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Intersection studies reviewed at council meeting

by

Lexi Coon.

After taking the time to study a selection of Mountain Brook roads and intersections for possible APPLE grants, Richard Caudle presented his findings to council members during the pre-meeting on March 12. 

Of the seven he discussed at the meeting, he suggested the city leave three of them as-is: Montevallo Road at Overhill Road, Bethune Drive, and Montevallo Road at Euclid Avenue and Leach Drive. The specific reasons varied, although he stated that each intersection is operating well as-is and any suggestions he would make would not necessarily benefit drivers or pedestrians in the area.

One slightly larger recommendation for the intersection of Montevallo Road at Euclid Avenue and Leach Drive involved repainting the intersection to create a designated left-turn lane and a through and right-turn lane on southbound Montevallo Road, which in total would cost $36,000. This includes engineering and adding asphalt to a small portion of the intersection. Because this would not substantially better the intersection, but would be beneficial in some capacity, council members opted to hold off on making any changes.

Caudle also spoke about Memory Triangle in Crestline. Previous modifications to traffic signal and pedestrian signal timings were made to the triangle and the intersection at Dan Watkins Drive in 2017. 

To fully remedy the problem of traffic queues along Country Club Road on the west side of the triangle, Caudle said the city would need to install an additional light at the north end of the triangle on Memory Court, but this will not be needed until a later date. “It’s not something I would do today, not something I would do two years from now,” he said.

Caudle also provided an update regarding lighting options for Mountain Brook Parkway and Cahaba Road. The addition of lighting was approved by council members at a previous meeting, but he is currently waiting to hear about a quote to move a light pole.

However, he did have suggestions that can be implemented for the roads near Brookwood Forest Elementary — specifically, Overton Road at Briar Oak Drive and Briar Oak Circle and Overton Road at South Brookwood Road.

The former was discussed during the meeting on Feb. 12, when Caudle said he would not suggest adding a crosswalk on Overton Road due to limited sight distances for both drivers and pedestrians as well as higher speed limits. 

Instead, he proposed the city consider adding a sidewalk along the south side of Overton Road between Briar Oak Drive and South Brookwood Road for pedestrians to have a safe area to walk. This would allow those going to BWF to use the crosswalk at Overton Road and South Brookwood Road to get to the school. The sidewalk would cost the city approximately $145,000, but could be eligible for a TAP, or transportation alternative program, grant, Caudle said. 

Another idea that was presented said to use the city right-of-way along Overton Road to widen it, include a left turn lane and install a sidewalk on both the north and south sides of the road. This would cost close to $800,000 and would be eligible for a CMAQ, or congestion mitigation and air quality improvement, grant. However, Caudle said an optimistic start time would be in 2021.

Because just a few years can make a big difference in such an area, council members opted to think about their options for now and not pursue any action for the intersections.

They did, however, suggest to BWF principal Nathan Pitner to not allow parent pickup or carpool backup before 2:45 p.m. Caudle said this was implemented a few years ago and helped keep cars from stacking up, but over the years it hasn’t been enforced. 

He noted that for at least 10 minutes in the afternoon, there are cars parked in the wrong direction on South Brookwood Road. “Now, the situation has gotten where people are going the wrong way on Overton, as well,” he said.

Councilman Billy Pritchard also said avoiding major construction on the major roads would be beneficial to BWF as they pursue constructing a new playground over the summer. 

Council members also approved to help fund the playground project, spearheaded by the Ranger PTO, by giving $20,000 to the Mountain Brook Board of Education to be used for the construction of a new playground at the school.

The playground, which is 26 years old and is not ADA compliant, was designed with a focus group of teachers, students and parents. It is set to cost a total of $383,000. With the city’s support, the project is now approximately $40,000 away from being fully funded.

Also during the council meeting on March 12, members:

The next council meeting will be on March 26.

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