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A more walkable Mountain Brook: Sidewalk Master Plan

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Photo by Caroline Drew.

For decades, sidewalks in Mountain Brook were built in a piecemeal fashion with no overarching plan. In the mid to late 1990s, that changed. The City introduced a new master plan that linked all neighborhoods to villages and schools and places of work to places to play.

Since then, the Mountain Brook Village Walkway System (MBVWS) has been bringing to life a vision to connect the City phase by phase. Phase 6 of 12 is now under construction, with at least two more phases funded and in the works.

 “The Master Plan will connect the community and make it more walkable, which helps people meet neighbors, walk instead of drive and make healthy decisions,” City Manager Sam Gaston said. “It’s been well received here in the City.”

The City is pursuing each phase as it is able to secure funding; there is no specific timeline for completing the master plan, according to Gaston.

Safe Routes to Schools

The next phase of the sidewalk master plan will enable elementary students to more safely walk to Crestline and Mountain Brook Elementary Schools.

Funded entirely by the U.S. government’s Safe Routes to Schools program, the project is scheduled to be bid out on June 28. According to Gaston, construction will start in early fall and take about six months to complete.

“As someone who works to improve our school system, I am excited for the Safe Routes to Schools project,” said Anne Womack, Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation director. “Anything that can give our students easier access to schools and ease the parents’ minds is a great thing. I also think this will only add to the overall community feel of Mountain Brook. We are so linked together already, but the sidewalk project will help promote that even more.”

The Safe Routes to School grants were received in 2008, the first awarded in the state. The City applied for grants for all four elementary schools, but only two were awarded. Gaston said the City might be able to apply for more grants in the future.

Gaston said the City won’t know the costs for the project until it is bid out, but it should be less than the $800,000 estimated in a previous bid that covered more area.

Remaining phases

Beyond the Safe Routes to Schools projects, one more phase of the MBVWS is under construction and another has been funded.

Phase 6 in the Cherokee Bend area is scheduled to be completed by August, according to Gaston. The project began last summer with a December finish date but was delayed. 

Next on the list is Phase 8, which will run sidewalks from Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church to Mountain Brook High School. Federal funding has been secured for 80 percent of the project, and the City will fill in the remaining 20 percent.

The City is currently awaiting ALDOT’s approval for a design contract before preliminary engineering work can begin.

Homewood connectors

Outside the Master Plan, Mountain Brook’s sidewalks will soon connect to Homewood’s. A new project will link the Jemison Trail to the Lakeshore Greenway on Lakeshore Drive and Mountain Brook Village to the Hollywood neighborhood on Hollywood Boulevard. Homewood is acting as the lead agent on both plans and is working with Skipper Consulting.

For the first, a potential new sidewalk would run along Lakeshore Drive from the Jemison Trail to Colonial Brookwood Village.

The sidewalk would start at the intersection of Mountain Brook Parkway and Cahaba Road and run west in front of Servis 1st Bank and then under Highway 280. From there, it will cross the red light in front of Shades Valley Lutheran Church and connect to sidewalks in front of Colonial Brookwood Village that connect to the Lakeshore Greenway.

This project is scheduled to be bid out later this fiscal year, according to Gaston.

In addition, a sidewalk along Montevallo Road and Hollywood Boulevard would connect the cities with a wider shoulder for pedestrians to walk on, along with a protective barrier against traffic.

Gaston said this project could begin later this year, but it has not been bid out yet.

State Representative Paul DeMarco has been working with officials in Mountain Brook, Homewood and Birmingham to coordinate with the state to get the bridge built.

Costs have not yet been determined, but Mountain Brook has agreed to contribute $50,000.

Sidewalk plans, street by street

Phase 6

Safe Routes to Schools (Phase 7*)

Mountain Brook Elementary

Crestline Elementary

* These sidewalks were originally planned as a part of Phase 7 of the Master Plan. Now the remaining parts of Phase 7 will be folded into Phase 9 of 12.

**The original plan called for sidewalks on another portion of Dexter Avenue from Vine Street to West Jackson Blvd., but the Council removed this part due to requests from area residents.

Phase 8

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