Council votes to close Beech Circle

The Mountain Brook City Council on Monday, Jan. 27, voted 4-1 to close Beech Circle to thru traffic. Traffic control bollards, which are vertical posts used to divert motorists, will be installed at the end of the circle in the coming months. 

Council President Virginia Smith, along with Councilmen Phil Black, Billy Pritchard and Lloyd Shelton, voted in favor of the ordinance, while Councilwoman Alice Womack voted against it. 

Pritchard said it was time to act on a proposal that was first brought to the council’s attention a couple of decades ago. 

“I think we’ve pushed this down the road too far,” he said. “I mean, it is due to be closed off, should have been closed off a long time ago.”

Residents of Beech Circle and neighboring streets began their latest push to close the circle in May 2019. They expressed concerns about the number of motorists using the circle — which sits on the Mountain Brook-Birmingham border behind the Tapestry Park Apartments — as a cut-through to and from Montclair Road. 

The circle has been open to one-way traffic traveling northbound toward Montclair, but that hasn’t stopped motorists from traveling southbound from Montclair. 

A Mountain Brook Police Department traffic count and speed study performed in October 2018 discovered that 118 vehicles drove the wrong way in a seven-day span. The Police Department also found the average speed of all 2,034 vehicles that traveled Beech Circle that week was 23 miles per hour, with 105 vehicles traveling over 30 miles per hour. 

Homeowners have said traffic created by motorists who use their circle as a cut-through poses a danger to them and their children.

“If we don’t do anything, nothing will change,” said Callie Whatley, a Beech Street resident and mother of three who spoke at Monday’s public hearing. “Our neighborhood will continue to have people cutting through, people going too fast, and our children remain in danger.” 

Whatley was one of about 20 residents, including a few children, who publicly voiced support for closing the circle at the public hearing. Only one Beech Street resident, John Peinhardt, expressed his opposition. He said he worried that closing the circle will lead to more fast-moving vehicles traveling down his street as motorists seek an alternate cut-through to Montclair Road through the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church parking lot. 

Richard Caudle, a traffic engineer with Skipper Consulting, validated those concerns but said there are solutions. Councilman Shelton said the city won’t turn a blind eye toward Peinhardt and his neighbors if closing the circle creates problems for them. 

“I think we need to look at the speed limits,” Shelton said. “I think you’re absolutely right. We need to get that reduced, in my opinion.”

Residents initially proposed paying to install a metal gate to close Beech Circle. But Steve Stine, an attorney representing the city, said at a November 2019 council meeting  the gate would have cost between $12,000 to $15,000. Traffic bollards emerged as a more affordable and practical alternative. 

Mountain Brook Public Works Director Ronnie Vaughn said it will cost between $2,000 to $2,500 to purchase and install the bollards and signage, all funded by residents. 

The bollards are about 3 feet tall and made of hard plastic. The city will likely install 14 of them, Vaughn said. 

“They’re going to be an obstacle to an ordinary vehicle,” Stine said. “You’re not going to want to go through there...but public safety vehicles could pass through there if needed.”

While placing the bollards, the city also will install traffic signs warning motorists of the closure. The ordinance approved by the council makes it unlawful to use Beech Circle as a cut-through, with violators facing a fine of up to $500, 180 days in jail or both. 

Vaughn said installation should begin in the next two to three months, though no exact timeline has been set. Mountain Brook will need to finalize details with the city of Birmingham.

“After we’ve met with Birmingham and everything gets worked out, Steve [Stine] said it may be...60 to 90 days,” Vaughn said. 

The City Council will hold its next meeting Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.