Durham City Council will hold it's last public hearing on two roads Duke University wants to permantely close to expand their campus January 21st.

The Durham City Council meeting begins at 7 pm.

For Barry Yeoman, Maxwell Street holds a special place in his heart. For a few years, Yeoman had to rely on the gravel road for his livelihood.

"I was reading the newspaper and the newspaper slashed my cornea," Yeoman said.

Being home alone in his Birch Avenue home, he drove himself to the doctor's office.

"I made a left on Maxwell, and I cut through central campus, and I probably saved 15 minutes,"

Now his lifeline is up for closure. Duke University owns both sides of Maxwell and has plans on closing it to expand its campus. The school also wants to add 800 parking spaces to the area.

John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham neighborhood, is fighting the closure.

"The concern with the neighborhoods on either end of Maxwell Street is that Duke was going to ask the city to permanently close the street, and we wanted assurance in writing that Duke would allow public access to the street," Schelp said.

Last Monday, Duke along with members of local neighborhood associations, spoke before Durham City Council to plead their cases. Councilwoman Diane Cattoti asked the planning commission to put a note on the site plans giving residents the heads up if Duke makes any changes to its plan.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June.

Related Links

1. Durham City Council