Category: City of Birmingham
BDOT Embarks on Set of Road and Trail Projects Under Comprehensive Policy
In 2024, the Birmingham Department of Transportation embarked on a series of projects aimed at modernizing the city’s infrastructure and transportation systems, including street resurfacing, creation of bike lanes and walking paths and methods to slow traffic and even discourage it. Read more.
Birmingham Spending $20M in Grant Money on Workforce Development in Northern Communities
Birmingham officials on Monday announced that the city was awarded a $20 million federal grant aimed at making workforce investments in the economically distressed communities of North Birmingham, Northside, Smithfield and Pratt. Read more.
‘The Road Diet’: Project to Reduce Traffic, Add Room for Bikers and Walkers Transforms Downtown Woodlawn
Downtown Woodlawn’s 1st Avenue South has been transformed with the implementation of a street-calming pilot project called “The Road Diet.” Read more.
Birmingham Applies for $2.6 Million in Federal Grants for Eviction Prevention Services, Police Tech Equipment
The city hopes to help about 500 people avoid eviction if it gets the grant as well as fund technological upgrades and computers for the Police Department. Read more.
New Pilot Program Will Offer Housing, Resources to People Leaving Prison
The Birmingham Reentry Alliance will provide wrap-around services to dozens of men and women adjusting to life after prison. Read more.
Birmingham to Lobby for Legislation to Combat Exhibition Driving
Birmingham’s mayor told the City Council on Tuesday that he and other leaders hope to persuade state lawmakers to give police more options to combat the rise in exhibition driving, including using cameras to catch offenders. Read more.
Where Do Your Dollars Go?
Mayor Randall Woodfin stood in front of a crowd Monday night holding up a dollar bill. The city spends 75 cents of every dollar on personnel, with just a quarter going to Birmingham’s operating budget, he told the residents and officials gathered.
Birmingham officials held the town hall — during which Woodfin explained the city’s budget process and residents had a chance to voice their interests — as the city prepares to create a new budget, for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Council President Darrell O’Quinn said that, to the best of his knowledge, Monday’s event, held at Boutwell Auditorium, was the first such budget town hall city leaders have done. Read more.
Violent Crime Down Slightly for This Year So Far but Car Thefts Soar
Birmingham Nears Year’s End With Mixed Crime Numbers
The city of Birmingham released its most recent crime stats Friday, showing that, while nonviolent crimes such as burglary, auto theft and theft numbers have increased this year, violent crimes still are down somewhat. Read more.
Woodfin’s Strategic Update Touts Progress in Neighborhood Improvement, Food Deserts, Gun Violence, Parks, Education, Homelessness and the Arts
When Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin gave an update on the city’s initiatives Thursday, he asked the crowd at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s auditorium to view that progress through the eyes of one mother or grandmother and the many tangible ways life has improved for her and her family since he took office.
“Everything we’ve done has been to increase opportunities for our children and grandchildren,” he said. “That really drives what we do at City Hall. That drives this administration. That is the heartbeat of what we do for our children, for our grandchildren.”
Back in 2017, the mayor said, that grandmother would look out her front door and see dilapidated or vacant homes next door, a cracked sidewalk and roads dotted with potholes. Six years ago, that woman’s grandchildren didn’t have a playground nearby, and the family lived miles away from a store selling fresh vegetables. And worst of all, he said, she and her grandchildren would often hear gunshots throughout the night.
“By the end of our first term, here is what we did for that mother; here is what we did for that grandmother,” the mayor said. Read more.
