Twenty-six new parking spaces coming to downtown Homewood

The left turn from 18^th Street South onto 28^th Avenue South will soon be eliminated to make room for 26 more parking spaces downtown.

The change was brought before the Finance Committee at their March 21 meeting. The parking spaces will be on the west side of the street, along businesses like Ed’s Pet World and the U.S. Post Office. Drivers leaving the post office will only be able to turn right, and the committee requested that a request for signage be made to alert drivers to the new traffic patterns. 

The addition of parking spaces comes as the city continues its effort to add more parking and beautification efforts to the 18^th Street corridor, which connects the city to neighboring Birmingham.

Also at the meeting, the committee carried over the April 4 bid date for a new Trane chiller at City Hall and heard a request to fund a new GIS position and amend the 2021 budget. The position would be converted from an existing GIS Tech II position, which is filled by an employee who is qualified for the specialist position. The new position would come at a cost of roughly $3,000 per year. While councilors Barry Smith and Walter Jones said these kinds of issues need to come up during budget hearings, they supported the move, and the issue was sent on to the whole City Council.

At the Public Safety Committee meeting, committee members discussed a proposed “Complete Streets” ordinance, which would set forth guidelines on how to make city streets suitable not just for cars, but also for pedestrians, bikers and users of public transit. Not every street would be required to have exactly the same changes made – bike lanes, striping, etc. – but the goal is to “retrofit” city streets for bikers and others, Councilor Jennifer Andress said.

The issue was carried over to the next committee meeting pending the review and approval of City Attorney Mike Kendrick.

Also at the meeting, the committee:

• Dropped a discussion of the city’s residential occupancy issue after initial complaints were not continued
• Recommended the declaration of the old AutoZone property at 102 Green Springs Highway be declared a public nuisance at the April 11 public hearing, following images of trash on the ground and broken windows
• Asked City Clerk Melody Salter to place an item on the committee’s agenda for its next meeting regarding all traffic calming efforts. The item will be tabled and brought back up as updates are made available.
• Recommended adding a stop sign at Morris Boulevard and Sterrett Avenue, as well as permanent striping and paving markers to alleviate speeding problems. The item now goes to the Finance Committee.
• Recommended creating a crosswalk on LaPrado Place at Ventura Avenue, and possibly placing one across Ventura