Durham City Council voted unanimously on May 21 to amend a contract with engineering firm Stantec Consulting Services, bringing local design costs to roughly $1.6 million. The goal: convert Roxboro and Mangum streets from a one-way pair into two-way thoroughfares, with the project targeted for completion by January 2028. The corridors have run one-way since 1959, designed to move traffic quickly between N.C. 147, downtown, Interstate 85, and north Durham. Residents have called them the most dangerous streets in the city, pointing to years of speeding and collisions. The conversion will cover the stretch between Markham Avenue in the north and Lakewood Avenue in the south. "It's just one of those areas where the cost of a person's life is much higher," said Gregory Williams, an organizer with Bike Durham, at Monday's meeting. "Everything we can do to make sure those corridors are safe for our pedestrians and families would be fantastic." Because Roxboro and Mangum are maintained by the N.C. Department of Transportation, the state must approve the changes before construction begins. The amended contract adds work for Stantec to produce final plans for bidding and construction as required by the state, including updates to 22 traffic signals and signal infrastructure reviews for two bridges. The city is reaching residents through public workshops, bilingual outreach, and neighborhood meetings. Councilmember Carl Rist said he expected the project to draw national attention. "This will be the kind of thing people talk about nationwide, about transforming these two-way highways into really traffic-calming city streets," Rist said. "I'm so excited about this." The push for safer streets has grown louder in recent weeks. Bike Durham executive director John Tallmadge, who rode in a Ride of Silence on May 20 honoring cyclists killed or injured on the road, said the goal is to build conditions where a driver's dangerous decision does not end in the loss of a child. Rist also rode, in memory of former councilmember John Allore, who was killed while cycling in 2023.