Council discusses Overton Road traffic study

With the development and growth of Liberty Park in Vestavia Hills, and the proximity to Mountain Brook, the city of Mountain Brook is aware that traffic numbers will increase, especially along Overton Road.

To mitigate future concerns, both Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills proposed a joint APPLE grant for the study of Overton Road from U.S. 280 to Liberty Park. Now, the next step in the grant process is to select a consultant to study the project, and Mike Kaczorowski with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham spoke of Skipper Consulting and Sain Associates, both of which Mountain Brook has worked with before.

Kaczorowski noted that each has their own strengths, with Skipper’s being stronger in traffic studies and Sain’s stronger in the design field. Council members leaned toward selecting Skipper, but wanted to discuss the study and the scope of the project further.

“I’m afraid the day we pass this study it’s going to be outdated because it’s so dramatic the changes that are going on,” council member Lloyd Shelton said. “… I think [the study] is needed, but is now the right time for this?”

Because I-59/20 recently closed for bridge construction, Kaczorowski said traffic will be diverted and the numbers may be skewed, with more cars possibly traveling down I-459 and getting off at Liberty Park.

He said the study could wait to see how fast Liberty Park grows and react to it then, or review the scope of the project and limit it to what seems more feasible based on traffic and continue on. While it is possible to predict the amount of traffic driving in the Liberty Park area based on plans for the new Bray development, Kaczorowski said it isn’t easy to predict how the traffic will be distributed.

In order to make a better informed decision regarding the scope of the project and which consulting company to proceed with, City Manager Sam Gaston said he would meet with Kaczorowski and officials from Vestavia Hills about Liberty Park and Overton Road and bring the conversation before the council again.

The council also discussed designating the alley between Elm Street and Main Street as one-way. Public Works Director Ronnie Vaughn presented this before the council after speaking with Crestline Elementary.

Currently, he said, the alley functions as a one-way street during drop off and pick up hours for CES, but it is not properly signed as a permanent one-way street. Gaston said he would send a letter to residents who would be affected by the new designation and revisit installing one-way signs.

Also during the meeting, council members:

• Approved the minutes of the Jan. 14 joint meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council and Mountain Brook Emergency Communications (E911) District.
• Approved the final execution version of franchise agreement between city and Spectrum Southeast LLC with minor changes in form previously approved by the council on Dec. 10.
• Authorized the execution of an agreement between the city and invasive plant control to remove invasive plants from Cahaba River Walk.
• Authorized the execution of an agreement for the installation of batting cages and bull pens at the Athletic Complex to serve the girls’ softball field.
• Authorized the execution of the funding agreement for the U.S. 280 pedestrian bridge and authorized the transfer of $200,000 for the city of Mountain Brooks’ contribution to the project.
• Granted a hardship exemption from the development moratorium with respect to the hardship appeal of Bill Bowron with respect to Lots 10 and 11 at Ridge Drive and Country Club Road. The request was presented by Jesse Vogtle, who said the home at that address exists on two buildable lots that were never collapsed. The existing residence was put on the market before the moratorium, and after the moratorium was passed, Vogtle said the buyers stopped approaching. Under the granted hardship, Vogtle agreed to move one of the lot lines to make the more triangular lot (Lot 11) more conforming and, after hearing neighbor’s concerns of a new house being build “in their front yard,” pushing the setback to 70 feet instead of the existing 40 feet if the lots are split and a second house is built.
• Announced the City Council will conduct a public hearing on Feb. 11 at 7  p.m. regarding a request by the Mountain Brook Board of Education for the city to call for a referendum to increase the ad valorem tax by up to 10 mils exclusively for educational purposes.
• Announced the City Council will conduct a public hearing on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. to consider an ordinance rezoning a recently annexed parcel located in the Lockerbie subdivision (132 Queensbury Crescent) from its current [temporary] Residence-C District to [permanent] Clustered Residential District.

The next meeting will be Feb. 11.