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Liberty Parkway becomes public road

by

Neal Embry

Drivers in the Vestavia Hills area, take note: Beginning July 30, Vestavia Hills police will be able to patrol and write tickets on portions of three Liberty Park roads after the city council approved two ordinances dedicating those roads to the city, freeing up a cooperative district to widen the roads.

The council approved the dedication of Liberty Parkway, stretching from Overton Road to Sicard Hollow Road, as well as portions of Lake Parkway and River Run Lane, to the city of Vestavia Hills as public roads, as well as a maintenance agreement with the Liberty Park Joint Venture for the upkeep of the roads and surrounding areas. Sicard Hollow Road remains a private road, but the gate where the road meets Liberty Parkway must now come down.

The Liberty Park Public Road Cooperative District, which includes the city of Vestavia, the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County, have come together to widen the road, and will oversee the project, City Manager Jeff Downes said. In order to benefit the entire cooperative district, the Liberty Park Master Owner's Association, which is considered part of the district, contributed $897,000 of road maintenance funds to the district.

Several council members voiced concerns about traffic in the area, which up until now has not been patrolled by VHPD. Traffic in the area is expected to pick up as a new 700-acre mixed use development is being constructed.

The maintenance agreement stipulates the city will handle roadway surfaces, road bed maintenance, traffic control, drainage, utilities and anything deemed to be a roadside hazard, while Liberty Park Master Owners Association will hande the landscaping, including sidewalks, gutters, as well as street and directional signage.

Also changing with the newly-passed ordinances: Golf carts will no longer be allowed on the public portion of Liberty Parkway roads, but can use sidewalks. Downes, a Liberty Park resident, said he’s personally seen dangerous situations with the carts, including a 10-year-old driving one on the roadway.

The 700-acre development was not contingent on the roadways being dedicated, as construction has already begun on portions of the development, a point reiterated by Downes after a resident asked if the development was relying on the council to pass the ordinances.

The council also voted to authorize Gresham Smith and Partners to conduct additional design work on the proposed pedestrian bridge connecting the city library to the Wald Park area, a project Downes said is tied with the Massey Road project, in which sidewalks would be added to the road, as the two most frustrating projects of his career.

The council authorized the additional $100,000 be paid to the company after the Alabama Department of Transportation, which is over the project, mandated the redesign in order to make the project ADA-compliant. Downes told the Vestavia Voice the bridge was originally designed with a ramp in mind, but must now have an elevator.

The project is funded by federal monies and grants, and Downes said the project is expected to be bid in mid to late 2019, and that ALDOT, after years of not paying much attention to the project, has showed renewed enthusiasm for the project.

An ordinance rezoning the city’s former public works facility to VH B-2, general business district, was read on first reading. Mayor Ashley Curry said the city plans to sell the building, hopefully to bring in Baumhower’s Victory Grille, though that has not been finalized.

An ordinance creating a pretrial diversion program, which would allow certain first-time offenders access to courses and counseling to avoid having a conviction on their record, was also read on first reading.

In other news, the council:

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