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Stoneridge Drive and Dunbrooke Drive traffic island
The traffic island along Stoneridge Drive and Dunbrooke Drive in the Dunbarton neighborhood in Mountain Brook.
Certain land formations can be found in certain locations. Eastern Tennessee is home to mountainous terrain, and Hawaii boasts impressive volcanoes.
In Mountain Brook, a different type of terrain can be found: traffic islands. Shanda Williams, the parks and recreation superintendent of Mountain Brook, said traffic islands are somewhat unique to that city. Those islands could be afforded some more care because of an action taken at the Nov. 10 city council meeting.
“Where the roads intersect, they don’t make a perfect T,” Williams said. “It kind of Ys off, and then there’s a triangle right there.”
Most of the popular traffic islands are in cul-de-sacs. Williams said there’s a grassy island right in the middle where drivers make the loop around.
“The policy allows residents to make requests to make improvements on those islands,” Williams said. “We’ll go in and plant a tree or some nice bushes. Some of them have had little rock patios, and then the neighbors will add Adirondack chairs to them. It just makes a nice community space for them.”
The city had allotted money for upgrades to traffic islands, depending on the size of the island. Those allotments had been $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000.
Staff
Stoneridge Drive and Dunbrooke Drive traffic island
Cars approach the traffic island along Stoneridge Drive and Dunbrooke Drive in the Dunbarton neighborhood. At the Nov. 10 meeting, city council members allotted money for upgrades to traffic islands around Mountain Brook.
“Here recently, especially in the last five years, $1,000 isn’t going very far for some of the smaller islands,” Williams said. “I think 3,000 square feet is the cut off for $1,000.”
Williams requested and the council approved increasing those allotments by $500, making them $1,500, $2,500 and $3,500.
New City Council President Billy Pritchard opened the meeting with proclamations honoring retiring City Manager Sam Gaston and retiring Council President Virginia Smith, for whom the pre-council meeting room has been named. Retiring Mayor Stewart Welch III received the first proclamation from new Mayor Graham Smith, who called Welch “someone I truly think the world of.”
During the meeting, the council also:
- Reappointed Scott Boomhover to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
- Approved the sale or disposal of certain surplus property.
- Authorized the purchase of Ford F-350 truck for the fire department.
- Appointed Maretta Ashford to fill the remaining two years of Mayor Graham Smith’s term as the Place 1 member of the city council.
Following the meeting, a large crowd assembled in the council chamber to honor Gaston, for whom that chamber is named.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “I have just thoroughly enjoyed working for this great community and with such great people. The mayor and council have been very generous to me and the staff and our employees, and I will always remember that.”
While Gaston has retired as Mountain Brook’s city manager, he hasn’t stepped away from the profession. He’s a senior advisor for International City/County Management Association.
“It sounds more important than it is,” the retiree said. “It’s really an unpaid volunteer role where I mentor other managers or help cities find a city manager or city administrator. Right now, I am actually helping or talking with three different cities in some capacity, helping them in some way as they’re transitioning for new people coming in — new mayors, new managers.”
