Tobacco Trail to cross I-40 near Southpoint

Source from:  By Matt Dees, Staff Writer 12/21/2007

A pedestrian bridge connecting the American Tobacco Trail over I-40 near The Streets at Southpoint will be constructed as part of a $12.35 million bond package approved today by the City Council. The project will help complete the 23-mile trail. The vote was 5-1, with Mayor Pro-Tem Cora Cole-McFadden objecting because money once pegged for projects to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act was shifted to fund the trail. The bond does include $650,000 for a yet-to-be determined ADA project. The trail project received $1.5 million, which rounds out the $6.4 million needed for the bridge and paving the last four miles of the trail to the Chatham County line. Cole-McFadden was concerned that shifting the funds would keep the city from meeting its obligations to upgrade various city facilities to make them handicapped accessible under a settlement agreement from 2005 with the U.S. Department of Justice. An investigation stemmed from a complaint that many facilities built after 1992 were not ADA compliant. "The feds are serious about ADA, I'm serious about ADA," Cole-McFadden said. "Because of inaction years ago, the feds came in and said, 'This is what you need to do.'" But City Manager Patrick Baker said the city was on track to meet and exceed the requirements of the settlement. He said he would give a line-by-line report of all the projects in January, but he noted that many of the building rehabilitation projects included in the $110 million 2005 bond included money for ADA upgrades. "It's not just about appeasing the feds, it's about getting things done," Baker said. "We are acting in good faith and I believe all of our efforts have shown that." Councilwoman Diane Catotti noted that the trail has been on hold for years and that it would serve a diverse cross-section of Durham residents. "The American Tobacco Trail is in design, it's been planned, ... costs are escalating and public demand is high," she said. "The issue is timing to get this project done because we know it needs to get done." Enditem