City to conduct traffic study

The Mountain Brook City Council is placing money in its preliminary budget for a citywide traffic study. This study was originally proposed at the May 27 council pre-meeting as a step toward improving traffic flow in areas that have received a large amount of resident complaints. 

The results of the proposed study would then determine low-cost solutions for some of the more significant problem areas, such as the Montevallo Road and Church Street intersection, as well as the intersection of Cahaba Road, Lane Park Road, Culver Road and U.S. 280.

The city has applied for an APPLE (Advanced Planning, Programming and Logical Engineering) grant for the project from the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. The grant would pay 80 percent of the project cost, and the city would fund the remaining 20 percent. 

City Manager Sam Gaston said they should find out in August if the city has received the grant and if the traffic study is being kept in the budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. If everything goes as planned, the city will select a consultant and begin the study in September or October.