Triangle Day School

Next up for the Summer Camp Smart Commute Challenge is Triangle Day School (TDS), which offers summer camps for students ages four to fifteen. Eight weeks of camps run with various activities such as nature-based adventures, arts projects, STEM activities, literacy exploration, cooking & baking, and sports.

Located on Neal Rd. in northwest Durham, the lack of safe biking infrastructure makes it challenging to reach TDS on two wheels, especially with a kid. Luckily, a GoDurham bus route serves the American Village neighborhood just south of the railroad tracks and that same route goes right past Old West Durham! The closest bus stop to TDS is at Constitution Dr near Neal Rd. With some extra planning, time, and determination, TDS can be accessed from the 11B bus route, and the whole bus network, if you transfer at the Durham bus station.

Google Maps route from Old West Durham to Triangle Day School on the GoDurham 11B bus.

The 8 min, 0.4 mi walk from the bus stop is mostly sidewalk, but has a sidewalk gap near the railroad tracks.

Looking north up Neal Rd. from south of the railroad tracks — Looking west on Neal Rd. from east of the railroad tracks.

Looking north up Neal Rd. after the railroad tracks — Looking west on Neal Rd. from west of the railroad tracks.

The downside is that while Google Maps estimates just a 9-minute drive from my house, the one-way bus trip will take 30 minutes. To then get to work from TDS on the next bus, it will take another 30 minutes to reach my office at Duke. This is infeasible for most people, even with some working/reading on the bus using the free wifi. And while I’m considering it an adventure, it is a sobering reminder of the transportation challenges that many face on a daily basis.

Google Maps route from Triangle Day School to the Engineering Campus of Duke University on the GoDurham 11B bus.

July 16, 2024July 16, 2024

Museum of Life and Science

This week I’ll be biking my kid to the Museum of Life and Science for my Summer Camp Smart Commute Challenge. I’ve ridden to that location previously, both for a summer camp and just visiting the museum. It is readily accessible from Durham bike trails including the Ellerbee Creek Trail from Downtown Durham or the South Ellerbee Creek Trail from Watts Hillandale Neighborhood. See this old, but relevant map.

I’ll probably take W Knox St. east from Old West Durham and then pick up the Ellerbee Creek Trail through Northgate Park, as shown here.

July 1, 2024July 1, 2024

Camp Riverlea

Camp Riverlea is a summer day camp in the Durham, NC area for children entering grades K – 7th. Camp Riverlea was founded in 1971 and continues to be a summer camp tradition for Durham children. At the time of writing, Camp Riverlea offers bus transportation, included in tuition, from three stops in Durham:

Hillandale Rd.
This bus stop is located at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 1737 Hillandale Rd., Durham, NC 27705. The stop is at the back of the church parking lot.
Duke (Crest St Park)
The Duke bus stop is located at Crest Street Park, off Erwin and Fulton (which turns into Hillandale road). The park is near the VA and DCRI. If it’s raining, there is a pavilion for cover.
Forest Hills
The Forest Hills Bus Stop is located in a gravel parking lot on East Forest Hills Boulevard, near the intersection with University Drive and behind the tennis courts.

Camp Smart Commute Challenge

As part of the Summer Camp Smart Commute Challenge, I will be biking my kid to the Hillandale Rd. bus stop. There are two viable paths to reach St. Luke’s from the Watts Hillandale / Old West Durham neighborhoods. If you cut through some private property from Arrowhead Drive you can get past the playground entrance to the parking lot where the Camp Riverlea but picks up. Normally I wouldn’t recommend trespassing, but the goat trails on the side of Hillandale aren’t a very good option either as they would require biking in the middle of the lane and delaying car traffic or walking along the paths in the shoulder and private property.

Indian Trail looking east across Hillandale Rd., near the golf course.

Hillandale looking South from St. Luke's — Hillandale looking South from St. Luke’s

Wooden footbridge from Arrowhead to St. Luke's near the kids' playground. This is private property so take heed. — Wooden footbridge from Arrowhead to St. Luke’s near the kids’ playground. This is private property so take heed.

There is a project to add a bike lane and multiuse path to Hillandale but your guess is as good as mine as to when that will be complete. Check out DCHC MPO Durham Project U-4726HN – it was started 9/29/2015 and now has an estimated completion in 2026 (11+ years!).

Screenshot of Durham transportation projects showing lots of delays including Hillandale Rd.

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024

Duke Faculty Club Summer Camp

The Duke Faculty Club (DFC) Summer Camp is a day camp for rising first graders and up, who are ages 5 and up. Daily camp activities include games, sports, arts and crafts, and swimming. The day camp does not require the child’s family have a pool membership.

DFC is accessible from NC 751 (which is good for drivers, but bad for everyone else) or from Science Drive through Duke’s campus. The campus can be accessed from the south, east or north fairly safely, making Duke Faculty Club a destination one could bike to. There is also a GoTriangle bus that goes down Erwin Rd, which could be used to reach the camp, but it isn’t very frequent, and it would still require a 0.7 mile-long walk at the end.

Link to Route on Garmin

June 8, 2024June 12, 2024

Schoolhouse of Wonder at West Point on the Eno

My first route of the Summer Camp Smart Commute Challenge is the longest – 5.25 miles from Old West Durham to West Point on the Eno Park. The route utilizes West Ellerbee Creek Trail, neighborhood streets, and a short sidewalk segment in front of the new Northern High School.

Here is the course route for your Garmin GPS and Google Maps. Also, James Nishimuta led a RAD ride from Duke which used this route and more.

Schoolhouse of Wonder has camps in Durham, Wake, and Orange counties. In Durham, they have a locations at Eno River State Park at Cole Mill Access and at West Point on the Eno Park. With the recent construction of Northern High School on N Roxboro St., West Point on the Eno Park is now reachable by bike for a lot of Durham! To get there you can use either segment of the Ellerbee Creek Trail to get north of I-85, and then you get on neighborhood streets from the new bike facilities along Stadium Dr.

The keys are a new stoplight across N Roxboro St. at Wellington Dr. and a new sidewalk along the east side of Roxboro at the edge of the Northern High School Property. While I don’t normally recommend riding on the sidewalk (and it is technically prohibited by city ordinance for adults in Durham), in this case Roxboro is too fast of a street to use during the morning commute. This sidewalk really should have been an off-street cycle-track or multi-use path.

So, as pledged, I will try this out on June 12th, post some pictures on X, and update this post if necessary. Is this this a place you’d bike to? Let me know in the comments.

Update: Complete!

While it’s fresh, here are the sketchy bits:

Ellerbee Creek Trail at Guess rd. has a HAWK signal, which confuses drivers and can be deadly, but wasn’t busy at 7:45a. Might be bad in evening rush hour?
Birmingham and Winston had nice traffic calming speed bumps!
Carver – unsignalized crossing / unmarked crosswalk.
Horton – similar to Carver
Holt School rd. – narrow lanes, no shoulder, has a hill. For some people I’d recommend the sidewalk on the west side of the road
Wellington light to cross Roxboro – has car and bike detector loops and beg buttons. Using the sidewalk at the edge of Northern High School is the key to linking up to Old Farm rd. and Seven Oaks rd. (Do not use Argonne or Chateau)

June 4, 2024June 8, 2024

Shifting Gears: Avoiding the Car Drop-off Line at Summer Camp

A Summer Camp Smart Commute Challenge

I’m fortunate to have a neighborhood school just down the road. During the school year, we pedal our way to the elementary school nearly every day, and it’s a great start to my short bike commute to work. This summer, we’re upping the ante with a pledge to cycle or take a bus to each summer camp at least once.

Transportation Considerations for Summer Camps

While I’ve come across many posts, shared spreadsheets, and Social Media threads about summer camps in Durham, none seem to focus on transportation. While I wouldn’t choose a camp based solely on bike-ability, I understand that some parents face real constraints, such as bus routes, work schedules, lack of car access, and financial considerations.

My pledge will include the following camps: Schoolhouse of Wonder at West Point on the Eno, Duke Faculty Club, Camp Riverlea’s bus pickup spot, Museum of Life and Science, and Triangle Day School.

Motivation: Document Obstacles Tethering People to Their Cars

Every Wednesday during the school year, a few parents and I lead a group ride to school we affectionately call the BikeTrain. Inspired by the Alameda BikeBus of @CoachBalto, our version is a short ride on safe neighborhood streets from Oval Park to the EK Powe Elementary school.

On school year evenings, commutes for activities are a mixed bag. While we have groceries, restaurants, and piano lessons a stone’s throw away, karate and soccer practice are a different story, with distance and dangerous roads as the main obstacles.

During the school year, I don’t use my car a lot, but summer presents more transportation needs. Our summer solution has mostly been carpooling and sharing the driving load with other families, but this involves a lot of coordination, scheduling, and logistics. This summer I want to document some routes for those interested in car-free options. I’ll attempt to bike or bus in the spirit of BikeTrain every Wednesday!

Join the Journey

I’m on the lookout for fellow parents willing to switch up their commute. Walk, bike, or carpool to summer camp even once and share your experience! Write about it, capture it in photos, or record some video clips. Can you cover any other camps? We’d love to hear about it in the comments. Let’s change gears on the summer camp commute and skip the drop-off queue!

August 24, 2023June 4, 2024

Applications of Spatial Coherence to Ultrasonic Imaging – ICIAM 2023

Abstract

Conventional pulse-echo ultrasound imaging relies primarily on signals’ relative magnitudes and is limited in its ability to mitigate acoustic clutter and other types of image degradation. Advances in computing power have recently enabled an alternative data analysis method utilizing spatial coherence, a measure of the similarity of the signals received across an ultrasound array. The theory of spatial coherence and applications to diagnostic medical ultrasound imaging will be reviewed.

Authors

- David Pierson Bradway (Duke University)
- Gregg Trahey (Duke University)
- Nick Bottenus (University of Colorado Boulder)
- Will Long (Duke University)
- James Long (Rice University)
- Katelyn Flint (Duke University)
- Matthew Huber (Duke University)

References

Lediju et al. Ultrasonic Imaging, 2008.
Bottenus et al. Proceedings in IEEE IUS, 2016.
Pinton et al. IEEE TUFFC, 2011.
Lediju et al. IEEE TUFFC, 2009.
Mauldin et al. IEEE TMI, 2011.
Gallippi et al, UMB, 2003.
Gallippi and Trahey, Ultrasonic Imaging, 2002.
Chiao and Hao, IEEE TUFFC, 2005.
Ferrara et al, IEEE TUFFC, 1996.
O’Donnell and Flax, IEEE TUFFC, 1988.
Fink, IEEE TUFFC, 1992.
Krishman et al. IEEE TUFFC, 1996.
Lediju et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2011.
Byram et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2015.
Chao et al, Ultrasonic Imaging, 2019.
Synnevag et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2009.
Tranquart et al. UMB, 1999.
Mallart and Fink, JASA. 1991.
Goodman, Fourier Optics, 2005.
Pinton et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2014.
Lediju et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2011.
Bottenus et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2013.
Long et al, IEEE TUFFC, 2017.
NEMA, AIUM. “NEMA Standards Publication UD 3-2004: Standard for Real-Time Display of Thermal and Mechanical Acoustic Output Indices On Diagnostic Ultrasound Equipment, Rev. 2,” 2004.
J. G. Abbott, “Rationale and derivation of Mi and Ti – A review,” UMB 1999.
Sheiner et al, JUM, 2007.
Houston et al, JUM, 2011.
FDA. “Marketing Clearance of Diagnostic Ultrasound Systems and Transducers: Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff.” 2019.
J. Ricketts, and G. Head. “A five-parameter logistic equation for investigating asymmetry of curvature in baroreflex studies.” AJP-RICP. 1999.
W. Long, N. Bottenus, and G. Trahey. “Lag-One Coherence as a Metric for Ultrasonic Image Quality.” IEEE UFFC. 2018.
Smith et al, IEEE TSU, 1983.
James Long, Will Long, Nick Bottenus, Gianmarco Pinton, Gregg Trahey. Implications of lag-one coherence on real-time adaptive frequency selection. Oral presentation at IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, Kobe, Japan, 2018.
James Long, Will Long, Nick Bottenus, Gianmarco Pinton, Gregg Trahey. Applications of lag-one coherence to real-time adaptive frequency selection. Oral presentation at the Annual Integrative Ultrasound Meeting, Orlando, FL, 2019.
Long, W., Bradway, D., Ahmed, R., Long, J. and Trahey, G.E., 2022. Spatial coherence adaptive clutter filtering in color flow imaging—Part I: Simulation studies. IEEE open journal of ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control, 2, pp.106-118.
Long, W., Bradway, D., Ahmed, R., Long, J. and Trahey, G.E., 2022. Spatial Coherence Adaptive Clutter Filtering in Color Flow Imaging—Part II: Phantom and In Vivo Experiments. IEEE open journal of ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control, 2, pp.119-130.
N. Bottenus and K. F. Üstüner, “Acoustic Reciprocity of Spatial Coherence in Ultrasound Imaging,” IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 852–861, 2015.
N. Bottenus, G. E. Trahey, and K. F. Üstüner, “Ultrasound coherence imaging using hardware receive beamforming and broad transmit beams,” Proc. SPIE, vol. 9419, Mar. 2015.
Vienneau, Ozgun, Byram. “Spatiotemporal coherence to quantify sources of image degradation in ultrasonic imaging,” IEEE TUFFC, vol. 69, no. 4, 2022.

September 19, 2022

Adopt-A-Flexpost

Coming soon

August 16, 2022August 16, 2022

Erwin Road is a Heavily-Used Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor

Despite its deadly flaws and hostile car-centric design

TLDR: we must improve pedestrian access in front of the medical centers and add/improve bike lanes along the rest of Erwin Road corridor.

Water takes the shortest path as it flows downhill.

People also often take a path that is shorter, safer, or more convenient, and a desire line is left behind. We can see the desires of people by the lines they leave and signs put up in response. These artifacts are clues to unmet needs and design flaws.

A desire line may be a corner cut to shorten a walk twice a day.

Here a warning sign was posted to place the burden on the individual, a lazy absolution of a responsibly to fix a broken design by adding a safe crossing where one is desired.

Desire lines can be left by overlooked, vulnerable users. Many rely on transit to reach essential jobs at the hospitals, university, and surrounding businesses but are met without a dignified gateway to campus or their workplace.

Compare entry gateways for drivers and transit users. Whose needs are being met?

Nearly every bus stop has a desire line leading from it, but few have shelters, seats, or lights. Some are better than most, with trash cans.

Other vulnerable users include those in wheelchairs.

Curb cuts and ramp access seem to be improving, but accessibility to businesses and parking garages remains spotty.

Surely some folks in wheelchairs navigate Erwin Road for appointments at Duke Medical Center or the VA. Don’t just tell them to go another way; fix the problem and add ADA ramps and paths.

A desire line may be use of an unsanctioned path. On Erwin Road, bikes are often seen on the sidewalk (not legal for adults in Durham), a path taken for safety and to save time. If people will walk and bike in conditions like these, how many more would join them if protected bike lanes or an off-street multi-use paths were added?

A desire line may be a left turn where one is prohibited, a common occurrence seen at this location.

Drivers, bikers, and walkers all occasionally ignore a traffic law or sign, but one modality is far more likely to cause injury or death of others. It’s also the one with seat belts, air bags, and a roll cage. Consequences of actions are unevenly felt. If you are driving and see a vulnerable road user in a dangerous situation, help them get out of it, even if they didn’t follow all the rules of the road, which were written primarily with drivers in mind.

Spaces which are used by everyone, including the most vulnerable, must be redesigned to better protect those most likely to be victims. What would an Anti-Racist street look like?

We cannot just focus on moving the most cars at the highest speeds, maintaining maximum throughput at the expense of anyone straying from the dominant modality.

These lines and signs above show many vulnerable road users are currently navigating Erwin Road despite its myriad flaws. Imagine the pent-up demand that would be unleashed with a safe and vision zero design.

Get in touch with Duke, Durham City Council, and Erwin Road businesses and ask them to #FixErwinRd beyond the curbs.

August 16, 2022August 16, 2022