Council discusses infrastructure issues at work session

It was “Public Works Night” at the Vestavia Hills City Council work session Monday night, as a slew of infrastructure and road improvement projects were discussed.

Cahaba Beach Road

The meeting began with a look at the proposed Cahaba Beach Road project currently under consideration by ALDOT.

The project, led by Shelby County, has four proposed routes to connect Cahaba Beach Road with U.S. 280, as well as a “no build” option, which City Manager Jeff Downes said Cahaba River advocates have been arguing for.

Downes said he has been in contact with project leads and engineers at ALDOT, and that because the project is still in the public comment stage, and that after being asked by City Councilor Kimberly Cook to bring up the issue at a work session, he wanted to get the council’s opinion on the issue officially considered.

Cook expressed her concerns, which Downes added were voiced by residents as recently as the Nov. 14 meeting about Crosshaven Drive, about how the project would affect Vestavia Hills, even though none of the proposed build-out would come through the city’s jurisdiction.

“I feel like some traffic would naturally go to Cahaba Heights Road,” Cook said.

Additionally, Cook said that she was concerned about the impact the proposed routes would have on Sicard Hollow Road and Grants Mill Road.

“To me, I think more answers are needed,” she said.

Councilors asked if there was data about the level of service, and Downes said that there were some projections for each route, ranging from 9,000 to 12,000 trips per day, but that studies about how it would impact Cahaba Heights or Liberty Park had not been completed.

City Councilor Paul Head asked what the city could do, given that the project wouldn’t go through the city limits.

Downes said that while the city has no ability to force anything, it can comment officially and express its concerns and wishes to ALDOT as the project decisions are made.

Based on the feedback, he said, he would submit a letter to ALDOT asking for more information about how the project would impact Vestavia, and if there is any room for an agreement for other improvements to offset the impact.

East Street

The second issue the council discussed was the traffic on East Street and the surrounding neighborhood caused by the BUSA facility in Mountain Brook.

Senior Civil Engineer Lori Beth Kearley presented the findings of a traffic study conducted Nov. 7-15 with the city’s new traffic counter.

Kearley said she and the public works staff compared the information to the 2004 traffic study Mountain Brook had done before constructing Rathmell Sports Park.

According to the data, the levels measured during the recent study matched the pre-park levels or the levels that the park was projected to cause, with the exception of Tuesday evenings.

The projected peak number of cars through the area was 198, and the peak measured by the recent study was 289.

Kearley said the study measured an average speed of 22 miles per hour in the area, with 95 percent of cars staying under 28 miles per hour.

Downes said based on staff discussions, his recommendation would be to address the issue in two primary ways.

First, he said the city could engage in talks with BUSA about changing the league’s programming to better spread out traffic, rather than it being concentrated on Tuesday nights.

Additionally, Downes said the city could also focus on making the area safer for residents by adding sidewalks.

To put in sidewalks from one end to the other would cost around $200,000, but the biggest issue would be right of way requirement.

When the issue first came up in 2012, Downes explained, homeowners in the center section of East Street were reluctant to allow the sidewalks to be built because the city would need to acquire the property.

But now, City Engineer Christopher Brady explained, a property owner on the other side of the street is willing to consider it.

Downes said the next step would be for the council to appropriate funds, should they choose.

Crosshaven

Downes briefed the council on the Nov. 14 meeting about Crosshaven Drive.

“The quick summary of that is something we all know: Crosshaven needs work,” he said.

He reiterated his statements at the meeting that based on preliminary engineering work, the project — which would total around $5 million — would progress faster if done with local funds rather than federal dollars.

The county’s portion of the project is still six to seven years out from seeing completion, he said, but Brady reported that the county had begun condemnations to acquire right of way, so the process could move more quickly.

Massey Road

Brady also updated the council on the reasons the repaving of Massey Road has stalled out.

The $137,000 project was originally designed in 2014, but because the project has a federal match, the design needs ALDOT approval.

He explained that the city had submitted what it thought were final plans in April, but ALDOT rejected the plans and is requiring the lanes be a foot wider. The change, Brady explained, requires the retaining wall portion of the project to be moved as well, which will require an entire redesign and additional right of way acquisition.

The council’s final regular meeting of November will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27.