Changing lanes

From Fred Azbik’s Hambaugh Avenue home, he can hear passing traffic on Oxmoor Road. Now he fears the noise level will grow with the city’s plans to redesign the heavily traveled roadway.

“We don’t like it. Ninety percent of it we don’t like,” Azbik said. “Increasing the lanes of traffic over there, in my mind, the noise will go up.”

The Homewood City Council has been at work for months on this traffic improvement project, which will span from the Oxmoor Boulevard/Green Springs Highway intersection to Barber Court. At its June 23 meeting, the council authorized Mayor Scott McBrayer to execute right-of-way acquisition and construction and utility agreements with the State of Alabama for the project. 

The project will add new east and westbound lanes on Oxmoor Boulevard, remove the Alabama Power transmission tower on that street and make changes to the I-65 ramps. It will also add left turn lanes at Scott Street, two places on Vulcan Road, both sides of the Columbiana Road/Palisades Boulevard intersection and on Oxmoor Boulevard at the Green Springs/Oxmoor Road/Palisades intersection. 

City Senior Planner Vanessa McGrath said the improvements will simplify driving on Oxmoor Boulevard by reducing the number of lane shifts required to travel the street.

Additionally, the city will remove two traffic signals on the east end of Oxmoor Road and at Cobb Street while also eliminating left turns from Cobb Street to Oxmoor Boulevard. The project will also add sidewalks to West Oxmoor Road. 

“Homewood is taking a really proactive role with sidewalks, and we’re trying to keep our reputation as being the best walkable city,” Ward 2 Council Member Fred Hawkins said. “So we’re going to put sidewalks on everything we do.”

Residents in nearby neighborhoods, however, are worried that the changes will allow more traffic in the area, including large trucks. At a public involvement meeting on June 26, Azbik and his neighbors had the chance to view the city’s plans and discuss their concerns with city officials and the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). 

Azbik’s father, Joe, was also at the meeting and said the current plans will increase noise and lower property values. He related the story of one of his neighbors on Edgeknoll Lane, who had to sell his home far under market value because the noise from Oxmoor Boulevard deterred buyers.

The city, however, has performed a traffic and noise analysis, and Hawkins said the project will relieve traffic congestion, noise levels and air pollution by allowing traffic to flow more quickly through residential areas.

“It should add less noise because the traffic can actually move instead of stopping,” Hawkins said. “When traffic stops, that’s when you get the noise and the air pollution.”

ALDOT accepted public comments until July 11 and sent them to the city about a week later. The city is still finalizing its plans with engineering firm Gonzalez-Strength & Associates, and plans could change to accommodate significant resident concerns. Hawkins said the project is estimated to cost around $6 million, of which Homewood will pay 20 percent and ALDOT will pay 80 percent. Construction could begin in March 2015, but a definite timeline has not yet been set.