Windshield and Walking Tour

Team Members: Sana Ansari, Candace Cooler, Alexandria Horne, Sara

Hofmeier, and Megan Lee.
Day/Times observations were completed: Our group observation was
conducted on: Wednesday from 6pm-8pm. Individual Times are listed below:

Sana: Saturday 10:30am 12:30pm

Candace: Sunday 2:30pm 4:30pm
Alexandria: Sunday 12pm 1:20pm and Monday 4:00 6:45pm
Sara: Saturday 8am 10am
Megan: Saturday 4pm-6pm

General Information: Our neighborhood consists primarily of residential

homes and a mall. There are a few churches, small businesses including fastfood places, one park, and one community center.

1. Name of Neighborhood- Walltown Neighborhood, including Northgate Mall

2. Congressional District- 4th District

3. Location (zip code)- 27701 and 27705
4. Boundaries:
a. North-I-85
b. South- Green Street
c. East- Buchanan Blvd. and Guess Road
d. West- Broad Street
Neighborhood design for physical activity:
5. Sidewalks
Every single street in our neighborhood has a sidewalk. A few of the
sidewalks were not easily accessible for people with disabilities (Further
explanation is provided in question 7). As we toured the neighborhoods,
we did not see many pedestrians. There were a few pedestrians on Club
Blvd near the mall and Walltown Recreational Center who were either
walking to/from the bus stop or going towards the mall or center.
6. Bike trails or routes
There were no identified bike lanes in the neighborhoods or near
Northgate Mall. The neighborhoods seemed like low-traffic areas so biking
through them would be relatively safe; however, we did not see a large
number of bicyclists riding through the residential areas. We saw a couple
of bicyclists on Broad Street. Broad Street has several restaurants and
towards the southern end of the street (which is not included in our
neighborhood) is where Whole Foods is situated. Whole Foods is the go-to
healthy grocery store near Duke University and is frequented by students,
Downtown Durham employees, and middle-upper class Durham residents.
It seems appropriate that this street would be bicyclist heavy, yet there
are no bicycle lanes present.
7. ADA Accessibility
Most of the routes were flat, smooth and accessible for people with
disabilities. The picture below is from Club Blvd near Northgate Mall. The
residential area sidewalks are not paved as much, but are still smooth.

There were a few sidewalks that had breaks in the pathway, as noted
below. These sidewalks were found in the residential areas.

All of the curbs I saw had smooth transitions from sidewalk to the street,
which to me indicates that perhaps there are many disabled pedestrians
who go through the neighborhood or the city of Durham built the
sidewalks as such.

Some of the routes had weeds or wild plants that prevented a smooth
pathway through the sidewalk. The stretch of the path below is covered
by plants; I had to walk on the dirt to get around. These pathways were
near houses that did not look well maintained.

8. Neighborhood Parks
The Walltown Park Recreation Center consists of a community recreational
center and a park. The park has one playground, a field, and 2 basketball
courts. There were multiple lamp posts in the parking lot and flood lights
overlooking the field, but aside from that there was insufficient lighting for
when it became dark. We interviewed a staff member from the
recreational center about safety concerns in the park, and his reply
echoed our sentiments regarding poor lighting. The park has one smooth
pathway that goes to the field, basketball court, and playground. The park
is within walking distance to many homes, and there is a bus stop in front
of the entrance to the community center, making it very accessible. The
park and recreational center is wheelchair accessible. There are no steps
to the entrance of the recreational center and there is an elevator that
goes to the second floor. We asked the staff member if people with
disabilities frequent the center. He said that he does not see people with
wheelchairs, but he usually sees elderly people with walkers and canes
and a few younger people on crutches.
We spoke to the recreational center manager about the history and the
current atmosphere of the new center. Most people that use the park and
recreational center are not from the Walltown community. This
recreational center is only 3 years old; it was renovated from the old
Walltown center that was built in the 1960s by the community. The bricks
were donated by Duke and the community came together to build a
community center. They kept some of the old fixtures and picnic benches
from the old center. The new building had a difficult time getting the
community and other Durham city members to be involved. Walltown as a
community has gotten a bad reputation in the larger Durham community.
The new community center has developed good relationships with some
of the community associations: Walltown Reunion, Duke, and others. Most
of these associations are led by the older community members. The
younger population is very hard to reach for this community center.
This community center prides itself on strict structure and the upkeep of
their facility. They have a no sagging policy and rules about no running
or horseplay. The facility can be accessed with a $4 day pass or a $20
monthly pass. They have an indoor track and a fitness center, full court
basketball court (inside and out), and a brand new playground that gets
large crowds of families and their children. There is no pool but they are
connected with the other Durham community centers that have pools

available. The park and open outside space share a parking space with
the community center. There are multiple bus stops on both sides of the
center and park area.
Although this center is in the Walltown community it feels very
disconnected from the community.

The front of the recreational center

Signs towards extra parking

Bus Stops

Trail to the outside park area, includes: basketball court with benches for
people to watch and res, and a big open field.

Other Neighborhood Assets:

9. Schools, public and private:
All of the following schools are outside of the community
boundaries and are not within (safe) walking distance of our
community but could be easily bused to:
North Carolina School of Science and Math
o 0.1 miles away from our community
o NCSSM is a two-year public high school that requires a highly
competitive application process by rising high school juniors.
E.K. Poe Elementary School
o 0.5 miles away from our community
George Watts Elementary
o approximately 1 mile away from our community
Brogden Middle School
o 0.5 miles away from our community
Riverside High School
o 3.7 miles away from our community
10.

Churches, clubs, and membership organizations:

Churches
Grace Lutheran Church
824 North Buchanan Blvd Durham, NC 27705
Saint James Baptist Church
1305 West Club Blvd Durham, NC 27705
Northside Baptist Church
1239 Berkeley Street Durham, NC 27705
All Souls Church Unitarian
1225 Berkeley Street Durham, NC 27705
Membership Organizations/Clubs
Walltown Park Recreation Center
1308 West Club Blvd, Durham NC 27705

11.

Places where people like to linger or hang out:

Walltown Park Recreation Center

1308 West Club Blvd Durham, NC 27705
Walltown Park Recreation Center provides many services to the citizens of
Walltown. For young children, the center offers afterschool care as well as
athletics such as cheerleading and basketball. There is also an enclosed
playground at the location where parents may take their children.
However this playground is less than 50 yards from the busy Guess road.
For adults there are many exercise classes offered such as Yoga and
Zumba. The people who visit the Walltown Park Recreation Center are
interested in activities that involve bettering themselves and/or their
children.
Northgate Mall
1058 West Club Blvd Durham, NC 27705
Northgate Mall is the primary shopping center of this region. In our
walkthrough of this establishment we noticed that the majority of retailers
were not chains and seemed directed at lower income families. The
people we saw in Northgate Mall were mostly non-Caucasian and under30 years of age. At the time of our visit (6pm), the mall was relatively
deserted.
12. Community Organizations, Associations, and Health and Social Service
Agencies:
Walltown Park Recreation Center
1308 West Club Blvd Durham, NC 27705
Walltown Park Recreation Center is a great place for community members
to gather. This newly renovated facility contains a basketball court,
computer lab, group exercise rooms, and a playground among other
things. The staff here also offer free health screenings and cooking
classes for those who wish to participate.
St. James Family Life Center
1305 West Club Blvd Durham, NC 27705

Located in the building of the once Walltown Elementary School (which

was vacated in 1976), the St. James Family Life Center provides many
services to the surrounding community. Activities that this center
provides consist of summer camps, after school tutoring, and workshops
on financial responsibility.
Walltown Childrens Theater
1225 Berkeley Street, Durham, NC 27705
The Walltown Childrens Theatre began in 2000 and provides arts and
enrichment activities to children. Activities provided by the theatre
include a variety of dance (ballet, jazz, tap, etc), music (piano, guitar),
acting, and fitness (Zumba. stretching) classes specifically for kids.
Walltown Childrens Theatre operates as need-blind, aiming to serve all
children regardless of family financial means.
13.

Health Care Providers:

Chiropractic Care Center (Chiropractic Care)

Spiro N. Comis, DC
1019 Broad Street Durham, NC 27705
Hatfield Berrang Hearing Aid Center (Hearing Aids)
1021 Broad Street Durham, NC 27705
DurhamDDS (Dentistry)
1212 Broad Street Durham, NC 27705
Walltown Neighborhood Clinic
815 Broad Street Durham, NC 27705
Specifically targets the Walltown community and recognizes the need for
health education and lower income familes
E.K Powe Elementary Wellness Center
913 Ninth Street Durham, NC 27705
George Watts Elementary Wellness Center
700 Watts Street Durham, NC 27705
(Both E.K Powe Elementary Wellness Center and George Watts
Elementary Wellness Center are school based health clinics that provide
primary care to children, regardless of the ability to pay)
14.

Block by block description of types of housing

The houses observed were a combination of single-family homes and

group housing with small parking lots. There were a large number of
duplexes and other multi-family dwellings as well. There are no
apartments or apartment style housing (high-rises). Many of the houses
were older houses and some were remodeled. The most yards were
maintained nicely. Some houses looked abandoned. There was also a lot
of character with each of the houses. Some people had gardens and
decorations. The inner community had somewhat quiet roads with the
exception of the community members going in and out. On both days
there were many cars parked on the street. There were people coming
and going pretty frequently in the neighborhood. Also, there were many
people sitting outside on their porches and on the sides. There is a
neighborhood clinic, which is an extension of the Lincoln Community
Health Center. This serves the community because Lincoln Community
Health Center isnt convenient location for this area. Also, there is a
neighborhood ministry.

15.

Food Stores:
Convenience Store: Han-Dee Hugos
1203 West Club Boulevard
Durham, NC 27701

http://www.sboil.com/

www.googlemaps.com

Han-Dee Hugos is a gas station and convenience store. Located on the

intersection of West Club Boulevard and Guess Road, its central location
makes it one of the more accessible convenient stores in our community.
The store had food that is probably considered standard for a store of this
type, including chips, soft drinks, beer, candy, and ice creams. There were
no fruits or vegetables, or fresh foods of any type in this store. The most
nutritious snack options available were some Belvita breakfast bars and
Nature Valley granola bars.
Convenience Store: Citgo One-Hop Food Mart
2021 Guess Road
Durham, NC 27705

One-Hop Food Mart is also a convenience store and gas station. It is

located on the intersection of Broad Street and Guess Road, and no doubt
receives a decent amount of traffic from I-85 which is less than a quarter
of mile away. It also has typical convenience store foods such as chips,
soft drinks, beers, candy, and other packaged snacks. Unlike HandeeHugos, this store also has some pre-pared lunch items such as hotdogs
and sandwiches. The ice cream selection of this store is particularly
extensive, as one cooler of ice cream takes up an entire wall of the store.
Also interesting, the store has wine in addition to beer. However, there
was no fresh produce of any type in this store.
Ethnic Supermarket: Latino Supermarket
2202 Guess Road
Durham, NC 27705

Latino Supermarket was a unique ethnic supermarket with a surprising

variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. It was a combination CD and
grocery store, with CDs lining the walls around the produce. A small
section of the store was comprised of soft drinks and pre-packaged foods.
There were bars on the windows and doors of this store, which seemed to
have interesting safety implications for the area.
In addition to the above food stores, a large number of restaurants are
located within this community, many of them within the mall. Within the
mall, the following locations had some form of food service
establishments.
Casual Dining: C&H Cafeteria, Dragon Express, PanPan Diner, Randys
Pizza, Ruby Tuesday

Food Gallerey: A&D Buffalo, Baja Shack, Cajun Caf, Jakes Wayback
Burgers, Greek Cuisine, Master Wok, Mickys Chicken and Fish, Subway,
Tomo Japan, Villa Fresh Italian Pizza
Food Specialties: CinnaMonster, DairyQueen/Orange Julius, Haagen
Dazs/Planet Smoothie, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzel Twister, Sweets n
News, The Cookie Store
Restaurants Outside of Mall: Burger King, Biscuitville, Dog House, La
Cacerola Caf, Watts Grocery,the Green Room, and the Palace
International
16.

Farmers Markets

There were no Farmers Markets located within our community.

17.

Commercial enterprises
The Northgate Mall
1058 West Club Boulevard
Durham, NC 27701

http://www.northgatemall.com/leasing

One of several vacant stores

Mall Policy
Signage

The Northgate Mall is in a central location as it is located very close to I85 and is probably one of the communitys biggest attractions. In addition
to a number of specialty shops, clothing stores, food gallery and casual
dining, the mall also has a movie theater. The vast majority of commercial
enterprises within the community are located within the malls
boundaries. The mall is privately owned by a managing partnership that
appears predominately Caucasian. Interestingly, the mall also has a DMV
and claims over 140 retailers. It appears crime has been a problem in the
past at the mall, as five murders or attempted murders have occurred
since 1999, the most recent one occurring in 1997. A definite police and
security presence is felt at the mall, as police cars often park in outside
lots and mall security patrol inside. Another interesting aspect of the mall
is it appears to be an attraction for school children to loiter after school
hours, as a large number of middle to high school aged children were
observed both on weekday afternoons and weekends. The signage posted
throughout stating that children under the age of 16 should be
accompanied by a parent seemed to further prove this is an issue,
though based on group observations it appears that this mall policy is not
well enforced. The group also noted that a large number of stores in the
mall now vacant, showing that the economic health of the mall and
community is not optimal.
Sanders Florist
1100 Broad St, Durham, NC 27705
http://www.sandersflorist.com/aboutus.html?source=header
Sanders Florist is an older establishment located on Broad Street. This
area is home to several small well-kept, privately owned shops and small

restaurants with good access to sidewalks. Sanders Florist has been

owned by the same family for four generations, and is currently managed
by two sisters. They offer a wide variety of floral arrangements for nearly
every occasion.
Craven Allen Gallery
1106 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27705
This art gallery is located next to Sanders Florist, which was described
above. The gallery sells art from local North Carolina artists and hosts
exhibitions several times a month on average. It is also an older shop and
has been serving the community since 1968.
S.M Tobacco
2014 Guess Road
Durham, NC 27705
This shop is located right next to the Latino Supermarket described
previously. The shop has a variety of tobacco related products, including
hookahs, bongs, and a very wide variety of colorful pipes. It is owned by
someone of Latino ethnicity. The store also doubles as a Simple Mobile
site. The area was rather littered and lacked up-keep, as evidenced in this
photo.
18.

Historical sites, sites of particular social significance

There are no official historical sites in our community. However, it appears

two churches and an elementary school has particular social significance
in the community because of their historical connections to the
community. Most community members attribute the establishment of
these two churches and school as the basis of the formation of the
Walltown community.
Church: Northside Baptist Church
1239 Berkeley St.
Durham, North Carolina, 27705
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northside-Missionary-Baptist-Church
Northside Baptist church was one of the first churches established in
Walltown. It began meeting in a log cabin in around 1910, and the church
building today was built around 1920. Church members ethnicity appears
to be predominately African American. Interestingly, a fire damaged the
church in 1969, during which time it met at the Walltown Recreation

Center. This demonstrates the strong ties the community has with its
churches. The church still claims a small congregation today, and is
significant because of its rich historical ties to the community.
Church: Saint Johns Missionary Baptist Church
917 Onslow St.
Durham, NC 27705
http://www.stjohnsmbc.org/
This church is credited for being one of the founding community pillars
that started Walltown. The church was originally named for Walltowns
namesake, George Wall, and was known as Wall Street Baptist Church.
The church was established in 1910 and continues to support a small
African-American congregation.
School/Community Center: Walltown Elementary School/ Saint James
Family Life Center
1305 W Club Blvd
Durham, NC 27705
Walltown School- 1953
St James Family Life Center
today
http://www.opendurham.org/buildings/walltown-school
Walltown Elementary School was built in 1919 for African American
children in the neighborhood. The de-segragation of schools began in
Durham in 1959, and the school appears to have closed shortly
thereafter. The property was owned by the government for a time, and
was purchased by Saint James Baptist Church in 1997, once again
showing the importance of churches within the history of this community.
The church partnered with Duke University and renovated the facility.
Today it has a community library, computer lab, and hosts summer camps
and after school tutoring.
Safety
19. Sidewalks, parks, and parking areas are well lit to enhance safety at
night.
Sidewalks were present throughout the neighborhood, though not always
in the best of condition. The outer perimeter of the neighborhood seemed
to be in better condition, including better lighting and more maintained
sidewalks. Streetlights were not observed within the more residential
areas in the middle of the neighborhood. The Northgate Mall parking lot,
located within the neighborhood, was well-lit as were the Walltown Park

Recreation Center facilities, though additional lighting in that area would

be beneficial.
20. Motor vehicle drivers obey the speed limit and yield for pedestrians to
cross the
street.
All motor vehicles seemed to be moving at appropriate speeds, though
few vehicles were seen driving through neighborhood streets themselves;
more traffic observed on streets at neighborhood perimeter. Pedestrians
were observed crossing streets without difficulty at multiple places in the
neighborhood.
21.

Law enforcement officers at local parks.

A police vehicle was seen in the parking lot of the neighborhood park, but
a police officer was not seen. Police vehicles were seen in the parking lot
of the Northgate Mall, and police officers were seen both in and outside of
the mall.
22. People who walk and bike during the day can feel free from traffic
hazards or threats to
personal safety.
The streets throughout this neighborhood were fairly narrow and often
congested with parked vehicles (most homes had limited driveway
parking, and thus most streets had cars parked on both sides). This made
for more difficulty for bikers, as no dedicated bike lanes were observed. A
fair amount of bike traffic was observed, however, so it may not be as
much of a deterrent to neighborhood residents. Walking/running in
neighborhood seem to be accomplished with little difficulty or threats to
safety, as sidewalks were present even if in disrepair in some places and
given the low volume of vehicle traffic observed.
23. Locations of abandoned or vacant buildings, empty lots, etc. Do these
pose a threat to safety?
Obvious abandoned/vacant buildings were not observed, though there
were several for lease, rent, or sale signs observed on various
properties in the neighborhood. These buildings did not have overt signs
of being abandoned/vacant and did not seem to present immediate safety
threats. Many of the for lease (etc) buildings seemed to still be in use
for some purpose, either temporary or permanent, while building tenancy
was in transition. No empty lots were observed within the neighborhood;

rather, the homes within the neighborhood seemed to be constructed

fairly close together with little green space in between residential
dwellings.
24. Geographic barriers, natural and man-made, such as major
thoroughfares, waterways, etc.
Highway I-85 serves as a man-made barrier on the north end of this
neighborhood. Northgate Mall also seems to serve as a man-made barrier
at the northeast end of the neighborhood as well, adding additional
separation between the Walltown neighborhood and Northgate Park
neighborhood. Broad Street, the western boundary street, also seems to
serve as a neighborhood barrier. Broad Street is a much more commercial
street, in contrast to the highly residential nature of the Walltown
neighborhood. Broad Street also separates Walltown from the bordering
Old West Durham and Watts Hospital-Hillandale neighborhoods. It also
separates Walltown from the NC School of Math and Science (a public,
highly competitive, residential 11th/12th grade high school).