Photo by Sarah Owens
Mountain Brook City Council discusses cut-through traffic along Halbrook Lane, Arundel Drive and Cromwell Drive during a meeting on Oct. 28, 2024.
Mountain Brook City Council voted on Monday to continue efforts to address cut-through traffic issues along Halbrook Lane, Arundel Drive and Cromwell Drive, approving plans to enhance and/or move speed humps in the area and remove no-through-traffic signs.
Mountain Brook Fire Chief Chris Mullins expressed concerns over speed humps slowing down emergency vehicles, noting that "seconds matter" in life or death situations. Aside from requiring ambulances and other first responders to slow down to almost a stop to prevent any injured parties in the back from bouncing and causing further harm, speed humps can also potentially cause damage to the city's fire trucks and equipment that costs millions of dollars.
While Mullins said speed humps in any form cause these issues, he clarified that moving them to the middle of the streets would be worse than leaving them in their current locations.
The council also voted to move ahead with plans to build a sidewalk along Halbrook, a project that is already budgeted for. Skipper Consulting and traffic engineer Richard Caudle, the parties responsible for the previous traffic studies done on the issue, will need to be brought in to redesign the speed humps, and Nimrod Long Associates will need to design a sidewalk plan before construction can begin.
City Manager Sam Gaston said the sidewalks could be completed in as little as six weeks, but timing is dependent on the schedule of Mountain Brook Public Works.
Councilman Billy Pritchard also noted that it is likely the chicanes along the streets will be removed after the next council meeting, pending responses from area residents. Gaston will be polling residents to see whether they would like them removed or not, but a majority of council members at Monday's meeting said they would support their removal.
No truck traffic signs indicating the city's new truck ordinance are also expected to be up along the streets in the next two weeks after a motion for their placement was approved.
To learn more about what the council has done to address this cut-through traffic issue over the last two years, read some of our previous coverage on the topic here:
- Council work session addresses cut-through traffic issues
- Next tactics to combat cut-through traffic on Halbrook delayed until late July
- Measures approved to address motorists on Halbrook Lane
- Plans for Halbrook Lane closure to be determined
- Curves ahead: chicanes added to address cut-through traffic
- Council discusses speed humps affect on traffic detours
To see the full agenda from Monday's council meeting, visit https://www.mtnbrook.org/citycouncil/meeting/city-council-125.
