
Photo by Jon Anderson
Kate Bai walks her dog on Overland Drive in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
The city of Vestavia Hills is taking public input before updating the city’s master sidewalk plan.
A draft of the plan is on the city’s website. It’s a map that shows existing pedestrian paths, proposed future pedestrian paths, proposed greenways and priority areas.
The draft shows priority areas as being along Massey Road, Dolly Ridge Road, Shades Crest Road and various areas in Cahaba Heights.
However, City Engineer Ethan Fisher said people who live in areas previously identified as priority areas thus far are not being as vocal as they were in the past. It’s possible they don’t feel the need to speak up since their areas already have been marked as priorities, he said.
“It’ll be interesting to see what the final tallies are and where a majority of the comments are from,” Fisher said.
The primary areas marked as proposed greenways are along and near the Cahaba River in Liberty Park, Cahaba Heights and Altadena Valley Park. Most of the pathways at Altadena Valley Park are existing trails, but there are plans for upgrades and additional trails there.
The city’s Engineering Department has a process to analyze potential sites for sidewalks and other pathways to determine the feasibility, Fisher said.
The draft plan can be seen on the city’s website here.
Anyone with questions about the sidewalk plan is invited to contact Fisher at efisher@vhal.org or 205-978-0150. However, the main way to provide feedback to the draft sidewalk master plan is by giving input through this online survey.

Map courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills
This is the city of Vestavia Hills's draft master sidewalk plan as of early December 2024. City officials are seeking public input before amending the master plan.