ALDOT to begin designing bike lanes, roundabout at OMSP

While Oak Mountain State Park is working on a bike lane project within the park, ALDOT and the city of Pelham are working on their own bike lane project to connect the park with the rest of Pelham.

ALDOT hosted a Dec. 10 public involvement meeting at OMSP to give residents the chance to offer feedback on a proposal to add about two miles of bike lanes on State Park Road from Highway 119 to John Findlay Drive, as well as a roundabout at the intersection of State Park and John Findlay.

Greg Lein, the director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ parks division, was at the meeting to talk about the plans. He said that the eight-foot bike lanes on either side of State Park Road were important for creating “connectivity with the local community.” He added that the finished product would allow park visitors to access outside hotels and restaurants safely on foot or bicycle.

“Bringing in the community is the goal here,” OMSP superintendent Kelly Ezell agreed.

The bike lanes inside the park would connect to those outside.

Trey Gauntt, Shelby County’s chief engineer of development services, said that the roundabout is being added to improve traffic flow at the intersection near the park’s main entrance. ALDOT and Skipper Consulting had considered installing a traffic signal, but vehicle flow at the intersection “lends itself to the roundabout.”

“Once they get used to it, it really functions well,” Gauntt said.

Pelham has plans to connect the bike lanes to a paved trail project currently being planned. City Council President Rick Hayes said the trail, which will take about five years to complete, will span 7.2 miles and wind through residential and industrial areas connecting Pelham High School, the Civic Center and the future Pelham Park, among other locations. Hayes added that the city is looking at off-road trail options in the same area.

A few residents at the public involvement meeting approached Gauntt with concerns about how the bike lanes would affect their neighboring property, but he said most meeting attendees were simply curious and had not expressed problems to him about the designs.

Gauntt expects ALDOT to begin right-of-way acquisition in summer 2016, with construction beginning in spring or summer 2017. The project is estimated to cost around $2.6 million for design, right-of-way acquisition and construction.

Residents have until Dec. 28 to submit comments or concerns about the roundabout and bike lanes to:

DeJarvis Leonard, Region Engineer

East Central Region – Birmingham Area

P.O. Box 2745

Birmingham, 35202

ATTN: Sandra Bonner

Gauntt said those comments will be addressed in the six to nine-month planning process that ALDOT is undertaking.