BPAC | Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission of Durham, NC

Redefine Travel

Ever wonder how much money you could save by taking the bus, carpooling, walking or biking to school? Need more information on how to find a route or get the right bus schedule? Redefine the way you travel –visit http://www.redefinetravel.org for transportation information specifically geared to Triangle area university students. Find a biking route to school or a bus schedule that will get you to the mall. Wherever you need to go, Redefine Travel can help you get there.

Duke University

Facilities
Duke University, with a student body of over 12,000, is the largest employer in Durham County - staffing nearly 30,000 people across its two campuses and various medical facilities. Duke also has a strong and growing cycling community, and many opportunities for biking and walking to, from and around campus.

Campus Drive, the main avenue connecting Duke’s east and west campus, is equipped with bicycle lanes. Also, Duke University Rd, Academy Dr, and Chapel Dr all have designated bike lanes for cycling. There are also bike racks in close proximity to almost all campus buildings and residence halls . Free bicycle registration is available for students and staff through the Transportation and Parking Services Department.

In addition to cycling opportunities, Duke is quite transit-accessible. The campus is served by the regional TTA and local DATA bus services, as well as its own campus-area transit system for Duke students, faculty, and staff, which is equipped with frontloading racks for carrying bicycles. For more information about campus transit schedules and bus stop locations, visit www.parking.duke.edu. For information on other area transit opportunities, visit our transit resource page.

Walking is also encouraged as a form of transportation on campus. Pedestrians have the right of way throughout the Duke campus, and motorists may receive a citation for not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Advocacy

The Office of Environmental Sustainability encourages cycling as a form of transportation to and around campus. They have sponsored recent events such as a May Bike to Work Week and a variety of bike repair workshops for students and staff.

The Duke Bike Advocates is a group of students, faculty, and staff who are working to promote a more bicycle-friendly campus. These advocates meet regularly to work on advancing transportation policy at Duke and throughout Durham. They accept donations of bikes to fix up and distribute to Duke community members who need them, and they offer a "commuter buddy" program to help members of the Duke community get started bike commuting. They also regularly plan events such as rallies and bike fix-up days, often jointly sponsored with other Duke groups. Communication is through two e-mail lists, one for "organizers" who want to be heavily involved in planning, and the second for folks who want to be notified of events and opportunities for participation. See the website for additional info on how to get involved or how to subscribe to these lists.

The Duke Cycling team, sponsored by Duke University, offers students and staff an opportunity to participate in competitive and/or social riding. New members are welcome to both groups; please see their respective websites for additional information on how to get involved.

North Carolina Central University is Durham's second largest college campus. Located between Fayetteville Street and Alston Avenue just south of Durham’s downtown, NCCU is a very bike and pedestrian friendly campus.

NCCU is accessible by the Rocky Creek/Pearsontown trail, a spur of the American Tobacco Trail which connects NCCU with Durham's longest Greenway. NCCU is also accessible from the American Tobacco Trail by taking Otis to Formosa. This places bicyclists at an advantage when accessing the NCCU campus from downtown and/or southern Durham. This also allows students to cycle to RTP for internships, research, and/or jobs.

In addition to cycling opportunities, NCCU is a walkable campus with access to stores, restaurants, and housing along the historic Fayetteville St. To plan a walking route of campus, visit the NCCU campus map for an overview of building and street locations.

For additional information on NCCU transportation services, visit the Campus Police website.

Durham Technical College is the third largest higher education institute in Durham City/County. Durham Tech is a two year community college, located on Lawson Street - due east of the NCCU campus. Durham Tech is easily accessible by bus, as it is served by the regional TTA and local DATA transit agencies. In fact, Durham Tech will benefit greatly from the planned rail station at Alston Avenue, which will be located across NC147 from campus and accessible by a bike and pedestrian bridge over the freeway.

In addition to transit access, biking to Durham Tech's campus is convenient via the same Rocky Creek/Pearsontown Trail that provides access to NCCU. Cyclists can access the residential Lawson Street from the trail end at NCCU’s campus, and take Lawson Street east all the way to Durham Tech. To plan a biking or walking route through campus, visit the campus map for a bird's eye view of all buildings and streets.

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