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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills Traffic Study
Traffic moves through the intersection of Shades Crest Road and U.S. 31 on March 12.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills Traffic Study
Traffic moves through the intersection of Shades Crest Road and U.S. 31 on March 12.
An increase in the number of residents in Vestavia Hills in recent years has brought with it a source of dread for many: traffic problems.
Situated between Birmingham and Hoover, with ramps to Interstates 65 and 459 on the south side of the city, Vestavia is no stranger to traffic, whether on U.S. 31, I-65 or other well-driven roads such as Columbiana Road and Massey Road.
In 2019, the city received a report funded through a federal APPLE (Advance Planning Programming & Logical Engineering) grant concerning several intersections that could be improved. Almost one year later, the city is still working to improve some of those intersections while continuing its work to relieve traffic congestion throughout the city.
Vestavia’s chief engineer, Christopher Brady, said the APPLE studies analyze intersections for possible improvement based on the number of complaints the city receives. They create what he called “high-level conceptual drawings” and cost estimates, allowing the city to know the cost before applying for federal and state grants to actually pay for the project. This allows the city to set priorities and determine where it wants to spend money, Brady said.
Two of the original nine intersections studied are, as of mid-March, undergoing preliminary engineering work and have been deemed priorities by the council, Brady said. Those two intersections are Rocky Ridge at Dolly Ridge Road and Sicard Hollow Road at Blue Lake Drive.
The concept work and cost analysis has been done for Rocky Ridge at Dolly Ridge, Brady said. Now, the city is working to determine possible funding sources, conducting preliminary engineering and establishing detailed drawings as to what the improvements will look like. Preliminary engineering obtains an engineer’s opinion about the project in terms of cost, as well as any necessary right of way acquisition or utility relocation, Brady said.
While Jefferson County created a left-turn lane from Rocky Ridge Road southbound onto Dolly Ridge Road in preparation for the addition of the Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge campus this past fall, the longer-range plan as laid out in the APPLE study is to create a right-turn lane from Rocky Ridge northbound onto Dolly Ridge Road.
“So much traffic comes up Rocky Ridge, it’s backing it up,” Brady said.
The goal is to “maximize” the right-turn lane so as to minimize traffic on Rocky Ridge, and one of the to-do items with the project is to see how big the turn lane can be, Brady said.
Sidewalks and crosswalks are already planned for the intersection, he said.
At Sicard Hollow Road and Blue Lake Drive, a roundabout is potentially coming to reduce the number of traffic accidents that occur at the intersection.
“We think it could be considered,” Brady said.
While the APPLE study considered a traffic signal at the intersection, it was determined a traffic signal could lead to even more accidents with people trying to beat the light, Brady said. A roundabout would reduce the speed of cars merging onto the road, and if there were an accident, the chances of it being serious or fatal would be reduced, Brady said.
The main issue with a roundabout, however, is that it takes up a lot of room on the road, so the city will have to determine whether the road can handle having a roundabout installed, he said.
Other possible intersections that could be improved include U.S. 31 at Columbiana Road and I-65, as well as U.S. 31 at Shades Crest Road, but the latter is “off the board” right now, Brady said.
At the U.S. 31/I-65/Columbiana Road interchange, improvements will have to be a joint effort, Brady said. The city has reached out to the Alabama Department of Transportation and Jefferson County to ask about confirming the cost of making improvements and determining what exactly can be done. It is possible the right-turn lanes onto U.S. 31 from Columbiana would be changed to more of a 90-degree angle, forcing drivers to come to a complete stop, but allowing them to have a better view of what’s coming from their left, Brady previously said in a work session.
Other ongoing city projects include Massey Road, with construction to install sidewalks, widen the road, repave the road and install a new retaining wall scheduled to start this summer.
Brady said the road would have to be fully closed and the project would not be done by the beginning of school, which would have an impact on those traveling to the new Pizitz Middle School campus on Columbiana Road. Drivers will be diverted to U.S. 31, where they can then turn right on Columbiana Road.
TRAFFIC JAMS AND ACCIDENTS
People who experience traffic issues can report them to the city’s action center, Brady said.
One of the biggest issues the city sees is in signal timing. The city coordinates with ALDOT to ensure lights are switching in a timely manner and to determine whether or not they need to be revised.
Working with ALDOT and Jefferson County has gotten much easier in the past few years, Brady said. The city works with the agencies extensively because Shades Crest Road and Columbiana Road are both Jefferson County through-roads, meaning the county controls the right of way, and U.S. 31 is a state-controlled road.
In addition to congestion, the city sees a fair number of traffic accidents.
Vestavia police Capt. Johnny Evans said I-65 sees the highest number of accidents, followed by the Columbiana Road and U.S. 31 intersection. The place with the third highest number of accidents is the intersection of U.S. 31 and Shades Crest Road.
The reason behind most of those accidents is usually inattention, with the driver paying attention to the radio or his or her phone, or speeding, Evans said.
The city’s Police Department has units that patrol the city throughout the day, ready to respond to accidents.
“We’ve got five traffic units that that’s all they do, and they stay busy,” Evans said.
