City Council approves some traffic, pedestrian safety items
Members of the Mountain Brook City Council voted at the March 8 meeting to move forward with the addition of a left-turn arrow at the traffic signal leading from Oakdale Drive southbound into the Mountain Brook High School complex at 3650 Bethune Drive.
Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting said the signal could reduce traffic queuing on Oakdale Drive southbound by as much as 25%.
The change will cause an increase in queuing on Oakdale Drive northbound, but that queuing will remain significantly less than the current southbound queuing, he said.
The council approved a contract with Skipper for $2,000 to program the new signal.
Caudle planned to present a contract from Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors for the installation of a new signal head at the next council meeting March 22.
The cost of the project, including Skipper’s fee, should be about $11,200, Caudle said.
Sidewalk extension
A group of residents appeared on the Zoom call to request that the city apply for a federal TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grant to extend the sidewalks along Brookwood Road from Crosshill Road to the end of the city limits.
Resident Nicole Gilbert said there are more than 40 kids in the area and that neighbors are concerned about safety.
“Cars fly down this road,” she said. “Speeding a major issue. It’s not safe for walkers. It’s not safe for residents.”
The cost of the sidewalk extension was previously estimated to be about $900,000, with the city’s share of the cost at about $277,000.
However, Alicia Bailey of Sain Associates told the residents 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 the city of 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 up 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.
In order to be prepared, the council authorized Bailey to conduct a detailed study of options for extending the sidewalks.
Sain has an on-call contract with the city, and Bailey said the cost of this study should be about $2,000.
Other items
► The council approved an agreement with Stone & Sons 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 for about $64,000.
► The city will pay Alabama Guardrail $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 adopted in 2016. The purpose, according to Dana Hazen — the city’s director of planning, building and sustainability — is to change some pricing and administrative provisions in the ordinance to conform to FCC regulations.