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Students offer their visions of Ninth Street (Herald-Sun, 23 March 2003) One street, 14 visions. Old West Durham residents came to Blacknall Church´s fellowship hall Friday to take a look at what a group of N.C. State University students created for a Ninth Street of the future, and many reacted in a why-hasn´t-anyone-thought-of-that manner. The 14 NCSU College of Design students developed ideas for Ninth Street and the upcoming Triangle Transit Authority lightrail station planned for the area as part of a landscape and architecture studio class, and their visions struck a chord with residents. Nearly all concepts focused on offering more options to people who want to walk or bike through the area. Many also designed parks and civic and open spaces integrating the TTA station with the existing community. "These guys are thinking outside the box," said John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "It´s special to see it … we are not talking much money here." Changes are on the way because of the TTA station and the ongoing revitalization of Duke University´s East Campus and nearby properties, so it is cheaper to incorporate the students´ ideas as projects start, Schelp said. "We will take the exciting plans and we will put them up on our web site and share them with the community," Schelp said. The NCSU College of Design students met with City/County Planning Department employees and the neighborhood association, in addition to walking through the area to talk to residents and business owners to get a better sense of it, said professor Kofi Boone, who contacted residents and city officials at the beginning of the semester. The project gave them a chance to think about real problems instead of abstract ones, Boone said. On Friday, they explained their ideas to the public and defended the thoughts behind their projects, which was a valuable exercise for them, he said. Many students felt the Ninth Street area was already pedestrian-friendly, but was somewhat isolated. The projects "connected the dots," Boone said, linking the area to neighbors such as Duke University East Campus and Brightleaf Square. In the vision of student Himnae Yoo, a vacant lot near the George´s Garage restaurant would be transformed into a park, which would have a pond. A ramp -— so people could not only walk but bike to the TTA station — would connect the light-rail station to the Ninth Street area. Students did research and looked at old maps to understand the area better, she said. "It is close to the downtown area, so it can lose its character if we ignore the history of the area," Yoo said. Student Sarah Laster focused on the area next to Green Street, where the South Ellerbe Creek natural area is on city books as a future park. The park would work as a transition between the residential portion of the Old West Durham neighborhood and the business area toward Main Street, she said. Her plans included an amphitheater, a plaza and a boardwalk so people could experience the wetlands without disturbing them. To have something concrete to work on is always better than abstract, Laster said. She came to Ninth Street armed with a digital camera at least five times to develop her project. "It would be an incredible jewel for Durham to have some of these [improvements]," said resident Mark Dessauer. "Hopefully, it won´t be something only for the walls." Simple ideas like having parking decks instead of "a sea of concrete" as a parking lot, or turning the "desolate" alleys into vibrant parts of businesses as some students envisioned are both easy on pocketbooks and attainable, he said. "Everybody´s intention is to make it more pedestrian-friendly," said developer Glenn Dickson with Ninth Street North, a retail and office development north of Markham Avenue. "You can tell they´ve done a lot of information-gathering to get to where they are." Some of the ideas, such as the amphitheater, are complex, but others, like placing benches and artwork along the sidewalks and preserving open areas, could easily be accommodated in development, he said. courtesy of the Durham Herald-Sun, Co |