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Roadways discussed at council meeting

by

Lexi Coon.

Roadways were the topic of discussion again at the Mountain Brook City Council meeting on March 26, as Richard Caudle with Skipper Consultants went over three main areas that had been on the agenda previously.

The first was for lighting upgrades at Mountain Brook Parkway and Cahaba Road. Previously, Caudle estimated it would cost the city around $75,000 to install new fixtures, but he presented an option for the city to partake in a lease lighting agreement with Alabama Power Company. They would install new lighting to the intersection.

The project would be a two-step process, Caudle said, starting with a contract with Stone and Sons Electric to remove an existing signal service and build a new one on an existing traffic pole. This would cost approximately $2,500. 

The second step would pertain to the monthly lease agreement with Alabama Power. Under the lease, the city would pay $155.61 per month. Included in the payment would be four new lights, all oriented over the existing two crosswalks that were recently painted. 

Council members approved this proposal, but opted to not pursue the plans Caudle discussed next regarding the intersection of Euclid Avenue, Montevallo Road and Leach Drive, and Overton Road at South Brookwood Road.

Both of these areas were discussed at length at the council meeting on March 12.

For the first intersection at Euclid Avenue, Montevallo Road and Leach Drive, Caudle again said, “It’s not a failing situation that we’re trying to make acceptable, this is a good situation that we might would make a little better.”

The proposal was to alter the intersection to create a designated left turn lane and combine the through and right-turn lane on southbound Montevallo Road, which would require restriping and  adding some asphalt to a small portion of the intersection. 

Half of the intersection is in Mountain Brook while the other half is in the city of Birmingham, which Caudle said is uninterested in the project.

“In my opinion, no action would be a perfectly acceptable action to take,” he said. 

The second set of intersection projects at Overton Road and South Brookwood Road would pertain to traffic from Brookwood Forest Elementary.

Caudle spoke of two options: installing a sidewalk on the south side of Overton Road for pedestrian traffic or installing the sidewalk and a designated left turn lane on the eastbound side of Overton Road turning onto South Brookwood Road. The idea was to mitigate morning traffic in the area.

Caudle, as well as Michael Kaczorowski, principal planner of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, went over various grant funding options for the projects. 

The CMAQ, or Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality, grant, provided the most amount of funding for the city and would cover 80 percent of funding for the entire project if constructing both the sidewalk and the left turn lane. The TAP, or Transportation Alternative Program, however, would only cover 80 percent of construction, engineering and inspection.

Because both options of construction — either just the sidewalk or the sidewalk paired with the left turn lane — would negatively affect homeowners in the immediate vicinity, council members chose not to take action. Not only would construction move the road and sidewalk closer to residents’ homes along Overton Road, but some yards could need small retaining walls installed, they said.

Council members said they agreed additions to the road at South Brookwood Road would not necessarily be in the best interest of residents, especially since a new neighborhood is being constructed not far away in Liberty Park. Council member Lloyd Shelton said the current plan could be outdated in just five years due to evolving traffic.

Council pro temp Billy Pritchard also said if the city makes traffic better in that area, it's possible that more cars will commute through it, which would negate any improvements the city makes.

“You can make it better, but its just going to put more traffic on the road,” he said. 

Director of Mountain Brook Public Works Ronnie Vaughn also spoke about roadways during the meeting, although his request was simply to repave city streets.

The list for repaving in 2018, which focuses mainly on Mountain Brook Village would include:

Vaughn also said Culver Road from Cahaba Road to Montevallo Road would be paved after the second phase of Lane Parke construction is completed. 

Council members approved the list of paving and Vaughn said they would try to start construction — which would be done largely at night — once school is out for the summer.

Also during the meeting, council members:

The next city council meeting will be on April 9 with the regular meeting starting at 7 p.m. A public hearing considering an ordinance to amend the community shopping district of the city code will be conducted at that time.

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