Recreating Sicard Hollow

On four wheels or two feet, Sicard Hollow Road is not an easy road to travel. School traffic and the lack of sidewalks make it a challenge for the city.

“You have existing traffic and transportation issues in a recreation center of Vestavia Hills. That’s on our minds as we look at the future,” City Manager Jeff Downes said.

The groundwork is being laid for improvements at Sicard Hollow Road, with old projects taking the next step and new projects about to begin.

Planning a new park 

The proposed community park next to Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex has been planned for a long time. At one point, the Parks and Recreation Foundation had hoped to finish development on the 40 acres of former mining land by the end of 2015.

So far, clearing and prepping the land has been the only progress. Foundation Executive Director Leigh Belcher said the design and fundraising process is ongoing, and details about what will be included at the park will be finalized by the beginning of 2016.

Belcher said amenities for the Sicard Hollow Park will likely include walking trails, picnic pavilions, amphitheater, playground and splash pad. A dog park has also been discussed. The Foundation is currently working with vendors to finalize the construction costs of the project.

“Green space is always a plus any way you look at it,” Belcher said.

“[It’s] just a spot where people can get away from everyday life here,” Public Services Director Brian Davis said.

In addition to a community space, Belcher said the Foundation has talked with Vestavia Hills High School and Liberty Park Middle School’s cross country-coaches about using the park’s trails. The park could be a location to host competitions with area schools as well as regular practice. 

“They’re very excited about this trail system,” Belcher said. “I think it’s going to help our school system’s cross-country program have a place to call their own.”

If planning is completed on schedule in January, Belcher said she tentatively expects to start Phase I of park construction in spring 2016. The first phase would include trails, the pavilions and the playground. Other phases would follow as the Foundation raises the funds they need.

Better walking and driving

With athletic fields on each side of Sicard Hollow Road and the community park on the way, the next challenge is making these amenities accessible. 

The first project to address that, Downes said, is the pedestrian tunnel under Sicard Hollow Road. In October 2014, Vestavia Hills received a Transportation Alternatives Program grant for up to $379,000 from ALDOT for this project, with the city paying 20 percent of the project costs. In January, Volkert Engineers was contracted to design the tunnel.

Downes said Volkert is about 90 percent done with the planning of the tunnel, which is most likely going to be placed next to an existing city maintenance facility where Sicard Hollow Road and Lake Colony meet. Davis said they are still working through some challenges, most notably the placement of a water main directly under Sicard Hollow Road. The tunnel will either have to go deeper to avoid the water main, or the pipe will have to be moved.

The engineers are also still determining how far the sidewalk will extend on either side of the tunnel to connect it with the park and athletic complexes.

With ALDOT approval, construction on the tunnel could begin by mid-2016. 

The city is also getting started on a traffic flow study of Sicard Hollow Road through a multi-jurisdictional agreement with Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham. On Oct. 22, the cities and county selected CDG Engineering to prepare resurfacing plans for the road. Downes said road conditions on Sicard Hollow are a “source of continual complaint.”

Sidewalks will not be part of this project.

Downes anticipates the study finishing by the end of 2015. If the study shows that road construction is needed, he said the city will attempt to have that start at the same time as construction on the pedestrian tunnel.

“Our goal and objective is to tie in any road reconfiguration and efforts to improve this section right here as soon as we can,” Downes said.

A new home for public works

In conjunction with the other projects, Volkert was contracted in September to consider a new design for the city maintenance facility at the corner of Lake Colony and Sicard Hollow Road.

The current building, Downes said, is not laid out well and has a road running through the property. With a pedestrian tunnel about to be constructed right next door, it was the ideal time for Volkert to look at the functions of the public works building and the possibilities to improve it.

Analysis of the property is just beginning. However, Downes said one possible solution is having Lake Colony connect straight to Sicard Hollow Road, instead of the sharp left turn it currently makes to go through the maintenance property. With that road gone, Downes said the city could tear down the existing building and build a new one to better suit its purposes, with a privacy fence to screen it from the road.

“Our desire is to improve the flow of traffic between Liberty Park and the SHAC. Realignment of that road and reconfiguration of the maintenance facility to clean it up is paramount,” Downes said.

Davis said that before any changes are decided, the city will have to make sure a new building or road won’t impede public works employees in doing their jobs.

The maintenance facility study was prompted by developments on the other side of the city.

The main public works building sits on a property facing Highway 31 and houses much of the department’s vehicle fleet and materials. Downes said the building is too big for the city’s needs, but more importantly it is sitting on prime real estate.

The mayor and city council have voted to put the property up for sale, and Downes said they’ve already received four offers from different retailers.

“We see property facing Highway 31 as very lucrative property when you’re pushing 40,000 cars every day going up and down Highway 31,” he said. “Activity and awareness in that central Highway 31 region is very high and interest is very high, and the offers on the table that are being considered are very good offers. So we’re just hoping that we can work through the details.”

This means the vehicles, storage and employees currently at the location must be redistributed between the Sicard Hollow Road facility and other city buildings near the Wald Park tennis courts. Assuming the study shows a feasible way to do so, Downes said the city could transition those facilities in about six months.

There are a lot of unknowns still to be resolved, but Downes is hoping to see these multiple projects work in concert to improve quality of life for residents and commuters along Sicard Hollow Road.

“We could solve many different problems in one particular project,” he said.