Durham Freeway study aims to create a vision 'with the community, not for them'

When the Durham Freeway sprung up in the 1970s, some communities such as the Hayti community took a hit when the construction impacted longtime businesses, homes and places of worship.

"My father's business was on Pettigrew Street, which was a thriving business district," Anita Scott Neville said. "It dissolved a good part of the Hayti community. It dissolved all of the Pettigrew Street Business District, and it disbanded homes and families, just dispersed them from a neighborhood that was full of pride, full of positive impact on others."

Now, community advocates are working to reconnect communities in central Durham, starting with an 18-month-long study that includes community feedback to help shape the vision for the future of the Durham Freeway.

It dissolved a good part of the Hayti community.

Aidil Ortiz, who's the community engagement specialist, said from March to June, they went out to the entire community across the 4.1-mile stretch of the Freeway to hear from people about what they think should be done to address the impacts of the Freeway and how it is reimagined.

"Some things that we heard from them were about needing more history and belonging for people to understand that history and to understand how we might think about the folks who were there before the Freeway came," Ortiz said. "We also think about mobility issues and how hard it is to get to and from places. We also heard about safety issues."

The City of Durham Transportation Department is leading the study and hopes to complete it in 2025.

We want to create a vision with the community, not for the community.

According to Ortiz, it's too early to tell how and if the area will transform but she's taking it one community approach at a time, hoping the vision for the future of the Durham freeway is a collaborative one.

"We have a lot of questions this day and age about how to balance all of the needs and desires of people here," Ortiz said.

Ortiz said the next steps include going back out into the communities at the end of October for more feedback and holding public meetings and pop-up events in November.

"One thing we hope the Freeway study will do is increase trust between the community and the various departments that are attached to this project," Ortiz said. "We want to create a vision with the community, not for the community."