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Two Mountain Brook residents voiced their concerns about Alabama Department of Transportation [ALDOT] plans to replace the Pumphouse Road Bridge in their efforts to expand U.S. 280 to four lanes from Hollywood Boulevard to Interstate 459.
“Our major concerns are more to the impact of the neighborhood as a whole than to our specific property,” said Ila Broyles, who lives on Pumphouse Road. “We've learned that they're planning on making it a three-lane bridge, that they're changing the trajectory that Pumphouse comes up to [U.S.] 280. Already for residents on Pumphouse Road, speeding is a big concern, pulling out of our driveways onto Pumphouse. We're very concerned as a neighborhood that this is going to encourage people to speed even more because some of the bend in the road is coming out.”
Lura Denson said she and other neighbors on Pumphouse Road “felt blindsided” by the ALDOT project.
“At some point, you [ALDOT] can hear our voices,” she said, “and try to hear that it's a major concern for everybody else.”
Broyles and Denson said they’ve been told the three-lane bridge is to keep the bridge open during 18 months of construction widening U.S. 280. They hope there is an alternative.
“I would much rather have 18 months of pain,” Denson said of having the bridge closed, “than I would to have 100 years of looking at traffic coming at 40 miles per hour in front of my home.”
Council President Virginia Smith said the council will pursue a meeting with ALDOT’s DeJarvis Leonard, the East Central Region Engineer.
In other action, the council:
Approved purchasing guardrails to be installed on the east end of Cherokee Road. Public Works Director Ronnie Vaughn said his crew had already addressed citizen concerns about safety, repainting the striping on the side of the road.
Heard a report from Police Chief Jaye Loggins about a possible change to the speed limit on Colonial Hills Neighborhood. Loggins said a traffic study showed that no change in speed limits were warranted there.
Passed a resolution establishing an encroachment agreement for the property at 3613 Montclair Road between Brookshire Condos and Gaywood Circle. The agreement provides enough flexibility to allow for a sidewalk.
Approved a contract amendment with Gresham Smith Partners for the redesign of the Old Brook Trail and Canterbury Road bridge projects. The city will thus spend $58,000 and save $210,000 because it won’t have to move a sewer line in that area.
Ratified the Mountain Brook Fire Department’s application for a $75,000 grant from the office of Jefferson County District 5 Commissioner Mike Bolin.
Accepted the proposal with Sain Associates for additional services on the Pine Ridge Sidewalk project.
Heard a request for conditional use of an office in the second floor of the old Barton Clay Jewelers location at 2701 Cahaba Road. Billy Pritchard initially expressed concern that there is not yet a clearly defined use of the first floor of the property. Ken Polk of MBVII LLC said there is a possibility that two businesses could go in that space. That matter was held over until the council’s next meeting on Nov. 27.
