City Council approves some traffic, pedestrian safety items

The Mountain Brook City Council held its regular meeting via Zoom on Monday, March 8, and approved several items, including some related to traffic issues and pedestrian safety.

• After lengthy discussion, members voted to move forward with the addition of a left-turn arrow at the traffic signal leading from Oakdale Drive into the Mountain Brook High School complex at 3650 Bethune Drive. The council approved a contract with Skipper Consulting for $2,000 to program the new signal. At the next council meeting, Richard Caudle of Skipper plans to present a contract from Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors for the actual installation of the signal. The total cost of the project, including the fee to Skipper, should be about $11,000.
• The council authorized Alicia Bailey of Sain Associates to conduct a detailed study of options for extending the sidewalks along Brookwood Road from Crosshill Road to the end of the city limits. Sain has an on-call contract with the city, and Bailey said the cost of this study should be about $2,000. A group of residents in the area appeared on the Zoom call to request that the city apply for a federal TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grant to complete the project. The cost was previously estimated to be about $900,000, with the city's share of the cost at about $277,000. However, Bailey told the residents that the city cannot apply for another TAP grant until it is authorized by ALDOT to begin construction on a current TAP project, the building of a sidewalk on Hagood Street. That project is a joint effort between Mountain Brook and the city of Birmingham and has been delayed by efforts by Birmingham officials to get some additional easements signed. City Manager Sam Gaston said that Mountain Brook officials will again reach out to Birmingham officials to speed the process. If the city is unable to apply for the new TAP grant by this year’s deadline — Bailey said she thought it was at the end of May — it will have to wait another year.
• The council approved the execution of a contractor agreement between the city and Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors to install a RRFB (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) for the pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Church Street and West Jackson Boulevard. The cost will be about $37,000.
• Members awarded the bid for the purchase of night vision monocular units for the Police Department to Gulf States Distributors in Montgomery for about $64,000.
• The city will pay Alabama Guardrail the sum of $9,125 to install 135 feet of Cor-Ten guardrail along Montevallo Road at Crestview Drive.
• The council passed an ordinance amending the city’s small-cell regulations, which were originally adopted in January 2016. The purpose, according to a letter to the council from Dana Hazen—the city’s director of planning, building and sustainability—is to change some pricing and administrative provisions in the existing ordinance to remain consistent with FCC regulations. For example, the council also passed an ordinance amending the city code with respect to the fees associated with small-cell antenna installations.

The next meeting of the council will be Monday, March 22, at 7 p.m.