What would a grandmother do?

Grandmothers are the heartbeat of our families. They are the Sunday-dinner chefs, historians, bear huggers, and guardians of our peace.

I recently met a grandmother who moved to the East Lake neighborhood with her grandson. After settling in, she had to make the hard decision to stop allowing the young boy to play outside. She worries that someone may kidnap him or that he’ll be struck by a flying bullet.

That hit me deep, because I still believe East Lake, like many neighborhoods, holds the promise of Birmingham’s future.

Instead of breathing in the sweet Alabama air, climbing trees, exploring the backyard bug ecosystem, and feeling the sun on his face, her grandchild must stare at the world through a glass window. Reckless drive-by shooters, strolling prostitutes, and those who use his community as a dumping ground have caged him.

For many years, East Lake had been known for its lovely homes, wide streets and community amenities such as the historic Cascade Plunge resort. Today, however, many of the long-time residents have aged. Some have died. It feels like a different place. Disabled cars litter yards, trash and broken glass are discarded openly in alleyways. Gunshots ring out by the thousands, and the crime is crippling.

I cannot allow this to continue. That is why Safe Streets was born.

Safe Streets is a strategic safety initiative that will limit the number of entry and exit points within a certain perimeter of homes, schools, and businesses. It is also adding several traffic calming measures at intersections and instituting concerted blight removal efforts. The East Lake neighborhood was selected for this pilot program because of the concerning number of crimes in the area.

The East Lake community of seniors and young families has been vulnerable to perpetrators who can come in and commit crimes with a luxury of multiple escapeways. Our plan is to safeguard areas by installing barriers on certain streets and adding speed bumps and caution signs to deter speeding vehicles and drive-by shootings. Alleyways that allow perpetrators easy access into the backs of homes are being secured. Abandoned properties that have been a breeding ground for criminal activities have been earmarked and will be aggressively addressed. This multi-pronged focus will hopefully cinch up gaps in safety.

We began knocking on doors in April, asking residents their thoughts on this plan. We visited more than 800 homes as well as five churches and several businesses. Of the 350 residents we spoke to, nearly 90 percent of them support the effort. We personally knocked on each of the homes in the perimeter three different times and handed out more than a thousand pieces of information. We also presented the plan at East Lake neighborhood association meetings and hosted a special town hall at a local church.

During those walks is where I met that grandmother. She and her grandson, and the many residents of East Lake, are the reason why I do this.

They are why we left our offices and walked along streets, up and down hills, and through alleyways in the sweltering heat to knock on doors. It is not just enough for us to decrease crime. It is not just enough for us to just install barriers and decrease the opportunity for people to shoot and drive off. We have to seed in hope into this community. Hope that, for some, had been lost.

And so, I asked myself, what would a grandmother do?

She would wrap her arms around those she loves. That’s why we are creating a shield of safety around the residents against those who try to invade their community.

She would tell them to slow down and be safe. Our traffic calming efforts will halt reckless speeding and easy escapes for criminals.

She would demand cleanliness. We are working tirelessly and strategically to rid the careless dumping.

Simply put, the Safe Streets initiative isn’t designed to barricade our residents in their homes. It’s here to give them the freedom they deserve.

In the spirit of our beloved grandmothers, Safe Streets is our plan to make the East Lake neighborhood feel like home again and a safe place for our children to go outside and play.

For more information about Safe Streets, go to www.birminghamal.gov/safestreets.