A look ahead at 2017: Hollywood pedestrian bridge
In November, the City Council revived discussion of pedestrian access to the Hollywood Boulevard bridge over U.S. 280.
Mike Kaczorowski of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham presented an option to use an APPLE (Advanced Planning, Programming and Logical Engineering) grant to conduct an engineering and feasibility study of solutions to improve both vehicle and pedestrian use of the bridge.
The APPLE Grant, administered by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, will assess existing conditions, rights-of-way and utilities, as well as develop design concepts for the project, up to $60,000. The city requesting the study must pay 20 percent of the cost.
“It helps cities feel better about getting a big federal project,” Kaczorowski said.
Ward 5 Rep. Jennifer Andress said the Mountain Brook City Council is willing to help with the project and already has approved paying half of the 20 percent fee.
This would leave Homewood paying up to $6,000 for the study. Homewood is taking the lead in requesting the APPLE grant because Mountain Brook already has other APPLE grant projects in motion.
After meeting with ALDOT and former district Rep. David Faulkner, Andress said she thinks the right approach is to treat the bridge as a traffic issue rather than a safety issue.
“I think this could be a huge regional success,” Andress said.
The scope of the study will extend from Malaga Avenue in Homewood to Mountain Brook Village. Kaczorowski said the APPLE study will take nine months, so potential solutions could be available by summer.
Kaczorowski said the firm that conducts the study can provide options with and without the use of federal money, in case Homewood and Mountain Brook want to use local funds to move the project more quickly.
Andress added that ALDOT may be able to provide some funds for construction as well. One issue that will have to be addressed is working around the cemetery near the bridge. Options for that can also be included in the study.
If the results of the study provide an obvious solution that both cities agree on, Kaczorowski said construction could begin as soon as fall.
The full council approved funding the APPLE study on Nov. 28.