Town Mouse visits Country Mouse: Experiences with Durham Transportation Center?
December 14, 2010 7:27 AM Subscribe
Experiences with Durham Transportation Center?
I'm thinking about taking a bus ride from DC down to Durham, NC to visit some relatives who live about 30 minutes away in the suburbs. The bus drops me off at Durham Transportation Center in the middle of the afternoon. It looks like the standard urban bus station to me, but to alleviate any familial concerns from people who live in the suburbs and travel solely by car, I'm wondering if Durham, and more specifically, the area where the bus station is situated, is particularly sketchy. I.e., is it safe for a 30-something female traveling alone to be hanging out there for about 15 minutes while she waits for her relatives (or as is looking more likely, a cab) to pick her up?
StreetView and googling haven't shown me anything I'm not used to seeing in DC, but maybe Durham is just super crazy dangerous and I'm just not using the right search string.
I'm thinking about taking a bus ride from DC down to Durham, NC to visit some relatives who live about 30 minutes away in the suburbs. The bus drops me off at Durham Transportation Center in the middle of the afternoon. It looks like the standard urban bus station to me, but to alleviate any familial concerns from people who live in the suburbs and travel solely by car, I'm wondering if Durham, and more specifically, the area where the bus station is situated, is particularly sketchy. I.e., is it safe for a 30-something female traveling alone to be hanging out there for about 15 minutes while she waits for her relatives (or as is looking more likely, a cab) to pick her up?
StreetView and googling haven't shown me anything I'm not used to seeing in DC, but maybe Durham is just super crazy dangerous and I'm just not using the right search string.
Response by poster: Thanks for the confirmation, that's what I thought. :) I think I will see if there are any bus connections to someplace closer to where my relatives live as a taxi ride from there would cost about $50. Just waiting for the Triangle trip planner to come back up.
posted by longdaysjourney at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by longdaysjourney at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2010
Best answer: Durham native - I live about 5 minutes from that place. Although I wouldn't feel particularly happy hanging out there for a long time at night, 15 minutes during the daytime isn't unsafe at all. The downtown Durham area has seen a huge spurt in growth and investment, and the bus terminal is right near a lot of new shops and restaurants. You should take your ride out to eat at one of the new restaurants after they come and pick you up.
In this area, Durham has a bad reputation as a crime capital. While that may have been true at one time, I think a lot of the bad reputation is because we are a very diverse city, much moreso than the surrounding white, vanilla-type suburban areas.
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2010
In this area, Durham has a bad reputation as a crime capital. While that may have been true at one time, I think a lot of the bad reputation is because we are a very diverse city, much moreso than the surrounding white, vanilla-type suburban areas.
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 7:38 AM on December 14, 2010
Best answer: I went to church within a few blocks of there as the area was getting cleaned up. It wasn't particularly dangerous in the daytime even BEFORE the revitalization. You'll be fine.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:44 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:44 AM on December 14, 2010
Best answer: I, a 30 something white woman, regularly take the bus to the transportation center and then walk through downtown, both day and night. I've never felt even mildly uncomfortable doing so.
Generally, when people are worried about "crime" in Durham, they are really worried that it is a majority-minority city and a lot of people here don't have as much money as the people in the suburbs. Seriously, it's very safe here.
Where do your relatives live? It may be possible to take DATA (within Durham) or TTA bus (between Triangle towns) from the transportation center towards them.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:49 AM on December 14, 2010
Generally, when people are worried about "crime" in Durham, they are really worried that it is a majority-minority city and a lot of people here don't have as much money as the people in the suburbs. Seriously, it's very safe here.
Where do your relatives live? It may be possible to take DATA (within Durham) or TTA bus (between Triangle towns) from the transportation center towards them.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:49 AM on December 14, 2010
Response by poster: Hydropsyche: I think it's because they just don't get out of their immediate surroundings that much and have grown up with the concept that Durham = Crime. The area really looks fine on StreetView. I'm going to look at the TTA schedules while I wait for the trip planner to come up. Thanks for the link!
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:03 AM on December 14, 2010
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:03 AM on December 14, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Comrade_robot at 7:34 AM on December 14, 2010