18th Street Improvements 

Homewood, Alabama 

Content for this provided by:

Jane Reed Ross, PLA, ASLA 

Project Landscape Architect 

Goodwyn Mills Cawood 

This is to update from my original 18th Street Project Progress Report from July 2020.  This past week we have seen trees and groundcover installed on the east side of 18th and in the median.  Both sides of the street will receive improvements and shade trees.  The east side of the street and medians were bid first to help with phasing of work and traffic.  The west side of the street will bid next.   

Princeton Elms, a large shade tree, will be featured in the center medians with Sweet Bay Magnolias, a smaller tree, featured at each end.   Nuttall Oaks will be placed along the east and west sides of the street.   Both the Princeton Elms and Nuttall Oaks are a classic shade trees traditionally used in main streets in many eastern cities. With time, the Elms and Oaks will produce large, beautiful canopies for the street.  Weeping love grass will be the groundcover for the median and does not require mowing.  As a hardy 12-18” bunch grass, it will provide a nice undulating movement in the landscape. 

The plantings in front of the hotel will be installed, funded and maintained by the Curio Valley Hotel. The City coordinated with the hotel’s design team on installing the same Nutall Oak shade tree to be used on both sides of the street and the Asiatic Jasmine/evergreen ground cover to planted in the parking area islands.  The City will maintain the rest of the streetscape up the street from the hotel on the east side, the medians, and the west side of the street.   

As the east side of the street and medians approach completion, the west side will soon be sent to bid.  This phasing of the work has worked out in the long run to minimize construction traffic.  It is a challenge to have a major building and streetscape to be under way at the same time.  The City staff and council have worked very hard to minimize any conflicts.  We as a culture are inclined to want instant gratification.  But public-work projects take time to complete and involve numerous contractors, utilities, agencies, and the on-going coordination of all.  But these improvements will be with us for decades and need to be done correctly.  All parties appreciate your patience and cooperation as we move forward to make 18th Street a safer, better place for, businesses, pedestrians and vehicles. The 18th Street improvements will provide ADA access, tree lined sidewalks, light poles with banner arms, and additional parking.  It will be a nice gateway for our City.   

There has been a lot of activity on Facebook with some mis-information.  Below are some bullet points to respond to those comments. 

Mis-information -Mr. Eddie Cleveland, property owner of Rob’e Mans, has implied that the City has not worked with him and wants to take away his property.   

Since Mr. Cleveland met with the City starting in 2018, he has made it clear that he would not work with the City on these improvements.  He rejected a request of having access to 3’ of his 18th Street frontage and 10’ of temporary construction easement.  The entire project was redesigned to accommodate his request in 2019.  After two years of discussion this summer he produced a survey document that illustrated that the design still encroached on his property by 3 feet.  This was a great disappointment to all involved at the City and we did not understand why it was not shared sooner.  The street design on the west side will be altered a second time due to Mr. Cleveland’s not being forthcoming with the information and working with the City in a cooperative manner.  The streetscape design in front of Rob’e Mans will only include sidewalk and shade trees.  Parking has been removed from the design so as not to encroach on Mr. Cleveland’s property.  The City has not nor ever entertained implementing imminent domain to obtain the land.  The City actually offered to buy the property which he refused.  

There will be a slight delay in bidding the west side due to this recent revelation of an old survey.  

All other property owners have cooperated with the City and signed the ROW agreement required by ALDOT.  The City is not even asking for a 10’temporary construction easement from Mr. Cleveland which is typical for this type of work.  Removing the parking from this section of the streetscape is a disappointment to the City and businesses in the area.  Providing more parking is a goal for the City to enhance business and quality of life for the downtown.   

Mr. Cleveland was the only property owner in the area who refused to work with the City and we still worked closely with him to accommodate his requests.   

Mis-information - Proposed Street Parking in front of Rob’e Mans will be used by the hotel.  

This parking could have been used by Rob B Mans or other businesses, but will not be included in the project due to Mr. Cleveland’s wish not to work with or be compensated by the City for the property.  It has been removed from the design and there will be no encroachment of his property by the project.   

Mis-information - The City did not receive approval from ALDOT for needed improvements. 

This is not the case, a project cannot go to bid with out approval.  The City has worked closely with ALDOT since being awarded the transportation grant for the work.  There is an extensive review process all projects experience to make sure all required specifications are in place meeting code and providing the best for health and safety of the public.   

Misinformation -The Streetscape does not comply to American Disabilities Act. 

All new street improvements must comply with the ADA.  It is the law and Homewood, like most Cities are currently making improvements to make all the downtown area ADA compliant.  It is an expensive proposition and being phased in over time.   

Misinformation - The Trees proposed for the median were not approved by ALDOT because of their design standards for highways.  

18th Street is no longer a highway.  That change came when the Red Mountain Expressway was constructed.  Trees were planned for this streetscape, approved by ALDOT and installed this past week.  It is all part of making 18th Street seem less of a highway and more of a pedestrian friendly main street.  

Misinformation - Property was given to a developer on the east side of the street by the City to use.  

Actually, property was donated to the City at no charge, by the Lee Family, to be used as needed ROW and then sold the unused portion to the developer for $1.00.  This helped the City not to purchase needed ROW on the east side.  This is the type of cooperative public/private agreements that help make downtowns great.  Working in the public space is not easy but accomplishes a great deal when everyone works together for the common good. 

Mis-information-The City did not have a traffic study prepared for this work.  

The City did work with Skipper Consulting Inc. traffic engineers and transportation planners working in the area since 1998.  They have been consulted every step of the way and been a valuable part of the team in developing a solid plan for 18th Street.  The study is available to view at City Hall at request with City staff.  The study was instrumental in determining what turn lanes were needed with the traffic counts and what lanes could be deleted.   

Vision for North 18th Street 

This project started in 2013, long before the new hotel was planned.  The existing character of the streetscape for north 18th Street is that of a sea of asphalt with 5-7 lanes of traffic.  It is basically the remnants of Highway 31 when it traveled along 18th Street and over the mountain by Vulcan Park.  The street has never played a role of slowing cars down from the highway and offering a smooth transition as they enter Homewood’s Central Business District and the neighborhoods beyond.  The vision for improvements to this area are to create a “Complete Street” that could achieve the following: 

1. Make improvements that reflect the charming character of the southern portion of 18th Street.

2. Create a complete street that can handle the peak hours of traffic flow as well as provide a pedestrian friendly environment including accessibility for all with ADA compliant facilities.

3. Provide additional parking, lighting, and street trees—which will provide a beautiful gateway to the City and improve safety for all.

These improvements are funded using a combination of ALDOT and City money.  Public work projects like this take a long time to plan and reflect countless hours of hard work by City leaders, staff, stakeholders, and consultants. This work has been discussed publicly for many years, received the full support of the council and was discussed in the Downtown Master Plan stakeholder meetings.   

Content for this provided by:

Jane Reed Ross, PLA, ASLA 

Project Landscape Architect 

Goodwyn Mills Cawood 

This project started in 2013, long before the new hotel was planned. The existing character of the streetscape for north 18th Street is that of a sea of asphalt with 5-7 lanes of traffic. It is basically the remnants of Highway 31 when it traveled along 18th Street and over the mountain by Vulcan Park. The street has never played a role of slowing cars down from the highway and offering a smooth transition as they enter Homewood’s Central Business District and the neighborhoods beyond. The vision for improvements to this area are to create a “Complete Street” that could achieve the following:

1. Make improvements that reflect the charming character of the southern portion of 18th Street.

2. Create a complete street that can handle the peak hours of traffic flow as well as provide a pedestrian friendly environment including accessibility for all with ADA compliant facilities.

3. Provide additional parking, lighting, and street trees—which will provide a beautiful gateway to the City and improve safety for all.

These improvements are funded using a combination of ALDOT and City money. Public work projects like this take a long time to plan and reflect countless hours of hard work by City leaders, staff, stakeholders, and consultants. This work has been discussed publicly for many years and included in the Downtown Master Plan stakeholder meetings. From recent posts I have read questions about the following and will try to provide answers for your reference.

Content for this provided by:

Jane Reed Ross, PLA, ASLA 

Project Landscape Architect 

Goodwyn Mills Cawood 

The new intersection at 18th Street will offer a safe transition from the upper street (soon to be 4 lanes with a 1 turn lane) with the existing 2 lanes of the southern streetscape. The previous right turn lane was deleted to allow space for an accessible ramp and because the Traffic Study assessed few numbers for north bound turn right cars and there was not enough space for stacking with angled parking to the south.

The areas for each corner will be enlarged for a safe gathering zone for pedestrians. The previous intersection was not pedestrian friendly and did not offer a safe crossing. Now, the intersection will be safer and will allow pedestrians to stand and gather when crossing. Additionally, the enlarged corner creates more space for revenue producing activities that benefit the community— such as restaurant table space, furniture/ clothier displays, and additional seating for events such as the recent fireworks display and parades.

Content for this provided by:

Jane Reed Ross, PLA, ASLA 

Project Landscape Architect 

Goodwyn Mills Cawood 

No accessible parking spaces were removed. New work in the public space is not allowed without accessibility for all, that is the law. All improvements will include ADA compliant solutions for any existing and proposed accessible parking spaces. This is the case for the existing accessible space on the SE corner of 18th and 28th Avenue. The intersection improvement allowed for a ADA ramp to be provided with this work.

Content for this provided by:

Jane Reed Ross, PLA, ASLA 

Project Landscape Architect 

Goodwyn Mills Cawood 

An extensive traffic study has been done. Road improvements of this scale are never done without a traffic study. The traffic study for this project was completed in 2018 and has been referenced in all design decisions.