Walking from Homewood to Mountain Brook Village: cowpath or bridge or ?
Homewood and Mountain Brook are connected at the hip. The cities have the most vibrate, stable mixed-use neighborhoods in the region. I’m fortunate enough to live equidistance between Mountain Brook Village and downtown Homewood. Either way I decide go to, I have to cross a highway — 31 or 280. As described in Where our terrain brings us together, our roads separate us, crossing either without an automobile is unacceptable for all but the most adventurous.
The Alabama representative for the region said of a pedestrian bridge across 280:
When we first started, the idea was to create collaboration between these cities and the state,” DeMarco said. “We got that, and we’ll move forward. This project is about the safety of our residents and anybody else who walks across that bridge. It’s not safe, and thank goodness nobody has been hurt. We need to get this done sooner rather than later.”
The Cowpath
The cowpath is fun. I call it a cowpath because it’s a well used trail from where the sidewalk ends to Mountain Brook village. The cowpath has elephants — maybe. The “cowpath” as I call it runs along access road next to 280 and boarders the backside of the Birmingham Zoo. The only unacceptable portion is the last bit before entering Mountain Brook village. A pedestrian has to walk along the side of a drainage ditch, then stand on a curb while waiting to cross an intersection without a marked crosswalk.
The Bridge
While the bridge is the fastest route from my house to Mountain Brook village, the automobiles on this path have no regard for the 20mph posted speed limit. Speeding cars combined with the lack of any pedestrian protections means it’s more dangerous based because of the behaviors of others.
As you can see from the picture, the bridge is wide enough for pedestrian infrastructure, but it’s not there. The closest speed limit signs from the Mountain Brook side and the Homewood side say 20mph, but I’ve never seen a car proceed that cautiously.
The Alternative
Mrs. Jennifer Andress is a passionate runner in Homewood. She has recently won the Ward 5 city council position. Mrs. Andress is an advocate for a pedestrian bridge across 280. In 2014, the city had received a grant from the US Department of Transportation, yet did not act quickly enough to close the grant. Mrs. Andress is on a mission to see this done quickly: http://thehomewoodstar.com/news/new-options-for-pedestrian-bridge-project/
