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Photos by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Gerald Garner, the council’s liaison to the park board, said there have been discussions about installing cameras and erecting signs.
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Photos by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Left: Tommy Luckie told the Mountain Brook City Council that more improvements were still needed on Jemison Park Trail.
Tommy Luckie told the Mountain Brook City Council during its March 25 meeting that he’s the biggest cheerleader for the newly improved Jemison Park Trail. But he feels some more improvements are still needed.
“I love what we did at the park. It's fabulous,” Luckie said. “I just want to be sure that we're policing it properly, that it's under control and nobody gets hurt. Particularly with all the traffic. While there's been no accidents there, I don't think there's ever been this level of traffic either. I think that's my biggest concern, with kids and dogs and everybody getting distracted and then a car coming by. You know what could happen.”
Along with motorists driving too fast, Luckie also said he is concerned about security along the trail and that bicycles should not be used there.
Council President Virginia Smith said she’s not worried about toddlers pedaling tricycles and the like. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams said signs prohibiting bicycles, which were removed during upgrades to the trail, will return.
Smith also suggested that “Share The Road” signs be posted near the trail to alert motorists of people riding bicycles along Mountain Brook Parkway.
“I don't want to add signs all over the place, but there are some really known bicycle routes through our city,” she said. “I don't think the occasional sign is going to hurt anybody.”
Addressing security, Smith said the city sometimes has cameras along the trail.
Gerald Garner, the council’s liaison to the park board, said there have been discussions about installing cameras and erecting signs. He also talked about an ordinance concerning bicycles along the trail.
“There is not one on the books right now, and I think they were wanting to try to work through signage and some of those things before they get to that next level,” Garner said. “But they are thinking about the cameras and some of that stuff. They are on top of it.”
Williams said the park board wants to update signs at the city parks. The council approved the installation of the first sign, at Woodcliff Park.
“Each sign for each park would be a little bit different, but the stone would do the same, the mortar, the cap on the side, the font, the limestone inlay ... everything. All the materials are the same,” said Dale Brasher of Brasher Design Studio. “We're just trying to create a sense of entry for the park, so when you see the sign and the materials, you'll know you're entering a Mountain Brook park.”
Also on March 25, the council amended Articles XXV and XVI of the city code. Among other things, the amendments:
Extend the timeframe for a developer to begin construction of a Planned Unit Development from one year to two years, unless another timeframe is approved by the council.
Reduce the number of copies an applicant submits to the city for a PUD, from 17 copies to one digital copy.
Allow filing applications for rezoning and preliminary site plans with the zoning officer instead of the city clerk.
State that the planning commission will hold a public hearing, after giving notice, of its consideration of the rezoning application. Following the public hearing, the zoning officer — rather than the planning commission — will forward the application to the city council.
Change the time limit for re-applying for a zoning change. If the city council denies an application to rezone a parcel, another application for the same change for part of all of that parcel shall not be considered by the planning commission or the city council for six months. The previous time limit was two years.
