Happenings in the Heart of the Bull City
April 2021
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- News
- Event Highlights
- Welcome & Goodbye
- Biz Tools: Traffic Report
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- Ambassador Stories
- Clean & Safe Stats
- Meetings, Trainings & Forums
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
8:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Tickets: $35
This year's summit will feature an update from Downtown Durham, Inc. President/CEO Nicole Thompson, an exploration of the post-pandemic landscape with industry representatives, panel discussions on downtown Durham's key economic drivers and major developments, and a keynote presentation by Bruce Katz, co-founder of New Localism Advisors.
Purchase tickets and get more information at
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The Streetery has Returned!
Saturday, April 10 saw the first in a new series of roving Streeteries, this time at Durham Central Park. Families, businesses and performers made it a safe and successful event for everyone!
The Streetery will continue rotating through various downtown locations on the 2nd and 4th Saturday each month through October.
Currently scheduled:
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Saturday, April 24
12 - 9 p.m.
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Saturday, May 8
12 - 9 p.m.
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Rigsbee Ave. between Corporation and Geer |
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Visit The Streetery webpage for announcements of future dates and locations, a list of merchants located in The Streetery footprint, downloadable maps and info about performers.
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The Future of Outdoor Dining Downtown
In response to the pandemic, the city and state relaxed restrictions in order to allow outdoor dining. A number of restaurant owners have indicated that they would like to see this become a permanent feature in downtown Durham. DDI is working to understand what the future of expanded outdoor dining might be in a post-pandemic setting. While it began as a way to encourage locals and visitors to support these vital businesses in a safe manner, we understand that continuing this program after COVID becomes less about necessity and more about ambience and environment. This is certainly something to consider, and we are exploring, with our city partners, how such a program could be structured.
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Make Your Voice Heard: Review the FY22 Durham County Transit Work Program
Representatives from Durham County, GoTriangle and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization have drafted their annual work program for transit service and infrastructure improvements, and they're looking for public input. The draft FY22 Durham County Transit Work Program is now available for a 21-day public review and comment period through April 30. If you have additional questions, call 919-485-7433 or email publicengagement@gotriangle.org.
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Parking Rate Increase Delayed
Park Durham has announced that the planned increase in parking rates will be delayed until January of 2022 in an effort to minimize obstacles for residents and visitors who want to patronize local businesses but still face mid-pandemic financial challenges.
Park Durham will also continue to offer the Downtown Durham Employee Parking Permit, a lower-cost option for evening employees who use the downtown garages.
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COVID-19 Resources and Information
• Up-to-Date Information on Durham County COVID-19 Cases
The Durham County Coronavirus Data Hub is a great one stop shop that provides up-to-date counts of coronavirus cases in Durham County. This easy to use dashboard includes total confirmed cases by day, demographic information and weekly data analyses that indicate whether the rate of infection in the county is going up or down.
You can also watch weekly updates from the Department of Public Health Director
Rodney Jenkins on the department's YouTube channel.
• Resources and Merchant Status Updates
We continue to update the aggregated resources and information for businesses and residents on our site, as well as the lists of downtown restaurants and retailers that are open and offering outdoor seating, curbside or delivery service, online shopping or gift cards. In addition, our President and CEO sends regular emails to businesses and organizations to help them stay abreast of government policies, important webinars and grant and loan opportunities.
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To check out the great things happening downtown, visit the
The Event Calendar is the place for downtown retailers, restaurants and residents
to promote events. Submit your upcoming events today.
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EMERGENCE AT 5 POINTS GALLERY • APRIL 2 - MAY 2
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This exhibition will take you on a journey revealing distinctive new works designed to stimulate your imagination. Features works by ten Triangle-based artists, assembled to include a range of mediums such as painting, sculpture, weaving, fused glass and mixed media.
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FROM TOBACCO MARKET TO INNOVATION HUB: DURHAM'S CENTRAL PARK NEIGHBORHOOD •
APRIL 16 - 17
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The Museum of Durham History invites you to the opening of its newest exhibit, exploring the change of the Central Park neighborhood’s landscape from rural farmland to reclaimed community space. The stories of long-time family business owners, newcomers and community leaders will highlight how these changes affected the tight-knit neighborhood throughout the 20th century and how they worked together to control how spaces have been revitalized and beneficial to residents.
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CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY WALKING TOUR • APRIL 18 |
Presented by Preservation Durham, this tour focuses on many of the sites in downtown Durham that were important during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights movement, including the Durham County Courthouse, the Arts Center (originally Durham High School and later City Hall), the Kress and Woolworth buildings, sites of sit-in protests and the "Confronting Change" exhibit at the Carolina Theatre.
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DURHAM FROM THE HEART • WEDNESDAYS
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Bar/Lounge
539 Foster St.
Contact: Katy Creech
Restaurant/Japanese & Italian
530 Foster St.
Contact: Harry Monds
Art Gallery
305 South Dillard St.
Contact: Danielle James
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Apparel/Retail
Moved out of downtown
Contact: Jamie Wolcott
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The Traffic Report lists events and happenings that may affect foot traffic and/or parking. It includes road closures and major events happening downtown.
Subscribe to the calendar or view the report online for the most up-to-date information.
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Spring has Sprung! Ambassador Team Update: April 2021 |
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Erik Nystrom, Clean and Safe Operations Manager |
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And just like that, spring is here! Of course, now that it’s finally warm enough to open the windows, the pine pollen asserts itself and gives everything a nice yellow paint job. As it invariably coats all for a couple of weeks in April, your Ambassador Team will do its best to keep the tables, chairs and benches in the plazas as clean as possible. Luckily, this is only a temporary challenge and is an indicator that summer should be here in a couple of weeks. At least the yellow pollen helps to hide some of my grey hairs after being outside for a few hours!
With the onset of warm weather, longer days, more people fully vaccinated and significantly higher pedestrian levels and traffic, we are noticing a marked increase in trash volume. This has been particularly noticeable at CCB Plaza, Five Points and the entire Durham Central Park area. The team and I want to thank all of you for utilizing our streetscape trashcans in these areas, as litter has truly been minimal. We are increasing the frequency these cans are changed and maintained in these areas because the increased trash volume demands it. With your continued help making sure all your trash makes it into the cans, and our increased efforts to keep them from getting too full, we will help keep our downtown looking clean and prevent pests.
And finally, we’ve continued to see higher numbers of small-scale graffiti and scribbles on surfaces in the Durham Central Park area than in the past. These tags aren’t difficult to remove, but the increased frequency of these incidents can present challenges at times for us. We have all the tools to clean this vandalism and will always make that a top priority.
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With all of the nice weather, the team is also continuing its ongoing power-washing of sidewalks, curbs and walkways. I’ve included pictures of some of this work from the past couple of weeks, and I’m proud of the work the ambassadors have been doing.
As you see and interact with your Clean & Safe Ambassador Team, please remember to practice the three W’s: Wear, Wait and Wash. It appears that COVID is starting to loosen its grip on us, but until more folks are fully vaccinated and cases decrease, we can’t let our guard down! Stay healthy and be well as the weather gets warmer.
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Downtown Durham's dedicated Ambassadors Team provides much needed clean and safe services. From sweeping and cleaning the streets, to providing directions for visitors, to jumpstarting car batteries, our Ambassadors are here to help. Have questions? Just stop one and ask. Need to submit a service request? Call 919-682-BULL (2855) or submit a request online.
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Clean and Safe Service
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Brickwork Laying (Square Feet)
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Trash Bags Collected
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Graffiti Removed - Paint
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Graffiti Removed - Stickers
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Customer Service (Directions, Battery Jumps, Etc.)
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Panhandlers/Outreach/Social Service Referral
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February 2021
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6250
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93
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40
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12
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65
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MEETINGS, TRAININGS & FORUMS
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Apr 19; May 3, 17
Apr 8, 22; May 6, 20
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Regular Meetings: 1st & 3rd Mondays at 7 p.m.
Work Sessions: Two Thursdays prior to Council meetings
at 1 p.m.
Meetings may be held virtually while the Safer at Home Order is in effect
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Regular Meetings: 2nd & 4th Mondays at 7 p.m.
Work Sessions: 1st Monday at 9 a.m.
Meetings may be held virtually while the Safer at Home Order is in effect
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Downtown Durham, Inc.
115 Market St. • #213
Durham, NC 27701
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This newsletter serves the businesses, residents and property owners
in the Downtown Durham Business Improvement District.
We're grateful for their support of DDI and downtown Durham.
We also thank the City of Durham for entrusting DDI to provide the BID services
that keep downtown Durham a clean, safe and vibrant place.
Want to know if an address is within the BID?
SHOP LOCAL!
Support downtown businesses with the SpendaBull gift card.
Your feedback on this newsletter is welcome.
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For up-to-the-minute information on happenings in the heart of the Bull City:
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