Dunbarton sidewalk project moves forward

After spending many meetings looking at different sidewalk options in the city of Mountain Brook, the city council submitted a TAP, or Transportation Alternatives Program, grant last November for Dunbarton Drive. The city was awarded TAP funds in early June to install sidewalks in the southern portion of Dunbarton Drive from Locksley Drive to North Woodridge Road.

At the July 9 city council meeting tonight, Councilman Lloyd Shelton noted this was one of the sections of road that scored highly in interest and importance after surveying residents about possible new sidewalks. 

Under the TAP grant, the city was awarded $686,000 from the Regional Planning Commission, said Alicia Bailey with Sain Associates. For the TAP funds, 80 percent is paid federally while 20 percent is paid by the city, which covers construction, engineering and inspection. This leaves approximately $240,000 of the grant for the city to pay for.

The plans, design and survey are then funded 100 percent by the city. 

The proposal for this that Sain submitted “is full service,” Bailey said, and includes environmental documents, the survey, plans, and permitting documents, among others. The estimate for this proposal is $99,900. 

Unlike the CMAQ grant, however, the city will have to “float” the money for the project, meaning they will have to pay for portions of the project and be reimbursed by the state one to two months later, said Mike Kaczorowski with the RPC.

“The city manages the contractor and the paperwork,” he said. “It’s different than the other federal projects.” Kaczorowski added, however, that the review and bidding process seems to be moving more quickly for TAP grants than others.

Bailey said only one or two properties should be affected by the sidewalk, one of whom they have already spoken with.

This section will connect to an existing sidewalk, and both Council President Virginia Smith and Councilwoman Alice Womack agreed that this was a much-needed section.

Richard Caudle with Skipper Consultants spoke about another section of road in Mountain Brook, at the intersection of Brookwood Road and Crosshill Road. While this intersection had been reviewed previously, it was studied again due to complaints for individuals in the area.

The intersection itself is two off-set triangles, which can cause confusion and safety concerns for drivers passing through or looking to turn in the intersection. Caudle said it’s not a terrible situation, but it is one that could be made better by the addition of two stop signs.

While traffic counts are lower than the last study, Caudle said queues are backing up on the south side of the intersection in the morning, coinciding with people going to work or school, and on the north side in the afternoon, around when school lets out. He suggested adding two stop signs — one to each side — to mitigate traffic and create a safer scenario.

“To solve both of the problems, it takes both of the stop signs,” he said, reiterating that it’s not a terrible situation. “This is a kind of bad situation that these stop signs would make better.”

Smith said although she doesn’t like the idea of putting in two stop signs, it would be easier if both of the triangles involved would mirror each other and it would make the intersection safer. 

Caudle said the other way to address the intersection is to redo it into a T-intersection or a roundabout, but, “It’s my opinion that the magnitude of the problem doesn’t call for that kind of money.”

The council agreed to move forward with the two stop signs at the intersection by notifying nearby residents.

Also during city council, members:

• Discussed the possibility of a summer work program for ninth and tenth graders, as reviewed at the last council meeting. Because the summer is halfway over and the city was not given enough time to plan for the program, the council decided to look at the program for next summer.
• Approved the minutes of the June 25 regular meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council.
• Declared certain E911 equipment surplus and ratifying its disposal.
• Authorized the execution of a workers’ compensation claim administration and payment assignment agreement between the city and Midwest Employers Casualty Company with respect to a workers' compensation claim that has exceeded the policy retention limitation.
• Authorized the execution of the Jefferson County Elections contract with respect to the anticipated August municipal election.
• Authorized the execution of a professional service agreement between the city and Schoel Engineering Company Inc. for a drainage evaluation and design project at 3229 – 3331 Pine Ridge Road.
• Announced that on July 23, the city council will consider a request to amend the Lane Parke Planned Unit Development (PUD) master plan with respect to sidewalk materials and design and sidewalk lighting around the perimeter of the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

The next regular meeting of Mountain Brook City Council will be on July 23.