trail. 


During the summer of 2010 the DOST Trails Committee built several small bridges to span gullies in the part of the Burton Park Trail that runs from the end of Matheson Street over to Bacon Street.  This trail has long been used by children to access Burton Elementary School.  With the Bryant Bridge opening, it will become a more active link to the bridge and to the north side of the Durham Freeway.

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