Residents await decision on Cherokee intersection

With the comment deadline in the rearview, Mountain Brook residents are hoping they were loud enough to prevent drastic changes to the intersection of U.S. 280 and Cherokee Road.

The site is one of 26 intersections targeted by the Alabama Department of Transportation in a November 2012 pitch to reduce congestion on 280. The plan is to remove the signal on the eastbound side of the highway and extend the grass median through center of intersection. Doing so would eliminate both direct travel across the intersection and left turns from both sides of Cherokee Road onto U.S. 280.

The proposal drew public outcry and received attention from local officials. As a result, ALDOT extended the submission deadline for comments by a week and launched a website where concerned residents could view engineering drawings for each intersection that may be altered. The proposal covers a nine-mile stretch from Hollywood Blvd. to Doug Baker Blvd.

 “I think what we would like to see accomplished is a safe alternative,” said Ali Powell with safety280.com, a recently launched information site about the proposals. “Nobody driving down that road wants people making dangerous U-turns in front of them.”

Like Powell, many have voiced concerns that driver safety will become a serious issue if the signal is removed at that intersection.

“They’re asking drivers coming from Cherokee Road to turn onto 280 with no signal protection during rush hour, merge left through three lanes traffic at moving full speed, move into a turn lane and perform a U-turn into more traffic moving at full speed without the protection of a merge lane or acceleration lane,” Mountain Brook resident Alan Zeigler said. “It’s a recipe for disaster.”

The Mountain Brook City Council gave the issue great consideration. On Nov. 26, residents and representatives of businesses approached the council with safety concerns. The council, in response, drafted a letter stating its displeasure with the proposal and hand-delivered it on Nov. 29 to John Cooper, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation.

However, the Council did not pass a resolution to formally oppose the proposal. Not yet, that is, and it likely won’t unless its members feel ALDOT representatives stop cooperating.

“The council as a whole has concerns about driver safety regarding the proposed changes. But ALDOT has been listening to concerns, and Director Cooper asked the city not to take a formal position at this time,” Council President Virginia Smith said.

However, Smith, in an opinion echoed by other members of the community, added that she felt the change would increase the number of fatalities in the area near the intersection.

Other concerns voiced about removing the signal are:

* Numerous Mountain Brook Parents living on South Cherokee Road use the signal to deliver children to Mountain Brook Elementary School.

* Emergency response times to South Cherokee Road would increase.

* Property values would decrease.

ALDOT Division 3 Engineer Brian Davis said the organization would have no comment until it has reviewed the feedback it received from the public on the designs, considered those comments and reassessed plans if necessary.

“They have been charged by (Gov. Robert Bentley) to do something with 280 and have come up with this,” Mountain Brook Mayor Terry Oden said. “We hope we can change their minds.”