Tag: transportation
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.
Council Sets Nov. 12 Public Hearing on Safe Streets Pilot; Mayor Says It Has Reduced Crime in East Lake
The Birmingham City Council will hear public comments on the Safe Streets pilot program, which closed off streets in the East Lake area. Read more.
Jefferson, Shelby Counties Discuss Working Together on Transportation Plans
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday approved an agreement with Shelby County and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham to produce a regional connectivity study. Read more.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Announces $14.5M Award to Turn 4th Avenue North Into a Two-Way Street
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stopped traffic on Fourth Avenue North on Wednesday to announce a $14.5 million grant to help reconnect parts of the community that have been divided by transportation decisions of the past.
The announcement, staged in the middle of the downtown thoroughfare, outlined a grant to Birmingham to convert Fourth Avenue North — which includes the historic Fourth Avenue Black Business District — from a one-way road to a two-way. Read more.
Not Now, JeffCo Commission Tells Advocates Who Want Biking/Walking Trail Along Diaper Row
Bryce Stephens left the Jefferson County Courthouse a bit disappointed this morning, learning that he’ll have to wait before his vision of improving pedestrian and bicycle traffic along 21st Avenue South can come to reality.
“It’s complicated,” said Stephens, president of the Red Mountain Cut Foundation. “Birmingham would like to handle it a different way. I think they support the improvements on the street. I think that is no question.”
Stephens had hoped that the County Commission would make the appropriate approval for the county to apply for a federal TAP grant. Read more.
New Bike- and Scooter-Sharing Service OK’d for Birmingham
A new micromobility service has been approved to operate in Birmingham despite open doubt from city councilors that such businesses are worth the trouble. Councilors approved allowing the Lime bike- and scooter-sharing business to operate in the Magic City, although some councilors suggested tightening city ordinances to make sure e-bikes and e-scooters don’t become a public nuisance, particularly if customers leave them randomly on sidewalks and streets rather than returning them. Read more.
Buttigieg Announces Funding Aimed at Reconnecting Communities Divided by Road Projects
The program is designed to unify neighborhoods that previously have been displaced by discriminatory infrastructure decisions. The $1 billion initiative will fund projects that give people more access to their communities like paving more sidewalks, creating new greenways and adding public transportation. Read more.
Should Taxi Fares Be Increased Because of Rising Gas Prices? Birmingham Sets Public Hearing to Decide
The Birmingham City Council will hold a public hearing on June 21 to discuss raising maximum taxicab fares in response to rising fuel costs.
District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, chair of the council’s transportation committee, said the council had been approached several times by local taxicab companies — mostly zTrip — expressing concerns over rising gas prices.
“Those are costs that are borne by the drivers, so they have requested that we revisit the ordinance that sets the taxicab fare and have specifically requested consideration of a temporary surcharge to address the increased fuel costs,” he said. Read more.
Birmingham Loosens Rules on Taxis to ‘Modernize’ Service
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to “modernize” the city’s taxicab ordinance, loosening restrictions on the appearance of taxis and allowing them to use third-party GPS technology to calculate fares.
The change comes as traditional taxi companies compete against ride-sharing operations that aren’t under the same rules as cabs.
“The goal of this is updating, modernizing some of the (ordinance) to the way the industry operates now,” Assistant City Attorney Julie Barnard told the council. “There’s a lot of changes. The primary thing is, this opens the city up to more modern operations and taxis, and that’s the goal here.” Read more.
Birmingham Council Set to Fund Rapid Transit Project Next Week
The Birmingham City Council is set to allocate $18 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding toward the construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system. The project, which will create a 10-mile, higher-speed public transit corridor through 25 neighborhoods, broke ground in December. But rising construction costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic had placed significant strain on the project. Read more.