Category Archives: environmental

A road to somewhere… soon

Several things pop into my mind when thinking about our regional Chamber of Commerce’s plans to form a not-for-profit to push for moving forward with the Northern Beltline. When I boarded the airplane back from Denver, I was in agreement with John Archibald and the mayor about the timing of the renewed focus. As the last flight made its final approach however, I was reminded about my recent trip out west and just what a completed beltway would mean for Birmingham and the region. I may be late to the party (blame that stomach virus), but hear me out.

I’m cruising back in on the Interstate to Denver International Airport after a peaceful weekend in Fort Collins, complete with hiking and microbrews that we can’t enjoy here because of the stupid alcohol content amendment (but that’s for another post) to pick up one of the other resource team members so we can start the 5-hour drive to our next assignment on Monday morning and I drove past, with some trepidation, the exit for E-470, the toll-based portion of Denver’s yet to be completed beltline (BTW – it may never be). This is where I remind folks that the Chamber’s BIG Trip in 2007 was to Denver.

About 5 miles later, I had to turn back around and give in to the need for speed (I was driving a Pontiac G6 after all) as I’d hit the wall of rush hour traffic with what would be estimated later to be another 45 minutes of driving – and I only had 20 minutes. Four dollars, 15 minutes, a stop at the gas station and three rounds of “Which level do you really pick up passengers on?” later, we were on our way – and ended up using a non-toll portion of the road for part of our trip to Southwest Colorado. There was steady traffic both ways, and there were also several other things that would be interesting to point out.

Park and ride locations were plentiful on this journey (and filled with cars) – meaning that folks were using the bus and had plans to use the light rail service being funded by the region’s FasTracks program when its supposed to be completed in 2012. There were also newly built shopping centers and renovated historic properties along the way as well, meaning there was some level of smart growth being observed, especially taking into account some of the surroundings.

Fast forward – as my plane made its final approach into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport last week from the north (Nashville), I was able to immediately pick out Corridor X/Interstate 22 from the air – it was the one with the last bit of road unfinished and a couple of the exits closed. Our current road to somewhere has been planned and due to be for completed for years with the best of intentions – and we’ve still got some time before we can truly say it’s done. Despite the length of time it would take to complete the beltline, I’m hoping that if I must see it, that it happen in my lifetime.

My involvement with two organizations (see below) would (and should) lead folks to believe that I’m not necessarily thrilled with the current plans for the location of the Northern Beltline, or I-959.

I will admit however that as Birmingham’s metropolitan area continues to expand (despite warnings from all corners that our recent dip in oil prices is temporary), the development of a road to ease traffic congestion for those choosing to move farther out must be considered as part of a comprehensive transportaion plan.

The disagreements over where this new portion of road will be constructed must be dealt with now and not later when some of that same green space that is attracting them to the region is torn up for the sake of more lanes for cars.

It would be nice to see a compromise reaches with those parties that are currently against the plan as proposed. That’s the trick behind the chamber’s efforts. One of the other Chamber initiatives, an expanded transit system, would still require a few more roads to be built. The historic structures, environmentalists and families that may one day be driving our sales tax based economy here in Jefferson County and Birmingham proper would be most appreciative if a bully in the china shop didn’t just blow in and demolish the very things that make us unique, environmental or otherwise. We’d just regret the mistakes we made… again.

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal. He also serves as the vice president of Ruffner Mountain Nature Center‘s board and as a city appointment to the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

A Park-ner-ship for the Future

Much has been said about Birmingham’s ample green space. And it is ample – more than, in fact. To put it simply, we love parks. Parks are a big deal here, and likely to get bigger when we start connecting them all, one to another. But that’s jumping ahead.

Birmingham is a very green city and region – literally. We are doing better these days in the environmental sense of the word also, but for just pure color, green is it in Birmingham. You couldn’t count the shades of green I can see out of my living room or office window. We are blessed with green trees (many of them pines), green shrubery, green-coated mountains and valleys, the underbrush is green (especially in the kudzu growing season), we’re blessed with acres and acres of green grass, green foliage. We even adore fried “green” tomatoes. Face it – we’re green!

Our tradition of dedicating parks to preserve all that green space dates back to the 1920s to the city’s decision to create a Birmingham Park and Recreation Board and to hire the noted Olmstead landscaping firm to create a plan for preserving and enhancing our many parks and open spaces. The firm had a notable track record even then, having developed plans for park space in cities such as Boston and Baltimore. Their recommendation was comprehensive and highly detailed, and you may read about the vision set forth in the Olmstead report in “The Olmstead Vision: Parks for Birmingham,” published by the Birmingham Historical Society in 2006.

At the core of the Olmstead vision was the idea of preserving green space along the streams that flowed through our valleys. In fact, the ridge and valley topography of the Birmingham region lent itself to this concept and is today why there is at least some park space preserved along the Shades Creek Greenway adjacent to Lakeshore Drive in Homewood. Similar plans are in place for greenways along Village Creek and Valley Creek and the preservation of land in the Turkey Creek watershed is continuing. The Olmstead report envisioned the set-aside of land around the creeks and the preservation of that land (and, thus, the preservation of the quality of the water as well).

The creation of some entirely new parks also has gained the public’s attention in recent years, stepped up dramatically in 2006 when United States Steel announced its largest corporate philanthropic gift ever. The steel company agreed to sell more than 2,000 acres of wooded land along the ridge of Red Mountain to a non-profit trust – and offered it at roughly a 50% discount to the appraised value of the land. In addition, U. S. Steel stroked a check in the amount of $1 million to help the park planners get started with their operations. Imagine park space larger than New York City’s Central Park connecting Birmingham to Bessemer along the ridge of Red Mountain where iron ore mines once fed the mills of Jones Valley.

In the city center, just south of the Morris Avenue railroad tracks, a smaller but equally strategic space has been dedicated as a park and preparation for construction is under way there. The Railroad Reservation Park will extend along the south side of the tracks at Morris Avenue two blocks to 2nd Avenue South and east-west between 18th and 14th streets. This park will feature grassy areas, a lake with paddle boats, walking paths and a pedestrian overpass from the park to the soon-to-be-built intermodal transit center on Morris Avenue.

In East Birmingham, the Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve sits astride Ruffner Mountain – 1,100 acress of woodlands and trails criss-crossing the ridge of the mountain and connecting old mining sites. A new nature center is being constructed with federal funds and park supporters are raising additional funds to add a new 500-acre tract to the park’s holdings.

South of Birmingham is the large Oak Mountain State park, and to our West is Tannehill State Park. Dotted across our landscape are literally hundreds of smaller municipal and “pocket” parks.

In Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, some of us had an opportunity to learn about that city’s parks program and the “string of pearls” concept – an idea that’s also being implemented here. The idea is that parks exist to be enjoyed, and that perhaps linking the park or green spaces can amplify that enjoyment. Thus, a series of walking, hiking, biking trails has been developed (a la the Shades Creek Greenway) to connect the parks – as a string is used to connect pearls. A day can easily be envisioned when one could (if one wished) walk, run or hike from Tannehill State Park on the Tuscaloosa County line through the Red Mountain Park, along greenways to the Railroad Reservation Park, continuing on rail rights-of-way to Ruffner Mountain and, ultimately, on to Cheaha Mountain and the Appalachian Trail.

And why, exactly, is this important? Aside from the enjoyment a park offers, the enhancement of quality of life, the preservation of land and water quality and the general benefits to our health and well-being, setting aside parks and green spaces say something to us about the future. Taking these actions in the 1920s was a way for our forefathers to ensure the sustainability of the city and region while staking a claim to the economic growth that followed. Want a better economy? Build a park and improve people’s lives. Seems to me that the same equation works today, and as we preserve and enjoy the new spaces, we’re making a positive statement about the future we all hope to share in this really green place.

Barry Copeland is executive vice president of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. Check out his blog over at Positively 20th Street, where this entry was originally posted on April 21.