Design Alabama: The Public Forum for Design in Alabama, Volume 15, Issue 2, 2005 [missing pages]

              Fall/Winter 2005
Volume XV, Issue II
$400
Desi
THE PUBLIC FORUM FOR DESIGN IN ALABAMA
Board of Directors
Debbie Quinn, Chair
Fairhope City Council
Fairhope
Nancy Mims Hartsfield, Vice Chair
Auburn University, Professor Ernerita
Montgomery
Michelle G. Jordan, Secretary
City of Decatur Planning Department
Decatur
Joseph R. Donotro, Treasurer
Donotfo & Associates Architects Inc.
Dothan
Arnelle Adcock
Central Alabama Electric Cooperative
Prattville
HB Brantley
Brant!ey VisioneerinQ Inc.
Birmingham
Elizabeth Ann Brown
Alabama Historical Commission
Montgomery
Janet Driscoll
Driscoll Design
Monigomery
Scott Finn
Auburn University
Auburn
Cathryn Campbell Gerachis
Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood Inc.
Montgomery
80 Grisham
Brookman! Realty
Birmingham
Ross Heck
Auburn Universiiy
Auburn
Debra Hood
Greenville
Annabel Markle
SludioA
Greenville
Edward Vaughn
Dothan
Larry Watts
Birmingham Regional Planning Commission
Birmingham
Gina Glaze Clifford, Executive Director
Philip A. Morris, Director Emeritus
Ken Penuel, Emeritus
Volume XV, Issue II
Cover: u.s. 98 near Fairhope - a model
public highway. Photo by Michael Quinn
This publication is made possible through funding by the following contributors:
Advantage Marketing Cammunications
Alabama Associatkm ofRegimud Councils
Arts Educatkm License Plate Advisory Committee
Brantley Visioneering Inc.
Goodu;yn, MiOs & Cawood Inc.
operatkm New Birmingham
Daniel Corparatkm
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sherlock, Smith & Adams Inc.
DriscoU Design + Creative Services
1I . .;!""m,
Sme :A Council
",11, on the
~ Arts
DAVIS ARCHITECTS
Ikinner WILLIAMS, BLACKSTOCK
nib ARCHITECTS
NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS
Editor: Gina Glaze Clifford
Managing Editor: Tomie Dugas
Art Director: Nancy Hartsfield
Associate Art Director: Ross Heck
Assistant Art Directors: Tomie Dugas
Kelly Bryant
Bruce Dupree
Wei Wang
Contributing Writers: Jessica Armstrong
Gina Glaze Cliiford
Tomie Dugas
Philip Morris
DesignAlabama enoourages submissions
from its readers. Articles about work from all
design disciplines are requested, as well as copy
related to historic preservation. Please submit
copy along with visuals (photos, slides, drawings,
etc.) to DesignAlabama Inc., PO Box 241263.
Montgomery, AL 36124.
Items for Project News and Details of
Interest should include a paragraph summary
detailing the nature of the project, the design firm,
prinoipals and assooiates involved and any otlier
details that may be 01 interest such as unusual
or special design features, completion date,
approximate oost, square lootage, etc. Also include
the name, address and phone and fax number of
the client and an individual whom we may contact
for further informaiion. Direct inquiries to (334) 834-
4346 or mail to: designalabama1@bellsouth.net.
Past journal issues are available for $6.00
including postage and handling. Contact
DesignAlabama at the above numbers lor
availability information and to order.
A special thanks to Philip Morris for his ongoing
assistance and advice with this publication.
© 2005 OesignAlabama Inc.
ISSN# 1090·0918
This issue of DesignAlabama was designed and
produced on Macintosh Computers utilizing InOesignCS2.
Proofs were printed on a HP 4000N and final ouiput
on a Compugraphic 9400.
Engaging the landscape
in grand style.
p.7
OesignAlabama is a publlcation 01 DesignAlabama Inc.
Reader comments and submission of articles and ideas lor
future issues are encouraged.
Paving the way to better
streets and highways.
p.9
FEATURES
CONTENTS
Fueling the imagination through
creative playgrounds.
p23
"Streets & Highways Design"
Is There Life Beyond the Five-Lane Strip? 9
PATTERN MATTERS 10
THE PARKWAY OPTION 12
STREETS FOR LIVING 14
KEEP THINGS MOVING 16
PORTFOLIO 19
ARTICLES
PLAY ENVIRONMENTS 27
DEPARTMENTS
ProjectA.News
Work of Statewide Significance 4
Design.Makes A Difference
Ross Bridge: Setting + Architecture = Destination 7
DesignAlabamatUpdate
Working Statewide for Design 23
Historical'i'Perspectives
Alabama's Historic Schools 24
Details+Of Interest
Noteworthy Observations 29
Learning to adapt
to changing times.
p24
Project ... News
Project News
is a regular
feature of
DesignAlabama and
provides
an opportunity
to keep
up-to-date on
design projects
that have an impact on
our communities.
~ Pelham Police Oepartmeni Building
Homewood Elementary Media Center
Homewood Elementary School from Amphitheatre
DesignAlabama 4
Homewood Middle School. designed
by Giattina Fisher Aycock Inc. of
Birmingham, is the nation's first 'green'
middle school, earning a LEED Silver
certification. It is sited on a reclaimed
. blighted site within walking distance of
~ the community core rather than in a greenfield site outside
: the community, as is common practice. Opened in January
: 2005, the 1 ,OOO-student facility is built with 50 percent post­:
industrial recycled materials. The attractive glass, metal and
: concrete building is constructed with post-tensioned con-i
crete, requiring fewer columns. Sensors are used to adjust
: lighting in the 95 percent naturally lighted, 180,000-square­:
foot facility Homewood Middle requires 38 percent less
: energy than similar-sized new schools and uses only half the
: water. Other green features include using native plants for
: landscaping and built-in recycling bins. GFA, which promot­i
ed the concept to school officials, finished the $27 million
: project under budget and six months early
...
: The Archives and History Building addition in Montgomery i completed in March successfully integrates the new west
: wing to the original 1938 Neoclassical edifice. Architects
: and interior designers for the $15.6 million project, Seay i Seay & litchfield, matched the original building exterior
~ in scale, proportion and detail. The 65,000-square-foot
: addition features a reference room and provides space for
: offices, archival storage and museum display SS&L had to
: design sophisticated security and air control systems, the
: latter to regulate temperature humidity and particulates for
: archival preservation. The Montgomery firm also provided
: master planning in creating a functional whole of the new
: and existing spaces and landscape design based largely on
: the original design by Frederick law Olmsted. Engineers
: on the project were Zgouvas & Associates Inc., Mills
: Conoly and Professional Engineering Consultants
: Inc. all of Montgomery. Landscape architect was Nimrod
. Long, Atlanta office, and landscape designer was Mary
: Wallon Upchurch of Montgomery
Paul B. Krebs & Associates Inc. in Birmingham has
: designed the new, 46,000-square-foot, three-story Pelham
: Police Department building. The modern 'linear-style'
: facade is punctuated by a two-story glass entry atrium and
: cantilevered canopy. The building exterior materials include
: masonry, architectural pre-cast concrete and stainless steel
: cladding. The facility, scheduled for completion in spring
: 2006, will house a 911 call center, magistrate's office, court­:
rooms, an indoor firing range, evidence lab, tactical storage
: and armory and jail cells with adjoining day rooms and
: monitoring area. Project architect is Philip Black, AlA.
...
: Work has begun at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic
: Site on a parking lot and scenic overlook where vistors
: can view Moton Field as it is being restored. Brown
: Chambless Architects of Montgomery designed the
: historic building renovations for HARTRAMPF INC. of
: Atlanta, which was charged with the overall project deSign,
: including exhibits. The site consists of 13 structures plus a
: visitor center with overlook and parking. The National Park
: Service hopes to return the field, hangars and dilapidated
. buildings to their 1941 state as a tribute to the heroic black
. airmen based there. The Park Service has already committed
more than $8 million to the project which is budgeted at $29
: million. The four-phase project includes a renovated Skyway
: Club, two hangars that will house airplanes and exhibits fea­:
turing searchable archives and oral histories, a control tower
: and a number of other offices and buildings Approximately
: $16 million of the work is slated for completion by 2009.
Plan ror the Historic Core oi the Tuskegee Airmen Naiional Historic Site
~ Moton Field Building ArtiSt's Interpretation of Hangar One as an Exhibt Area at Moton Field
Archives and History Building with Addition ai Right
Sherlock Smith & Adams Inc. of Montgomery in asso­ciation
with TMP Architecture of Bloomfield Hills. Mich.
will provide architectural and engineering services for the
expansion and renovation of recreational facilities at the
University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The existing Student
Recreation Center (SRC) is approximately 110,000 square­feet
and will expand to the south with an addition of 70,000
square feet. The addition will include a three-court Student
Activity Center (SAC) with a stage and seating for 2-J,000
to be used for university events, A two-court Multi-Purpose
Activity Court (MAC) will be used for indoor soccer and floor
hockey Both MAC and SAC will have separate entrances to
allow for separate management from the SRC during events.
The center will also include a 16,000-square-foot weight and
fitness center The plan calls for updating the appearance of
the existing facility to ensure the design aesthetically inte­grates
the renovated space with the newly constructed area.
The renovation plan includes a resurfaced jogging track, new
climbing wall and outdoor storage components. Other fea­tures
are expanded and/or enhanced passive recreation area
lobby, physical therapy/athletic training room and renovated
locker rooms, new outdoor pool and sundeck, new outdoor
tennis courts and expanded retail component including juice
bar and lounge areas.
Auburn University's Transportation Technology Center
designed by HOK of Atlanta, Ga., is a $108 million complex
being built to house research and instructional facilities and
administrative offices for engineering programs involved in
transportation. While still evoking the traditional architecture
of the Auburn campus, the design provides for the program­matic
functions of a 21st-century research and teaching
facility Phase I of the project includes a central pavilion
flanked by r{IO L -shaped wings. Phase II adds a building to
the end of each wing. Arched passageways line the ground
floors, leading to open-air courtyards with stairs descending
into a spacious green The HOK design takes into consid­eration
a number of major site issues and goals including
the creation of an engineering quad that is consistent with
the campus master plan and terrain. It establishes a strong
campus edge, creates an entry portal along West Magnolia
and provides engineering with a central, green gathering
space. Proportions and materials borrowing from the heritage
of early buildings on campus are employed, reflecting the
Georgian-influenced architecture of the American Federalist
period. Completion of Phase I is prOjected for fall 2007 and
of Phase II 2009.
UA Rec Center Site Plan
UA Rec Cenler lobby
246 Lofts is the first residential loft development for sale in
Montgomery's historic downtown. The 12 luxury condo­minium
units range from studio to one- and two-bedrooms
and vary in layout offering open-plan living, platforms or
loft areas. Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood of Montgomery
was responsible for the initial design of the project, and City
Loft Corp is the developer The first floor includes one retail
and five residential units ranging from approximately 880
to 1,300 square feet with 16-foot high ceilings The second
floor includes six two-story loft units covering between
1,400 and 2,200 square feet of internal space with 25-foot
high ceiiings in the open living areas. All the character and
the industrial elements of the buiiding have been preserved
and repaired. Exposed, original brickwork runs throughout,
complemented by exposed metal piping, ductwork and
original wooden beams and trusses. Original, refinished
hardwood floors cover the upstairs units, with newly poured,
stained concrete floors on ground level.
A
Crawford McWilliams Hatcher Architects Inc. of
Birmingham is responsible for the design of Cahaba Village
fronting 280 in Mountain Brook. The mixed-use develop­ment
comprises a new village for the city but will continue
the established Tudor style. The project includes a grocery
store, bank, restaurant and approximately 46,000 square feet
of retail space with 22 condominiums located above. Each
residential unit is two levels with private balconies on the
front, an open-air patio and a two-car carport. A plaza on
the residential level connects to the retail hardscape below
The grocery store is scheduled to open in fall 2006 with the
remainder of the project opening in spring 2007. Landscape
architect is Nimrod Long & Associates and civil engineer
is Walter Schoel Engineering both of Birmingham
AU Transportation Technology Center
246 Lofis in MonlQomery
.-~~--
.".
.. " ""
This past summer Big
Communications of Birmingham
undertook the task of revamping the
image of Cooper Green Hospital,
Birmingham'S county/safety net
healthcare facility. Big's "Turn to Us
for Life" campaign focused on the
trained, certified staff of caregivers at Cooper Green. Using
original music and creative lighting techniques conceived
by senior art director Shawn Castle in collaboration with
Leo Ticheli Productions, the campaign was designed
to cast light on the positive aspects of the hospital, Cooper
Green's campaign will include broadcast, print ads and
outdoor design.
'Hospitality', rather than 'hospital', was the
theme of The Ritchie Organization's
renovation of Baptist Montclair Women's
Center in Birmingham. The scope of
the project included renovating dated
labor and delivery, post partum and GYN
inpatient areas. To enhance the patient
experience, the hospital's leadership embraced the Birmingham
firm's goal to create an upscale, hotel-like image and to provide
amenities that would set this facility apart. Needing a fresh
identity, Women's Services was granted a special entrance built
with a spacious, COl'! waiting area. On the labor and delivery
floor. faux wood floors provide a warmer. calming, less institu­tional
atmosphere Soft lighting and classic wall finishes were
used. A dedicated elevator was renovated to link waiting and
labor and delivery with the post partum floor for visitor conve­nience
and clear, efficient way finding. The post partum floor
was designed in a rich hospitality motif with fine furnishings
and accessories. The nurse station became more like a con­cierge
desk with soft lighting, lamps and floral arrangements.
A specially commissioned piece of original artwork by Arthur
Price featuring a feminine figure in a delicate pose became the
focal point of the lobby Corridors were carpeted and patient
rooms received warm, wood-toned finishes. In addition, the
rooms were dressed with amenities that include a variety of
lighting, flat screen TVs, vanities and desks with high-speed
Internet connections and upscale furniture.
Tum to Us for Life Campaign
Baptist Montclair Women's Center Patient Room
5 Voiume Xv, No. i!
Sherlock Smith & Adams is
overseeing construction of the
nine-block renovation of downtown
Thomasville. Hired in 1997 to help cre­ate
a vision for the historic downtown.
the Montgomery architectural firm
worked with city officials to develop a comprehensive master
plan for streetscape improvements. SS&A has completed
construction documents that include renovation of historic
elevated walks, new concrete walks with decorative paving,
new landscaping, street furnishings and decorative lighting
alternatives. The firm is also coordinating these improve­ments
in conjunction with an upgrade of the city's existing
subsurface utilities.
The Village of Providence being developed in Huntsville
will be a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with homes and
cottages, town homes, flats and loft apartments. Live/work
houses will front the town square with a neighborhood
grocery, soda shop, deli restaurants and specialty shops.
Homes of traditional designs will utilize rear alleyways
allowing beautiful front streetscapes A town hall will host
cultural activities and parks will include pools, tennis and
outdoor concert areas. A new K-8 school will be part of the
community. Many designers were involved in the Providence
community's creation. OPZ of Miami was responsible for the
master plan of the village. Chapman Sisson Architects
Inc. of Huntsville designed 7 Town Center and Fuqua &
Partners Architects PC, also of Huntsville, designed
Main Street Lofts and The Meeting House on Thayer Street.
Designers Robert Martignoni of Building Science
Associates and Steve Mouzon of Mouzon and
Associates, both of Huntsville, were part of the team also.
Thomasville Plan
Providence Vi liage Main Street Lofts
Cahaba Village Concepiional Side Elevation with ResidentialJRetaii
DesignAlabama 6
Last spring industrial design pro­fessor
Tsai Lu Liu challenged
his students to design toys and
products for disabled children. Lui,
whose son has a disability, has had
• difficulty finding toys for him. One
of Lui's students, Jeffrey Jones
of Hartselle, whose twin brother suffers from a disability
that has left him without fine motor skills on one side of
his body, has developed a universal marker he calls the
Abili-Painter - for people with fine motor disabilities. The
Abili-Painter marker has a strap and is contoured to the
hand for easy gripping To change the pen's color, the user
taps the marker tip on a palette that holds different colored
tips. Use of the pen only requires up and down movement
from the shoulder instead of more coordinated complex
movements that are required with other markers. Projects
from the 15 students in the class ranged from a hand-oper­ated
race bike and hand-operated seesaw for children with
lower body disabilities to a wheelchair-accessible activ-ity
center and ergonomic dining utensils for people with
impaired fine motor skills. The project was sponsored by
Taylor Pursell, CEO of NFT Industries in Birmingham, who
will develop some of the designs for commercial use. All
proceeds from the sale of the products will go to Unlimited
Play, a nonprofit organization in St. Louis that is trying to
raise $750,000 to build a playground that will be acces­sible
to all children including those who use wheelchairs
or walkers.
Abili-Painter
The town of Maplesville, located in
Chilton County, recently renovated
its downtown area with the assis­tance
of a grant through the Alabama
Department of Transportation. Sentell
Engineering of Tuscaioosa designed
renovations which addressed sidewalk enhancement,
decorative lighting, improved drainage structures and land­scaping
Also included in the project was enhancement of
the Maplesville Train Depot. With the addition of decorative
lighting, landscaping, improved parking and stamped con­crete
sidewalks, the depot will stand out as one of the focal
points in this small central Alabama town.
•
COG Engineers & Associates Inc. of Albertville
deSigned the downtown revitalization of Piedmont. This
included replacing old sidewalks with new ones and adding
brick pavers, brick crosswalks, decorative lighting, curb and
gutter, the widening and repaving of streets to add parking,
as well as some drainage issues. This was made possible
by Transportation Enhancement funding FY 2002 and 2003.
Construction began in September 2004 and was recently
completed. Prior to this, the city had already relocated the
utilities in the project area and removed old awnings. In
addition, many businesses in the downtown had new brick
facades and constructed awnings for their storefronts. The
project was an effort by the city to compliment the Chief
Ladiga Trail, as well as draw visitors and residents to the his­toric
downtown area.
Maplesvilie Depot
Piedmoni Downtown
Piedmont Depot
Setting +
Architecture
Destination
BY PHILIP MORRIS
--
Writing stories is not what architects are trained to do nor naturally drawn to.
So when representatives of Marriott Corp. asked Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood to
write a story about what was to become the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort
& Spa, it created a stir within the firm. But it did help shape the conceptual
design, as did specific challenges inherent in the building type and size.
"1' , -1 n - , teJ it Sl1oul0 reIlect local
Considered the jewel in the crown of the Retirement Systems
of Alabama (RSA) Robert TreniJones Go[f Trail, the new
course [aid out by Bobby Vaughn included from the start a
destination bote[ set right between the fairways. And because
no hotel under the Renaissance name is supposed to be [ike
any other, there needed to be an imaginative start.
"We were initially stumped by the story assignment," says
Cbristopher Engel, design director for Goodwyn, ,Ii[[s &
Cawood. "But it wound up giving a good overall direction to
the design. We felt it should reflect local history, particularly
the grand houses of Birmingham's industrial barons, the
kind you see atop Red \lountain" That idea has informed
everything from the overall architectural character to the cus­tom
iron-and-g[ass chandeliers found in the public spaces.
Design - Makes A Difference
Architects/Interior Designer/landscape Designer
Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood. Montgomery
Urban Piarll'ler: looney, Ricks, Kiss, Orlando oHice
Site Planner: Holcombe, Nort()n & Prilchetl. Landscape
ArchQecls. Birmingham
Developers: Daniel CorP .. USS Real Eslale. 8irming!lam
Engel resists tagging the 259-1'00111 Ross Bridge hotel as a
certain style. With ill corner turrets, vertical massing and
steep, dormered roofs, the hotel and adjoining structures
remind some of the celebrated Banff Springs resort in the
Canadian I!ockies, others of the Biltmore Estate in North
Carolina. In fact, both of these - and the Ross Bridge design
- can be traced to the great American country houses of the
[ate 19th century. And within that eclectic range, Beaux Arts.
with a French Eenaissance thrust, probabiv comes closest to
describing the source.
7 Volume Xv. NO.1!
Balconies integrated with strong vertical
elements were used to offset the modular
grid that comes with the hotel building type.
Arches at the lower level evoke the surviv­ing
Civil War-era stone arched bridge not
far away that gives the hotel and adjacent
residential community its name.
Pitched roofs on the entry
porte-cochere and ather lower
wings extend the effect of
the main roof. Dimensional
composition shingles provide
lexture, as does the native
sandstone used on lower floors.
The approach to the hotel from the new
Ross Bridge Parkway is along the .25-mile
Grand Avenue leading through what will be
the town center.
OesignAiabama 8
But the IllOSt essential design moves were driven by the set- • To offset the rigid room unit module that comes with
ling. "When we started, we had a great owner that cared the hotel as a building type - the egg-crate elevation - the
about using quality materials and creating a building worthy architects introduced strong vertical and horizontal elements.
of the landscape it's Sitting in," savs Engel. As the centerpiece "You expect balconies on a condominium but not on a hotel,"
of the new tournament-level course in Hoover, just south of
the RSXs Oxmoor Valley courses, the hotel can be seen frolll
many different perspectives, the course laid out as a five-leaf
clover around it.
"1 cannot tell vou how much we struggled with it. given the
program demands and how it needed to dominate the scene,"
Engel says. "We started with a 1920s house concept and then
had to take it to a totallv different scale, but still using the
same rules." The extended wings for rooms, as well as the
conference center and spa, give the hotel strong presence
from a distance and, from the bUilding itself, wonderful
views of the golf course, lakes and the whole valley stretching
along the base of the Shades Mountain ridge.
The }lansard roof with its dormers and steeply pitched gables
and turrets delivers the desired profile and reinforces the
country house character. ·,It was obViously going to be expen­sive,
but we convinced them that we could not bring off the
design without it," Engel savs. Among the other key factors
that give the Ross Bridge hotel its authentic appearance are:
says Engel. But here they help reinforce the resort feeling and
allow guests to fully enjoy the setting.
• Pitched roofs on the lower wings and the porte-cocheres at
the main entrance and the one for the conference center give
them architectural force and avoid the negative found in many
convention hotels: guesb looking out at vast, flat, ugly roofs.
• Windows, that critical component of any building, are
wood with exterior cladding. They are true divided light
with muntins and mullions. Rooms have French doors with
fixed, paned windows to each side, and the stained wood adds
warmth and richness to the rooms.
II Materials throughout are true: stacked stone on the lower
tloors: cast stone for arches and lintels: stained-timber brack­ets:
real stucco with integrated color in three different tex­tures.
'"The stucco gives you a more natural feeling surface,
and it will weather with exposure, sun and rain," Engel notes.
Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood also worked hard on how the
building works with the site. There are three different levels
before the guest rooms start: a lower level where the pool and
spa is located: above that the golf facUities, main restaurant,
ballroom and meeting rooms: and at the third level the
main lobby, lobby bar, librat)', shops and other public spaces.
"When you walk in the main entrance you are already two
stories above grade with views out across the pool and the
surrounding course and landscape," Engel says.
So the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf 1\esort & Spa really does
deliver. From just about any angle outside, near or far, it
engages the landscape. And from everY guest room or public
space you see something beautiful. Like a grand countrv
house) indeed. II
Beaux Arts-era French Renaissance architecture, llsed in grand country houses like the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.,
partly inspired Ross Bridge, evident in the steep, Mansard-style roof and corner turrets. The roof profile and extended wings
give the hotel great presence when seen from a distance across the fairways and greens of the surrounding golf course.
Is There Life
Beyond the
five-lane strip?
S T R E E i T S
H I C H w AIY S I
d • ! e s t g ~ ~ n
I
~ I !
by Philip Morris
No aspect of the design arts has greater impact on the lives of Alabama residents and
visitors than the streets and highways we use. But it is easy to take the role of design
here for granted. Isn't it all 'just engineering'? There are many nen initiatives in this jie14. Developers, as well as
towns and cities, are lookingjor better options than the congested,
EngineCling is design. But when the layout and character of time-consnming,jiwstrating snbnrban strip. Our ''Streets & Highways
public streets and highways is confined to a narrow, functional scope
without the contributions of planners, traffic planners,landscape
architects and others, the results can be grim.
It is no accident that the graceful, curving parkways leading
into Invemess, The Colonnade, Meadowbrook, Highland takes and
other large developments along u.s. 280 south of Birmingham were
part of master plans prepared by landscape architects in conjunction
with engineers. TIle views across lakes, across valleys and into woods
are an artfully choreographed experience. In contrast, u.s. 280 from
1-459 south is a failure of deSign, not just in the poorlv functioning
connection with the interstate, but in the fact that land use and the
extra demands of development were never addressed. The highway
was planned only within the right-of-way.
But a great deal of suburban growth, and the transportation
networks that generate it, just happens. A highway is widened to four
lanes, attracts commercial strip development, turns uglv and congested
- and then gets five-laned with a central turn lane. Is this the only way
to grO\v?
No, it is not. Despite the sense of ineVitability, a truly com­prehensive
approach to the design of streets and highways should
involve the landscape setting, people on foot or bicycles, as well as in
cars, the adjoining land uses, as well as the capacity and function.
For better or worse, daily life is impacted greatly by where
we drive or walk. It takes strong leadership and some fresh thinking,
but the way to 'better" has never been such a clear choice.
Design" snrvey this issne inclndes:
"Pattem MaUers" -A critique 0/
random growt/; uia strips and subdivisions
and what can lCor/..~ better
"Tile Parkway Ilptirm" -A look at
!lOll-strip roadwa,ys tbat can enhance both
access/bili!;)! and communi!;}' appearance
"Streets fo. Ijll!!"!!.!" - Examples 0/
traffic-calming and otber des(f{1l tec/Jniql{R,'I'
that allow streets to serae pedestrians and
bkJ'cle riders,. as n:ell as cars
"Keep!!"!!! Tlli!"!!!§ MOlli!!!!" - Teamu'ark
amollg traffic engineen.;, pfamzen and others to
improve t1'qfficflow all e.risling or lleu' roads,
lrhich is called 'access management'
"P£lrtf£lii£l" -A lIumber a/pmjects
s/Jolting !Jou' design can shape and reshape
tbe character a/places.
PbiliJ) J/arris bas more /ball 30 yea/;'; exjJerimce ill magazine I{"()!'k including lenui'c-, as execufire editor (lnd
editor-a!-!mge (If Southern Living. Coastal Lh"ing ({nd Southern ACCelltS. A/t/;Olfp,b be !'etired ill 2000. :lforris remains
{fc/ire as a jiwicmce leriler {flld reIY)ecfer! {eefun?!' Oil des(f!,n {/s {ref[ as (f m{{ior collfnbu/or fa DesigniJabama
9 Volume Xv. No. II
Early acrion by civic groups helped save most of Us. 98 on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay from f/Dical strip uses and clutter. Corridor 98 helped convince Daphne, Montrose and Fairhope
ro adopt similar sign ordinances and a/so coordinatedp/anling of Jive oaks along the right-at-way margins and crape myrtle in lhe median
s
HI
T R E E T S
GHWAYS
d e s i g n
One of the great ironies in most American metropolitan areas today
is that the worst traffic is not in the older, usually denser areas
but in newer suburbs. This is true even in places of moderate size across
Alabama and the South. As the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU)
recognized when it was organized some 15 years ago, the root of the problem
in post-World War II suburbs is not density but the pattern of roads, streets
and land uses.
The traditional downtown grid and the nehvork of con­nected
streets and roads in older neighborhoods - and the way they
concentrate a mix of uses - prOVide viable choices for both dliving
and walking. In contrast, the lise of suburban strips with subdivi­sions,
office parks and other widely scattered uses strung out along
their lenb'lh makes the car the only option. Further, with the usual
cul-de-sac collector street system, every trip involves getting out on
That challenge, and others from within the planning and
traffic engineering professions) has stimulated new thinking across
the field. This new awareness builds upon dissatisfaction with evel'
wider streels and dismal pedestrian environments evident for many
years. Many cities and towns across Alabama have been enhancing
sidewalks, adding pedestrian amenities and making traffic-calming
modifications on a project-by-project basis for decades. Wl1at's
different today is the breadth and depth of the challenge to the
standard stlips-and-subltivisions approach of the past decades.
As expected, the critique and call for change meets with
resistance from the business-'lS-usual crowd. 'W11Cn Walter Kulash,
a guru of the new thinking and principal with the Glatting Jackson
firm in Orlando came to speak in a major Alabama city a few
years ago, thc he-ad of the city's traffic engineering department not
only refused to attend but told the sponsors of the AlA-sanctioned
workshop that he should not even be brought to town.
the at1erial road. Thus, noontime ,md all-time tndfic jams, not just at Narrow streets instead of widening them'l Change one-
DesignA!abama 10
msh hours. way streets back to hvo-way? Require lowcr design speeds and
Architect Andres Duany and colleagues, following the tradi­tional
urbanism concepts explored at Seaside, went on to develop a
celebrated critique of contemporaty soburbs and, more directly, the
post-war practices of traffic planners and engineers. (See graphics
p. I 1). At his first presentation at the American Institute of Architects
national convention in the late 1980s, Duany fhLshed a clipping from
a Florida newspaper on the screen with the headline: "Man Shot for
Making Slow Left Turn." It was the traffic, he told the audience, that
would help draw support for change.
tighter corners to help pedestlians? ReqUire that developments
along an arterial have internal access roads to connect them' Wl1at
sounds like heresy to many who think faster and wider is always
better seems like common sense to people tired of speeders on
their streets and endless waits at ever-bigger intersections. The
new urbanists draw upon research today showing, among other
things, that widening an arterial actually reduces its per-lane car­rying
capacity; that a modest jump from 30 mph to 40 mph raises
the pedestrian fatality level to more than 80 percent; that a loose
grid of narrower interconnected roads prOVides better circulation
than the cuI de sac-access aJ1erial.
This pair of graphics developed by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) i/fustrates the critique of con­venNona!
suburban development under the new urbanism movement. The iso/ated uses and one-way-in/one-way-out
road and street pattern forces all traffic to use the arteria! even for short trips (below). fn contrast, new urbanism uses
an interconnected street network and a coherent mix of uses to provide many choices in getting around. including by
foot or bicycfe (above).
Typically, the only choice of 'improvement' offered to cities and counties
today is five-lanes of uninterrupted pavement - or wider. Across Alabama the standard
five-lane urban section often separates neighborhoods, undercuts safety for any pedes­ttians
or bicycle users and creates a visual wasteland. Stripped out with commercial
development and driveway cuts for every fast-food restaurant or shopping center, the
public money spent is wasted because the would-be atterial becomes mostly a way to
get in and out of parking lot>.
The grand exceptions to the cluttered, dtiveway-challenged sttip
may be few and far between, but they can be memorable. U.S. 98 on Mobile's
Eastern Shore has been at least partly protected by local resident' of Daphne
and Fairhope. Nearly 20 years ago when the first sign of strip development
Another pair of drawings from DPZ shows how
the same number of houses cfustered within a
preserved landscape (above) reduces the amount
of paving, utilities and travel distances found in a
typicaf cul-de-sac subdivision (below).
There are other choices that are beginning to emerge. "One of the
things we are statting to help cities and counties to do is remm to real thor­oughfare
planning," says Steve Ostaseski, principal transpOltation planner with
the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPC). "It's what
was originally done in older areas like dmvntown Birmingham, Homewood
and Mountain Brook as they developed and why they have good options for
getting around today that newer suburbs don't. All we have to do today is take
a step back in time, back to true thoroughfare planning where even two-lane
roads when properlv organized and protected from access conflict> can pro­vide
safe, efficient and attractive routes."
OSl1seski point, to spine roads like the Lakeshore Dlive extension
and Hoover's Stadium Trace Parkway as examples of what true thoroughfares
are about. The new Ross Btidge Parkway (see photos p.12), which prmides
a scenic new route from Highway 150 past the Ross Bridge development to
Lakeshore Drive, illustrates what even a well-deSigned two-lane thoroughfare
can do.
"\Vbat we need to be doing all across the state is to explore how
to systematically connect places, and also what the character of those roads
should be," he says. "We need to help local municipalities with thiS, but even
the majority of counties across Alabanla without zoning can do this through
their subdivision regulations and roadway planning capability."
Ostaseski makes the case: If this process had been used along U.S.
280 in the southern suburbs of Birmingham as it statted to boom in the 1980s,
there would have been a requirement that all major development, include
inter-patTe! access - internal circulation between the big cuI de sacs. That
would have eliminated much of the local-turn conflict that is at the heatt of
congestion. "My guess is that it could all have been done for much less than
the $35 or $40 million needed to build even a modest interchange today."
appeared, a nonprofit group called Corridor 98 led effOt1s for sign ordinances There is a whole range of initiatives offering a way out of the current
and civic landscaping that has produced one of the most beautiful highways in dead end, the ever-wider, ever-more-congested strip: parkways and boulevards,
Alabama. Pressures continue, but the segment of the highway where a two-lane roundabout>, context-sensitive roads, traffic calming, access management
parkway leads into Fairhope stands as a model for managing the appearance street connectivity - even snmething called 'street diets' whereby four-lane
and carrying capacity of a public highway. (See photo below.) atterials are narrowed to three or two lanes to slow down traffic and provide
dedicated space for pedestrians and bicycles. All of these deal with a key factor
A fwe-fane parkway fined with trees leads from Us. 98 into Fairhope. a handsome
gateway into an attractive place.
largely ignored to date, namely, the interplay between transportation and land
use. To see planners and traffic engineers working together on these kinds of
projects is a true design breakthrough .•
11 VOlume xv. No. II
S
HI
TREETS
GHWAYS
d e s i g n
OesignAlabama 12
IFes Frazer
The new two-lane Ross Bridge Parkway in Hoover
leads from the area west of The Galleria north to
link with Lakeshore Parkway The Ross Bridge
town center emerging in the distance will feature a
town green fronting the parkway.
{left] Grand Avenue leads through the town center 2S-mi/e to the new Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf ResOfj &
Spa. The sales center, designed by Looney, Ricks, Kiss of Orlando, will eventually be put to commercial use.
{boltomj The master plan shows how Ross Bridge Parkway skirts past the town center fronted by its green.
R9Ss
BRIDGE
~!,'\ST£R PL.-\:'\
~
\CL/
rb-f'1
•~• ,,.~.,.,.,,. ,0=,."0".,.,, -=",u_..,.,~.~,<><""",
II I
Qr all the talk of high-tech solutions to traffic congestion 1 J _land there are some that can help - the most promising
answer to suburban mobility has been around a long time. How
about a grid of roads, even two-lane ones?
Recent experience suggests that suburban arterials sta11 as two
or four lanes that work well, but they inevitably get lined with fast-food
restaurants, service stations, strip shopping centers and are then 'improved·
as five-lanes with a continuous center tum lane. Then, maybe, seven-lanes.
And even, as is now planned for a section of u.s. 31 in Hoover, a nine-lane
asphalt wasteland. But none of this is really inevitable. With effective merging
of thoroughfare and land-use planning, the commercial strip can become an
exception rather than the mle.
A look at what may be called the 'parkway option· can be driven
today in a developing area of west Hoover. Opened this past summer, the $10
million, 3.7-mile, two-lane Ross Blidge Parkway connects with Deer Valley
Parkway (near Highway 150 west ofThe Galleria), extends through the new
Renaissance Ross Bridge golf resort and its surrounding residential develop­ment
and, via an existing road, leads past the Robert Trent Jones Oxmoor
courses to Lakeshore Parkway. It is a beautiful little road with views into
woods, up to the Shades Mountain ridge and across the golf course to the
new hotel. Even as it passes what will become the Ross Bridge tmvn center, a
town green separates the pedestrian-oriented development from the parkway
(see plan above).
The access management plan for Lakeshore Parkway. overseen by the City of Birmingham and ifs Oxmoor steering committee. fimits commercial fa major intersections and driveways to
cross streets as seen in this new smaff shopping center.
Lakeshore Drive. parafie!inQ Shades Creek ii)roug!? HomeWOod. features a sandstone-faced
u.s. 31 overpass. a 'iefiover" from Ihe days wiJen parki'iays featured handsome stonework.
The word 'parkway' really means something here, as it
does for the earlier ph'L,ed extension of Lakeshore Parkway, While
Lakeshore is a bigger road - four-lanes with a generous median
extended approximately nine miles from 1-65 west to Highway 150
in Bessemer - both it and Ross Bridge will maintain their beauty
and can,ing capacity becanse commercial will be concentrated
at m'ljor intersections. Access management standards (see p.l6)
reqnire that. even there, driveways are restricted to side roads.
With lIses and access controlled, these routes aiso live up to the
name 'thoroughfare'.
\Vb[ makes the new Ross Bridge Parkway different from
the parkwavs that serve manv large developments along u.s. 280
are the links that make it pat1 of a whole system. An effective thor­oughfare
system combines parh,wvs, sUlIldard m1elials, boulevarcLs
and streets into an interconnected system. Such a system is emerg­ing
in Hoover. "If you look at a map of existing and planned routes,
you see that when Stadium Trace Parkway is ultimately extended to
Morgan Road iShelbv County 521 and Morgan Road is extended to
Lakeshore. we will have a complete loop," says Virginia Williams,
director of development for the City of Hoover. "It's a larger version
of what Ross Iltidge Parkway provides.·'
So, while the planned widening of C.S. 31 represenLs the
worst of the ever-wider and inefficient suburban strip artelial, the
City of Hoover offers at least some of the smarter thinking about
thoroughfare plaoning. I!II
A Parkway Experience
by Philip Mom:s
.....•......................................•.•.................•.......... . .............•............
II came as a -surprise. famjliar though somf
parts were. After 1 lOured the new Henais.sance Ross
Bridge Golf Hesort & Spa, J set out toward home in
English Vill·age, Mountain Brook Virtually the entire
trip of ahout J 5 mile.,;, it turned oul. was \'ia parkways
old and new.
Beginning with the short stretch of Ross
Bridge Parkway heading north thal1urns into tbe
winding, t\\,{j+la!lc Shannon-Wenonah Road, f pass lJw
Oxmoor courses of the Robert Trent Jones {;olf Trail
~Uld ;.;hortly reach Lakeshore Parkway. Turning right,
1 drive this broad, gently enning park,,'ay through
the large tenitory ealkd OXllloor opened up by the
roadway extension over the past decade. I see planJled
office and industrial parks, one frontcd by a large
lagoon with a geyser fountain wf"'apped hy a walking
trail, a visual gift to the parkway.
For most of the six miles to 1-65 there are
oniya few crossroads, some with traffic signals, all
enhanced with crape myrtle and mass(~" of low ever­greens.
Even when 1 reach the commercial concentra­tion
called Wildwood. Lakeshore Parkway i!' lined \\ith
rows of ""ilJow oaks and other plantings. There is a
bottleneck here, mainly due to the under-designed
interchange with 1-65, but jnst heyond comes the older
section called Lakeshore Dlive (named for a dam
and lake [hat once hlocked Shades Creek). Here the
median is narrower hut the parkway feeling conlinu('s.
and the traffic flows smoothly past Samford University
and Homewood High School. A new pedestrian/bicycle
trail parallei to Shades Creek makes this stretch more
'parkway' lhan ever, a very popular line-<lr open space.
! P<l.SS a local landmark, the handsome :-:.and��stone-
faced c.s .. ) 1 overpass, a carryover from the kinds
of true parkways Imill before and shOlily afier World
\Var II. It's only a fragment., hUI it -shuws how attractive a
functional highway structure can be.
EWl1 Brookwood VHlage, a 1 cpOs regional
mall recently given a 'Main Street" fronlapg, is compat­ible
\vith the parj·nvay CharaCl{~r. Due 10 tl10 long, shallow
sitt hclweC'!1 Shades MOllntain and Shades CITek. it was
buill \vith integral parking decks ~o recent and pJanned
enhancements become a parI of the scene. ;\0 sea of
parking. YOtl1'{:gularly see car:' ,,·4th oUH)f-;.;talc tags
slow dmYll and turn to eros;.; the bridges, an impulse !'top
driv('ll by the appealing seen\.".
Pa."! the nicely landscaped u.s. 280 inter­change
(pJa1l1ed and maintained by the owners of
surrounding office buildings), I turn left on Cahaba Road,
curving through a Bncar open space like the nearhy
Mountain Brook Par!<way which is P;U1 of the original
J926 Mountain Brook EstalE'S plan (HobeJ1 Jemison Jr.
deveioper, Warren Manning.!r. of Boston, his landscape
architccVp!anner). 1 pas." through Mountain Brook
ViJlage and ilS landmark circle, cOnlinuing up Cah{lna
Road past the Birmingham Zoo on one side, Birmingham
Botanical Gardens on the other. Finally. those climbing,
hairpin curves up 10 English Village and I'm home.
On!y then, it hilS me: I bave jusr taken it time­trip
from our new, rediscovered examples of parkway
back \0 those we've inllCrited from the 1920s. J have
traversed a significa.nt P<111 of the Birmingham metro area
wilhout hiHing a commercial f'trip. Nice l1lodrj for any
place to fo!low,
13 Voiume XV. No. i!
In tile 19105 the City of Birmingham began revitalization of its High/and Avenue neighborhood by rebuilding the curved route with a single traffic lane in each direction and emphasizing pedestrian use
witl) enhanced side'l/alks, Today it is a highly desirabfe place for walking. dining and fil'ing. P ";:':;]';;p: Y C;' 'Ii' ; ;::'2Z,;~
s
HI
T R E E T S
GHWA'lS
d e s i g n
Of all the complaints local governrnents receive today, drivers speeding
down residential streets rnay be the rnost dorninant. The City of Mo­bile
even provides a pro-active approach: a CD with a petition forrn included to
be printed out and circulated. If 60 percent of the residents on a street sign, the
engineering department investigates the problem and possible solutions.
DesignAlabama 14
The most common problem? Motorists taking shortcuts through neigh­borhoods
to avoid congestion on major streets. Wide suburban streets built since
World War II are especially prone because the design encourages high speed.
There are remedial steps that may help, but the best long-IeI'm solution is to have
streets - both major and minor - designed to fit the areas they serve.
Many elements help determine what is called 'design speed'. You can
design a street for different speeds: 15 mph, 20 mph, 35 mph and up. Street width
and alignment, intersection deSign, stre'et trees, curbside parking, sidewalk-front
buildings - there are many factors that can control how fast or slow dlivers will go.
And design speed is more effective than posted speed limits since it directly influ­ences
behavior. Lower design speeds do not have to reduce traffic capacity either.
Sltldies have shown that even arterial roads are most efficient between 30 and 35
mph because spacing between cars is not as great as at 40 mph and higher.
There is no better example of this than Highland Avenue in Birmingham.
Soon after the City of Binningham completed its Birmingham Green streetscape
improvemelm downtown in the 1970s, it took on the then-distressed Highland
neighborhood. To encourage restoration and development, the fanner streetcar route
was rebuilt with a single mming lane in each direction which prOVided room for gen­CrotlS
blick-accented sidewalk>, a raised landscaped median and angled parking
to serve older apartments along the way. The three existing small parks were tied
together with a streetscape that slowed traffic and favored pedestlians. HighhUld
Park today is among the most deSirable and successful neighborhoods.
r
For Cfielsea Park, a 13rge /lew residential development in S.hefby County, Skipper Consulting advised
on the design of roundabouts to expedite internal traffic floit/. Pil(~:::,~;r2p!li ~h' ,''iss i:'a~2'
Key Circle, a landmark in Birming.hams
Redmont, has functioned we!1 for more
than 80 years, making Ii' easy to get over
Red Mountain and 10 access several
close-in neighborhoods. ;: ::}[CQic.;;,"\'
To bring the benefits of people-friendly street, to everyone, Darrell Skipper of
Skipper Consulting Inc', a traffic engineering firm in Birmingham, recommends:
• Derelop alld maintaill access management guMe/inesior all slreets and roaclu:a)'s /0
jJ/'Otec! Ibe ilmeslment each COJJlJllltlli()' bas made in its street ~:rs{eJ1l
• AdojJt major slree! plans tbat prodde accessibili~J' and mobili(r uhile reduc;llg congestiol1
• Require residell/ial derdopel:~ /0 subscribe to Irr4Jic-calming standard" ill designillg
llefghbol'boods: iJllercollnecfillily. grid systems fhal prall/de allemafire routes. !ou'er
des([[l/ sjJeeds, a/temalire illlel:'leclioll designs (roundabouts, ele.)
• Work with adjoilling communilies ill adojJfillg similar trqlJic-ca/m/llg standards.
Retrofit traffic-calming can be effective, but incorporating design speed into
neighborhoods or district, is best. This S0l1 of comprehensive approach can be seen
in Chelsea Park, a developing neighborhood Skipper helped design in Shelby County
(Nimrod Long & Associates of Birmingham did the m'L'ter pIau), The most noticeable
innovation here is the introduction of roundabout, at key intersections (see photos p, 14),
The revival of the roundabout has met resistance in some quarters, but Key
Circle, a modest-size roundabout in Birmingham's historic Redmont neighborhood atop
Red Mountain has worked very well for more than 80 years, Its landmark quality also
shows that landscaped roundabouts can enhance civic character at the same time they
provide a free flow of movement
Roundabouts, both in the United States and in Europe, where they have
remained a standard tool of traffic planning for decades, usually serve two-lane street',
though there have been SOIne successful four-Ianeltwo-Iane connectors built Without fail,
they reduce the number of accidents compared to standard intersections and produce a
dranlatic reduction in fatal accident',
But roundabout, must be part of a larger traffic plan, "I was asked to look at
a new oval-shape rouudabout as pal1 of the redevelopment of Gulf Shores State Park,"
says Darrell Skipper, "But I told them you can't suddenly insert a slow-speed roundabout
along a 60- or 70-mph highway, The stretches leading up to the roundabout need to be
designed with curves and pavement widths that narurally slow drivers down before they
encounter it"
* To learn more about roundabouts across tiie Us.. visit ~·?ww.ksu.edu/roundabouis.
As part of a downtown streetscape and tra!f.ic-cafming project. Gresham Smitt)
and Partners rocused on tile ii/storie courthouse museum at the enD' of Main
Street. The before view (be/ow) shows the dramatic Gllange.
A slreet comer beiore/after pair SflOWS how brick-paved bulb-outs at corners
turn Main Street into a welcoming place for pedestrians. :,~:<: 't-:)~: C~ :':';"?~
A new roundabout encircles the historiC She/by County Courthouse and
resolves a split in the street just behind. Pi:::}IG0!2G~)' by {/es '>?z~r
Nobody had to L'llk Columbiana Mayor Allan Lowe into the new
roundabout that encompasses the Shelby County town's historic courthouse
museum, "The mayor had seen roundabout, in Europe and said he wanted
one," says landscape architect Charles Sowell III, formerly \\;th Gresham
Smith and Partners and now head of his own firm, "It worked very well as
part of a downtown streetscape improvement since the historic building
stands at the end of Main Street and just beyond it the road splits, so the
roundabout resolves the geometly," (See photo above,)
There are many other techniques used in traffic-calming, but
for the City of 1hscaloosa the circular landscaped islands (too small to be
roundabouts) that have been introduced at neighborhood intersections
where speeding was a problem have proved most effective, "We've been
doing traffic-calming for many years," says Joe Robinson, city engineer and
director of transportation, "We use speed bumps, speed tables, restricted
lane widths, but the smaller traffic circles planted \vith crape mYl1les and
grass, some not more than 15 feet in dianleter, look nicest and work best"
Echoing Darrell Skipper's call for a comprehensive approach to
managing traffic and speeds driven, Robinson says the best approach is
to build the right behavior into streets, Tuscaloosa will soon be doing that
for it' entire downtown grid (noted for very wide street,) to make it more
appealing to pedestrians, The city also recently approved a new 494-lot
residential area and an integrated shopping village, all designed to balance
between cars and people,
All of these varied techniques and projects to moderate speed
where appropriate and make streets safe for people on foot reflect a favor­ite
maxim of the livable cities movement: Walking [s Transportation, •
15 Volume XV No. II
One of the most useful tools available to any level of government dealing with
traffic and safety issues has a dry-sounding name but a potentially profound
impact: access management. These studies are usually done by a team that includes traffic
planners and/or engineers and land-use planners,
KPS Group and Skipper Consulting, both of Birmingham, have completed
similar access management studies for the City of Montgomery covering two newly
enhanced roadways in the developing eastern area of the city, Taylor Road and Chantilly
Parkway, Here are some excerpts from the report regarding access management in gen­eral
and some specifics on the Taylor Road project.
S T R E E T S
HICHWAYS
des i g n
III I
DesignAlabama 16
DISCONNECI'ED CONNECTED
INTERCONNECTED ROAD SYSTEM
ROADWAY HIERARCHY
Good Access Management Can: Requiring developers to pl'Ovide interior roads on j)roperty they
subdivide along arterials is an importattt step iumaintaining
• Maintain livable Communities sqjiliy and preserving capacity, but it may not be sufficient,
• Improve Safety When ,"bdivi,jons are huilt alijacent to one another, each with
• Preserve Roadway Capacity and the (('q{ul LiJe of Root/., its OWII access to the arteritll, dtivers may use t/m arterial to
• Decrease Travel nuuiand Congestion 1l'avel/rom one subdilJisir/U to another, tht4,} contributing to
• Improve Avc",~ to Properties big/nmy congestion, A simple remedy is to require that a ,I1th-
• Improve Air Quality divisiou contain cOlmecfing point' to lllijacent, undetle!oped
.Maitllain Travel Efjicfenq alld Related BcOllomic Prosperity itmd, where jeasible, and that adjacent ,wtbdit';'ll(f11S in/ercol/-
• Coordinaie Land Use and Trttrlsportatio1t Decisions. n¢ct. Tht:'i can reduce traffic olllbe arterial and /)e4) create tl
sense 'Ilcmmmmity continuity, rather than isolation,
The greatest benefit of access management ispreserving the jimctiOfuil
integrity afhigh ,peed, high capacity roat/.,', This benefit is acbieve(/' 'Il
course, by limiting direct access to these roail), By penulttiug access
only at ,lig,ltIlized intersectiOlls, Pllblic streets along the road or at other
"1)propriately spaced access jioint" tim public inrestment in the road is
hesl1Jreserved. Fewer road li1denings will be needed in the jiltare, traffic
slme"s wiIl he maintained and en'shes lUill be reduced.
Taylor Road Access Management Plan
Figure 22/JreselllS a graphic ,111111m(1l;), of the l'eCOllllllf!lldalions fOl'tbe
Taylor Road corridor which em;omjJasses the segment/i'DIn the Vaughn
Road intersectioll south to us. Highway 231, The cummlmadway segmelll
is afoUlclane median dhidedfilcililythat isfor tbe most JXI/·t u11llevemped
with tbe excejJtion <ifsome r&1dentiai and commercial deve/ojJmf!llt on the
norlbel1l end The fJOsled speed limit {,55 mph and tbe curren! dai!)' traffic
lJolumes halle been recorded at 18,,000 vehicles.
As shown in Figure 22, thefollowing recommendations are presented'
• Access to the corridor' should be concentrated at seoen (7)
jitll direction 1t](gor int.er,. . ·ections where tm,/jic siglUllizaUon
could he installed in tbe/ilture onee minimum cUlulilions
for their installation {, met
• Additional tlccess to the corridor "holl/tl be limited 10 rigbt­in/
righi-out /Jtee,;, jloints 10<Ylled lUi closer than 600/eet
limn olbel' aeee:.,'s lJOi'll!s
• Properties proposedj"r derelojJlllen/ should he desiglU!d ;u
,wu.'b a manner to provide all. infernal circulatioll ,~Jlstem
.11lt.ercOnJ1ectilti~v between at{iace111 del'elopment shaa be
required anti inlel'llal dellelOjllllBllt sll'eels shall be slubbed
al a4iaeeuljJl'OjJeri;)' linBswhere flossible
• Left-tum lanes shall he constructed at aft median ojJenings
• Right-tlll'llianes shall be constnlcled at all aeee,I:>'j)o!n!s to
l~l'lor Road and
��� Minimnm thmat If!llgtbsfor deuempmenl tlccess jlOilliS as
olltlilled ill Pigure 22 shall be j}1'(lI'ided
III addition 1-0 tbe access gUidelines outlined in Figure 22 aud
as presenled ill this re}JOrt, {iCCe."I' "mllg liS. Highway 231 shonld he care­fully
1f1{lIlfJged to j!lrJlect its intersection with laylor Road. As illustrated On
Figure 22, (/ maiO/' acce.'" is jJroposeil on Us. Highway 231 aj)/Jl'Oximate(r
2,OOOfeet from the Taylor Road intersection All olher locations bet1l'een
lhis proposed intersection on lJ.S H(gbw~)' 231 shmild be Jigbt-in/right-ollt
on(r (this reqUirement should be appliedlo hotb sides (~rlf.s. H(e,hway 231)-
Another access management study has recently been completed
for the stretch of u.s. 280 between Hugh Daniels Dtive and the Coosa River,
a joint effort by Shelby County, Skipper Consulting and Gresham Smith and
Partners, an attempt to avoid the problems closer to Birmingham. TIle goal
is to coordinate land use and development with localized highway improve­ments
in order to avoid the severe congestion closer ill.
The major recommendation of the study is construction of senice
roads to separate through traffic from dtivers seeking access to shopping
centers, offices and other developments, But these are not tile S011 of senice
roads nmning paraliel to the main highway witltin the existing tight-of-way.
As the plans show, these are tailored to local conditions with changing align­ments,
TIle deep curves are used not so much to work with topography
(though they sometimes dol but to provide more holding areas for cars,
avoiding the conflicts when old-style senice roads are tight next to the
through lanes,
* For more in/ormation Of) a::~:9SS i7J3n2yeme,nt, visit W//v/8ccessmanBgernsnt.gov.
Tavlor Road
Acccs~ r.hnagcmc:nt Plan
SKIPPER {''''''"iling, loco
KPS
Standards:
, TO" "'"""'~'" ru,,,,,,,,< 0=-'«0 "..cd~o "1"""''1:' ," ..n Ix 2/X>:\. :~p "'"
.. The ",,,,;,,,.~,,, &,"'",,< ""'".~ J,"'''''''~ ,bill>< &J(' f"",
.l~f, ~~" bn" <1.,[,1><- '''l"~",l"," ""'""'" "~"f.'
, F .. ~, ,~'". d~~.<Xl b~"" <1>,11 Ix '",,""'"-" ,11;",<>, 1"'1e'~
. D~,-.,.,.-,,, ,0.,:1 "'" Ix ,,,",,,,,J ~-ith", (I"J'! I"" ,,1>0 '-.'"""","",,
. to< ",,",mom ,h,"" ~i<'0 r.~ ,b'o;" 01«1"", 'Vt,"n1'"
.. -xl"f.",;i,,,,lio,,~,,,:t,,.,,,,,,
Ir" 0"""""'" th"", "'M'::O k,ll":fl<·,drn..",, t3c>'''''''
,.\&)"""".1 ,,,,"kn,,,1 J.-,.",,,., """"" p'"ld>'_,...J. ,,1, :,<>~",o",1 ''''''',
<n,U "'""'" lrom, ,,-.,J,-.~,- ."eh ""." "ok I",,,, ," "_',,"M k",,\ "'''"
·10'=''''''<''''"''' "'P'''~ ,,, ,<h<--: ",,,, ,,~,.,><.-,."'. ,h,.,,,
(Figure 22)
Legend: .,... ......
There is another major change proposed in the u.S. 280 access
management study: That the service roads be built on plivate property and
as part of the overall development costs, not with public highway funds.
"TIle study makes tile argument that ptivate developers pay for streets in
residential subdiviSions, and those costs are assumed by the home buyers, so
why shouldn't such access be assumed in commercial development where
there are much greater opportunities for profit," says John Stewart, civil
engineer and part of the Gresham Smith and Partners design team for the
project. Calculations done as pal1 of the study indicate that the extra costs
of proViding service roads would run about 15 percent of overall budget.>
on small project., like fast-food restaurants and no more than 2 percent on
big-box retail, office park> and other large-scale developments.
17 Volume XV, No. Ii
Access Management Plan
U.S. Highway 280
1 CQ"ccptu~1 S!3f'/iI;~ Road L:).:,.-cut
I
I
." • ! -
Access Management Plan
U.S. Highway 280
Sl1celllO: It> Of 20
For this section of US. 280, the plan includes a complete local access loop. Af! along the corridor the fayouts are tailored to specific conditions.
A(:ce$s Wlaoag€'rnent Plan
U.S. Higrw/ey 280
Gresham, Smith & Partners
Skipper Consulting
6 Lane
Because Us. 280 is so wide and busy, the plan's recom­mendation
where it passes Harpersvifle is to establish
a complele new town center to one side, allowing a mix
of uses and human-scale streets without interfering with
through traffic fanes.
* For a good genera! Web site on transportation pfanrting issues addressed in ti7is feawfs, visit wwwfgc.org.
DesignAlabama 18
I Date: s.,pt. 23. 20W Sheet No; 7 of 2iJ
A segment of the u.s. 280 Access Management Plan by Gresham Smith and Partners and Skipper
ConsuHing Inc. shows flow sefilice roads would cO/meci iuiure development wl!/J internal Clfcu/a­tion
and limit access to key ir,tersections. The deep-curved setbacks pull congestion away from
the iJigfJway
To implement these and other components of the u.s. 280 and
other access management plans, Stewart says there are two approaches:
• D~'e subdivision and roatiu'a}, development practices to control
what happens
• Create deSignated corridors with joint jurisdictional agreements
between ALDOl' and local gOl!emments.
The designated corridors are considered the best approach. "That
would mean less pressure on a municipality or county to undermine the
access management plan with exceptions:' Stewart says.
In Alabama, the access management initiatives have been at the
municipality. county Or corridor level. There is, to date, no statewide effort
under ALDOT, though district offices have been de facto engaged in those
invoI\ing state deSignated highways. But the emergiug imp0l1ance of this
team approach to deSigning cost-effective solutions to transportatiou and
community needs caunot be denied .•
: T"iF'J;;';, p, 'Ji!',~~)
! (,:;;:0$;,.,:,:10\
! i~Sl;~:NE'07'
! &4,ig~)
i S" - ,0' Th;OliC~ rai\~,S
, S'i""q &.«';;;;;;'~ I 7' OiY..<IS!o:-Ci pa;k.irr.,rCurt;: a;xj !;'J~or
f ~:'~':~~~A 1 ;: ~,~;: Lawn. LE,oe~n~ t:>NS So".)', 00 ;~«ootwoo.~ y./' toW Ot. cen!e llfc,~g ,,'10 !r.,-Qt:1 of ,,';c: ~"o/..-:'
~.t"'-OO-l!'. ,_.! 1Vo"'C (C-:l>W>lOO \'ii(,~ \1OhCc'e flcv.j
! v'"'::;;)yVY..:-o-'1XW j i~~~;~~::~~oat1.P\nsiOOR.OW;n!r('l.'.(~~:OOC":'X
I A.X8>5lU;:XiE-1 : Soo Lot Ac~;ssla:x}Jrds in ~~ S:,;x.;etmr.tzi S,$!>(i;rds of ,,:'<ic's 4, 5, orS
i 'l'fNCflLD' 1 ,0'· ~O' ),syr.1 i v>.Ji:l<!C>; ~~~~ ,
i j This s.;XOai st'OO\ tOCi<on isgene."al,y n~icab1e h ~'lo Corae.'1c Focus ,'\"-aas ct ~<J F~w ocv®pmcr1
l~W\!<:·!.'~!lY _ I ~i~~/~~~~;:~;~~~~~~,: se:. ... "w. ;w;i $trwl if Y;o}:l L&~ am <J~;iz&d, o~ es a Jew. c,
T:rp;.ro LOl Fron~ mw,~ O11l'f to~.e tr';'livi. il'>:jap;';c.yris;o oosig."')o~ lhctr<ln;i~on OOt/.-oot- 1)':-;,) ri&~'·o:'·way W'4f..'1a pi''1iiO Jot;
Fut,'",:x rC3t";';1'oos 00 b'j!~ iCOltio,", ern:! sitS' OOsign m<rf be imr~OO<i C". ~h~ ~cro:C ~cring Of S\!b1V:$.'<;,~ rc:;'~'<lt;o;;s
iYPK:Al P-U~I A!0
CRcBs-S!;CT}O\j
~';\!I/;:>1TY s· PAA= ~t;
zo,.;l: CURS a (;~"ITl:R
i Atea and Sidswar.~; or
0'
S'PARKJIiGV,I{( ~'~~1T'i
I'mH otOOle
cmm&(;U""R
I"
as secondary routes and si~ streets, end can serve as a !ocal or
1)=-1 cOl:'""""""",rncny :~"'e ~",<;.li,"""~",,,,",W~'''' il',c==OO~· L'1c '>;.,:4.,,,,-,,,Y.i'!>o >""":'~-""
F~#~~<Ol"".scotAA"':!:>;:~.",""';""eW4'''''1)'tn'-'''';Qx:''I>.''''''' o;>;JJ¢,.">tio"""""'~I'.s""~::<>".s
s
HI
d
r R :e :e r s
CHWAYS
e s i g n
PORTFOLIO
W:'th its award-winning comprehensive plan adopted, Shelby Coun~' is now in
the process of updating its subdivision regulations to achieve goals set [011h
in the plan. A major initiative is to have context-based streels and roads that promote
different kinds of places from urban main street to l1lral dlive.
Cnder tile heading Specific Design Ty]les, a total of 11 are listed:
Conventional Arterial
Rural Dril;e
Conventional Collector
Rural Parku:a,y
Conventional Local
Adgbboj'/;ood Street
Pedestrian Street Boulemld
Access Lane/Residential
Main Streef
Acces,,, Alle.J0,.'on-Residelltia/
Though these are in draft fonn and have not yet been adopted, they are an
excellent example of the move away Ii'om tile one-size-fib-all approach of the recent past.
We show here the graphic sections and descriptions of four street ~pes intended to
help shape the traditional neighborhoods and pedestrian-niendly tOW11 centers that the
comprehensive plan encourages. III
1-·:eOU,LEVAAn
) Typ<;fti. p\',>"'U.-J>D
/_Cflos,s.ssCa,:}l
! (,!·L".N£hlY;J..
j f8',)€.t{;iAlSHCWt,)
I
i. MINM.MROWWb1N 80'- Two.lans
100' - Fo;;r·lane
,2. I WAVE!. W{5 wo,~
I S'fEE7~.A
1,1'- 12'
1 ';' shoulder I CIJlb and gutler (m!oonllalus<'-s): or
, 8' Desiona:ed pal<ll!al parl::ingl Culb and gutter (no,Hesk\e.'1'Ja! uses)
10' -16' T:,* law;"! (rsside!ltiai 1JSeS). Larg;l canC91lrees s,'1ali 00 locatedbet-l .. een 30' 10 &J' on renter
along lim iength olthe street: or
4' - 8' Amenitf Area (ncn·residentialuses, Mroum 0Inamerr..al frees wiL'1 a canq:ly heifjht abov8 14' at
rr.atlJlit1 shall be placed approxirr.ateiy25' -.\Q' on cen,er in trw wells, Tree weHs shall t>e at Ieas14' v.w:.h
in aii 6irec~oos and have at leas120 SQuare feel of irll:le.YIYJS wrface.
S'..s' sioowaik (resklential uwsj: Of
8'·',2' side'tr.li!I (norHasioontisilJs<'-s)
Sharod 14' O'Jlsioo lane (!r~'udir:g sllouloar); or
j e 5' _ 5' decicaled lane iW -14', The mroan shall be I~ with Lar,;e Canopy Of Medium Omamena! tre<'-s app;oximateiy ~.-ery
1 30' to 60' and include 1S'ffl1 or other 'WOO rxt/eL
1 e Un&.or Arnenity Area and Sidswar.,,; or
loin raar alle't
Ar:l::=,ssl~rrATiON 1 See LolAcosss standards in the S emental Standards of Mitie 4. 5, or6.
) Tm~Allo~ ! FR0:~fh~··
'1 • 4O'-iO(flawr,/se(bad;I,res(OOn'JaI)
" Stres!·fronl b;f,kimgs (no, .. reside."ttial); or ! • 10' - 20' tXX.Irt'@rCsorlandscapebl!ffe;- (noMeS,;6:m!i~1
Typical Lct Fro.11agB refers Ofll'y to lf1e typical and app,w;jate design 01 the transition betwoo"l:tle right4waj' and tha p:ivate lots
Fur'ror res!:Tict'OOs on boJi!ang iO"...aton arK! s;te design m...~ 00 inclt:<led in o':h8f <!ppllcabie zoning or subdivision rogtiaoons
19 Volume xv, No.1!
T R E E T S
GHWAYS
s i g n
PORTFOLIO
Design/\Iabama 20
The name, Green Splings, evokes a bucolic scene, but in its 'before' condi­tion
the stretch of highway through Homewood was ~U1ylhing but. A once
prosperous suburban strip had tumed marginal after 1-65 was built to cany most
through traffic, ,lild the Citv of Homewood retained Gresham Smith and Paltners to
reposition it
The 2,2-mile stretch, which includes a segment north ,md south of Lake­shore
Drive that had not been turned commercial, now has the look of a bOlllevard
in the area ncar Lakeshore and a less duttered strip along the commercial portion.
W11ile the former median was not brought back, the unsightly edges of the high­way
have been enhanced \vith sidewalks and planting, as well as better location
of access drives (see before/after pair), The city's upgraded sign ordinance and
recruitment of more neighborhood-friendly shopping and dining, like at the new
Publix-m1Chored center, are beginning to have effect.
When the project \vas designed, landscape architect Charles Sow'ell III
was )lal1 of the firm. "Charles has his own firm now," says John Stemm, a civil
engineer with Gresham Smith, "But we still work together. This kind of work needs
good collaboration between engineers alld landscape architects because there
needs to be a lot of backHand-forth on issues like drainage and what's underground
thai may not be evident."
To illustrate what the t\Vo fields bring to projects like the Green Springs
upgrade, which also involved better connections to 1-65 at each end of the com­-
mercial section, Gresham Smith created the Design Development graphic. III
Courtesy The \Vaters
L".'."!
I
' .. ./..0.....< J 1;" I
~/ !,e,,',: ,i
I.~J
I V '/-,
I
s
HI
T R E E T S
CHWAYS
d e s ig n
PORTFOLIO
One of the key tenants of new urbanism is the return to pedestrian-scale towns
and neighborhoods with a strong sense of place, A development called The
Waters now underway in east Montgomery, laid out by Miami-based architect Steve
Mouzon of PlaceMakers LLC, embodies the movement with distinctive neighborhoods
set \,ithin a system of lakes and open space,
As the plan for Lucas Point shows, streets are organized in an interconnected
grid to make it easy to walk from place to place, But the plan also takes into account
the setting and the desire for civic character, The Avenue of the Waters (see photo)
leading into the neighborhood includes a roundabout tied to the curved streets that
extend along the edges of the open space and watec The outer side of tlle loop is open,
so the views are not in someone's backyard but belong to everyone, Alleys or narrow
lanes access houses so street fronts and sidewalk, are not interrupted by driveways,
Because Lucas Point will serve the whole community, the parkway extends
directly to the point where there are shared facilities, Civic structures, liVe/work unit,
and some office/retail buildings give the point a town center quality, Street sections
detennined by Hali Planning & Engineering of Taliahassee, Fla" totai 12 ranging from
boulevard down to bike lane, The neighborhood street pavement width is 18 feet, a
design speed compatible with the local residential use, _
21 Volume XV. No. II
T R E E T S
OHWAYS
e s i g n
PORTFOLIO
DesignAlabama 22
Elevated highways through urban are,", are considered one of the worst
legacies of the U.S. interstate highway program. Some cities, like Fort W0l1h,
have moved them away from the urban core. Others, like Seattle, put them below
grade when they were first built where they do less harm. The elevated stretch of
1-20/59 in downtown Birmingham creates an eyesore and a barrier between the
Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center (BJCC) and the rest of downtown.
As part of the recently completed City Center Master Plan prepared by
Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh, urb,m transportation planner Walter Kulash
of the Orlando-based GlattingJackson firm canle up with a solution: Drop the
elevated portion in an open cut ,md cap the strategic segment between BJeC and
Birmingham Museum of Al1 with a new civic plaza. Since the elevated highwav
will have to be repaired or replaced within [he next decade or so, he argued, the
below-grade proposal should be a viable option.
Presented here are the before/after renderings to show how positive a
change it would make for the ci~" and a section view. We also include a simple
sketch from Kulash showing how manv more choices those trying [0 get to BJCC
events would have by exiting early and using new streeL, north and south of the
cut to connect to the downtown grid. As it is now, traffic backs up at the few exit
and entlY ramps. The proposed change would also make it easy for people to park
south of the cut and walk, an opportunity for downtown businesses to benefit from
the now-isolated BJCC .•
DesignAlabamat Update
Working Statewide for Design
by Gina Glaze Clifford
DesignAlabama has been working over the last six months, continuing to promote
its mission through the publication olourJournal and various programming.
• DesignAlabama (DA) began its major programming for the year in March.
when in partnership with the Alabama Siale Council on the Arts, the
Auburn University (AU) Center for the Arts and Humanities and
the Southern Growth policies Board (SGPB). ilheld a community
forum in Montgomery to discuss issues facing the rural South. Attendees
from the tri-county area produced an interesting number of topics and
discussions that were included in the 2005 Report on the Rural South
presented at the annual conference of the SGPB in June 2005. The essential
lesson learned was that despite our different backgrounds and communities,
together we all have a vision of creating a better ruralSquth through partner­ships.
good design and planning for the future. For moreinformationvisi!
www.southem.org.
• In the spring DA participated in the Magic City Art Connection's
EyeBeam Project(see DA Update SpringiSummer2005) providiogan
architectural experience lor children. Workingcollaboratively with adults they
built an environment composed of individual structures using a modular/
prefab model and materials such as pvc pipe, bamboopoles,wirereinlorce­ments.
boxes. filled garbage bags, etc. A riVer was then created to combine
ali these elements togetiler; as iT to Ueajea city.FormOreinfOrmationabout
the EyeBeam project visit www,magiccitYarf.colll.
• In May. DA participated for the fourth time in the league of Municipali­ties
Conference as an exhibitor and sponsor of a breakout session.Thls
year's session was titled "Cents of Place". and focused on hpwcommu­nities
work on creating a sense of place tljrough historic preservation,tax
Incentives. economic development, fesfivalsandpilgrimages, while bringing
publiciprivate development and income to their cjty,Jhe sessi.on was.weJl
attended due in large part to our speakers: Eli1abeth Brown, Alabama Histor.i,
cal Commission; Bo Grisham, Brookmont Realty Group; DarrelynBender,
Eastern Shore Ch.amber of Commerce; Mayor Jay Jaxon from Eufaula;and
Ann Sparks, Main Street Director from Eufaula.
• During the League of Municipalities Conference, DA,with the help of Mayor
Jim Byard of Prattville and theAlabama league of Municipalities, announCed
the first annual DesignAlabama Mayors Design Summit to be held.
February 16-17, 2006, at the new Ross Bridge Hotel andConferenceCen­ter
in Birmingham. The intense dayand a half event wil! partner five Alabama
mayors. selected through an application process, with design professionals
to work on specific design and planning issues facing their communities. DA
has received commitments from the following design professionals: Cathy
Gerachis, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood; Cheryl Morgan. AU Center
for Architecture & Urban Studies; Ken Funderburk, Merchant
Capital; OarrylMeyer, KPS Group; William Gilchrist; City of
Birminghalll;.and Dan Bennett, AU School of Architecture. DA has
also asked Philip Morris from Birmingha.m and Jeff Speck from
the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to speak during
the conference.
• DA is also beginning a new partners(iip with AU'sCellter for
ArchiteclUreand UrbanSludies and the Black Bell Com­munityof
Uniontown. Through a $10,000 grant awarded to DA
from the NEA, students under the direction of CherylMorgan will
work through community involvement to create a master plan to
support the economic development, revitalization and preserva­tion
efforts of this community. The program will also provide the
necessary design components to inform the development of (or
revisions to) comprehensive plans. The result of this project will
be a wonderful master plan for the community of Uniontown and
a project report that will be written and published by DA and its
project partners to serve as an educational tool for communities
and schools throughout Alabama .•
Cheryl Morgan 01 the AU Center for
Architecture & Urban Studies conducts
a toWn meeting,
To learn more about our various programs and publications or to become a corporate investor,
please contact Executive Director Gina Glaze Clifford at 334-834-4346 or bye-mail at
designalabama1@beilsouthnet or visit our Web site at wwwdesignalabama.org.
23 Volume Xv. No. Ii
Historic~Perspectives
ALABAMA'S
HISTORIC
SCHOOLS by Jessica Armstrong
The archetypal one-room red schoolhouse - with its portraits of
Washington and Lincoln and potbellied stove - is the inspiration
for one of America's most pervasive myths.
AN IMPORTANT COMMUNITY ANCHOR ISTHE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL, whether still serving its
original purpose or adapted for reuse. In 2000, the National Trust placed historic neighborhood schools
on the list of the nation's 11 Most Endangered Places. Throughout Alabama are early schools diverse in
design and materials - from a modest wood-frame and a three-story log gymnasium to a WPA-construct­ed
Art Deco-style concrete building and a brick fortress-like structure featuring a crenellation.
Lot size, modern safety standards and handicap access are problems school districts must address
when deciding whether to renovate an old school or build a new one. Renovating instead of replacing
old schools occurs more often in urban areas where land is premium, observes Perry Taylor, an architect
for the Alabama Department of Education. "People want to hold on to schools rather than rezone."
Local groups continue to lobby for the preservation of Alabama's historic schools. Grassroots efforts
are taking place across the state to save these early monuments to education.
--_ ........ _-+. ~--------- - ----------...... --...... ---
Choccolocco Elementary School
One of Alabama's oldest existing schoolhouses was built in 1876 in Choccolocco Valley near Oxford in Calhoun County.
TOP RIGHT: One of Alabama's oldest surviving
school buildings is Choccolocco Elementary,
constructed in 1876 near Oxford. The modest
wood-frame building has been designated a state
landmark and is now a community center and
home to the Choccolocco Heritage Society, which
formed to save the school.
Built to selVe the local African-American community, the one-room wood-frame building was listed on the Alabama Reg­ister
of Landmarks and Heritage in 1996.
The 19th-century structure may have deteriorated if not for one of its former students, Georgia Calhoun, who spear­headed
the restoration project. After repairing the metal roof, replacing rotted floor boards and applying a coat of fresh
paint, the old schoolhouse is now used for Choccolocco Heritage Society meetings and other local events.
"We had one teacher for 43 years," recalls Calhoun, who attended the school from 1936 to 1942, "We had no indoor
plumbing or running water, and parents furnished the wood to fuel the pot-bellied stove."
DesignAlabama 24
EAST THREE NOTCH STREET SCHOOL
John Thompson is a college graduate, but he's back in grade school, so to speak. East Three Notch
Street School is now Andalusia City Hall. Thompson attended the school, where he now works as city
clerk in an office that was a former fifth grade Classroom. "The school is ideal for a city hall," says
Thompson. "The stage is where the council now sits. It's a beautiful space for meetings."
The campus was converted into a prontinent city space that includes a veteran's park and walking
trails. Robert Gamble, Alabama Historical Commission's senior architectural historian, calls it one of the
most brilliant adaptations of an old school building in Alabama.
"The original building is a mix of limestone and blick, typical for a school," explains Walter McKee
ABOVE: The East Three Notch Street School was constructed in 1914 and served as a public school in Andalusia unli11999. In 2004, the 36,000-
square-foot building reopened as Andalusia City Hall. While interior walls and ceilings were modified, most of the hardWOOd floors are intact, and
the exterior retains much of its original detailing.
DesignAlabama 28
Hickory Dickory Park
building science at Auburn University
and author of "Design Standards for
Children's Environments," believes should
be the goal when planning a play envi­ronment.
The ideal playground, she says,
contains different zones for dramatic play,
sand play, water play and hard surface
play with balls, Additionally, it should
offer a natural element, along with quiet
places and social spaces to share with
friends, "The chai!enge is that each time
a child comes to the playground, they
get a different experience," explains Ruth,
"They bring with them their own sense of
play,"
A different type of playground is being
constructed nationwide and in Alabama,
The Boundless Playgrounds project was
started to provide the opportunity to
children with and without disabilities to
play side-by-side, More than five million
children in the United States have some
type of disability that makes it difficult
or impossible for them to enjoy conven­tional
playgrounds, The primary aim is
to remove all architectural barriers and
Cary Woods Elementary Schaal
allow children to play without having to abandon
their special equipment and crawl onto the play area,
In Montgomery, a Boundless playground in Vaughn
Road Park was funded by a grant from Alabama
District Kiwanis International. The organization has
also funded a Boundless playground in Sheffield and
at Langan Park in Mobile, Boundless playgrounds
offer greater accessibility than the minimal require­ments
set by the American Disabilities Act (ADA),
At a time when children are increasingly seden­tary
- a result in part of the ever-expanding array of
electronic games - playgrounds provide an antidote
to virtual and passive play, Ruth designed a play­ground
at Auburn's Cary Woods Elementary School
that beckons children with its playhouses and replica
of Alabama's state capitol rotunda.
"It has columns, and one of their favorite games
is to pretend it's a jail,'· adds Ruth, clearly pleased
that the playground is fueling their Imagination,
Undoubtedly for a play environment deSigner,
there's no greater endorsement than a group of
delighted children, ..
Cary Woods Elementary School
Vaughn Road Park
A few of the state's
top playgrounds:
III Homewood Central Park, Central Avenue
and Oxmoor Road, Homewood, Features a
skateboard area, amphitheatre, are-routed
creek and a common green for games,
II Hickory Dickory Park, 1400 Hickory Lane,
Auburn. A focal point of this large
wooden muiti-structure is a replica of the
town's landmark Toomer's Corner.
II! Wilson Morgan Park, Beltline Road,
Decatur. This adventure type playground offers
a variety of interactive activities, including
sand and water play,
l1li A. L. Freeman Park, 3001 18th Street,
Tuscaloosa, In addition io traditional equip­ment,
children can scale rock walls, explore
the inside of tubes and climb loop ladders,
II Tom Bradford Park, Edwards Lake Road,
Birmingham, Three large multi-structure play
areas and climbing nets, overlooking a lake,
II Pratt Park, Doster Street and Doster Road,
Prattville. Features "A Child's Place" play­ground
with colorful towers that resemble a
fairy-tale medieval village,
II! Bowers Park, 2101 Bowers Park Drive,
Tuscaloosa, Three large multi-structure play
units, a tree climber and giant board games,
II Delano Park, Decatur. The town's oldest
city park, with a playground in a picturesque
setting that includes a rose garden and a tree
canopy of mature hardwoods.
III Vaughn Road Park, 3620 Vaughn Road,
Montgomery Features one of the state's first
Boundless playgrounds that offer full access
to children with disabilities.
III Brahan Spring Park, 500 Drake Avenue.
Huntsville. Large, fully equipped playground
overlooks a spring where children can fish.
Cary Woods Elementary School
and spinning, running and hid­ing,
skipping and jumping, throwing a ball
or splashing on a hot day. Children need a
place that stimulates their young minds and
bodies. Play is a fundamental joy of child-hood
that involves contemplation as well as
Hickory Dickory Park
Vaughn Road Park
Children need difierent play opportunities to complete their
social, intellectual and physical needs, experts believe, The
ideal play area addresses all aspects of development, says
Tom Jambor, who taught early childhood development at
the University of Alabama in Birmingham and is a leader in
outdoor play environment design, Children need a safe and
stimulating environment to burn off excess energy, and to
balance their mental and physical selves, he notes,
Safety is the first factor to consider when determining
the quality of a playground, he explains, Safety features
should include a resilient fall zone to soften tumbles,
The play environment should also be free of barriers
and protrUSions, and provide open space to run and
a place where adults can supervise, Fear of litiga-tion
and stricter safety codes have hindered the
imagination of playground designers, admits
Jambor. His idea of the perfect playground
is free of equipment - a place where chil­dren
must rely solely on the wonders of
nature,
environmental
designers believe that
this traditional type of
playground - while effec­tive
for burning off energy
and stimulating physical
growth - doesn't provide for
cognitive and social play, A
popular alternative today is the
contemporary type playground,
designed by connecting different
pieces that form a continuous piece
known as the superstructure or multi­functional
structure,
action; children also welcome a serene place Generations of children have
Moveable parts such as old tires,
railroad ties, crates and other materials
are characteristic of the adventure/creative
type playground, Children enjoy manipulat­ing
things and seeing how they work, and this
need is satisfied in such a setting, Playgrounds,
designers say, should be created to give children the
opportunity to create their own environment.
to daydream and imagine. Research has found enjoyed the traditional play-that
playgrounds are vital to physical and ground that features a slide,
• swing, see-saw and other
mental strength, allOWing youngsters to " ,
oaslc eqUipment.
develop SOCial, emotional and cogni- S 0 m e
live skills. That's what Linda Ruth, assistant professor of
BY JESSICA ARMSTRONG
Vaughn Road Park 27 Voiume XV, No.1I
of McKee & Associates, the Montgomery architectural firm involved with
the renovation project. "All additions were demolished, the exterior was
restored to its original condition and interior classrooms converted into
city offices"
LEFT: Skyline School was
constructed under a federal
relief program in 1936 in the
northeastern corner of Jack~
son County near Scollsboro.
SKYLINE SCHOOL Serving students K-12, the
Atop Cumberland Plateau in the northeastern corner of Jackson County sits Skyline School, constructed during school was built by local resi­the
Depression out of sandstone mined on the mountain. Construction began in 1936 as part of a federal relief program. dents with sandstone mined
Originally for grades 1-9, the school now serves K-12. Fuqua Osborn Architects in Huntsville completed much of the re- on the site.
cent renovation work, which included new gymnasiums and mechanical/electrical systems.
"Designwise, we ended up creating a street atmosphere, replicating [throughout the interior J roadways and street
signage," explains architect Danny Osborn. "We created canopies over the doorways and used a blight color scheme to
enliven the atmosphere."
Joyce Kennamer taught at Skyline for 22 years and notes that the exterior of the original building remains unchanged.
The sandstone walls, she says, survived a fire in 1941, when the school was rebuilt at the cost of $75,000.
KATE DUNCAN
SMITH SCHOOL
Located on Gunter Mountain in Grant
is the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School.
The 240-acre campus is owned by the
Daughters of the American Revolution,
which founded the school in 1924 that
serves 1,200 students K-12. Many of the
buildings dating from 1924 to the 1970s
were constructed of rocks and timber
from Gunter Mountain, says executive di­rector
Charles Edmonds.
The oldest building, constructed in
1924, is undergOing extensive renova­tion.
Renovation projects also include
the school's log gymnasium (see p.3 1).
Listed on the National Register of Histolic
Places, the three-story structure was con­structed
in 1937 by vertically placing pine
logs cut from Gunter Mountain.
"Even \\ith the constmction of new
facilities on campus, we remain committed to the architectural design and style that are specific to the campus;' notes
Edmonds. A recent fire destroyed a 1937 building. Edmonds is hopeful that its foundation and rock hearths can be saved,
and a facility of similar design will be constructed on the site.
LEFT: Founded in 1924, Kate Duncan Smith in
Grant serves K-12 and is one of six schools in
the United States supported by the Daughters of
the American Revolution. Its many architectur­ally
significant buildings include a 1924 struc­ture
built ot cobblestone from the site and a
1937 three-story log gymnasium on the National
Register of Historic Places.
BELOW: Renovation of this 1927
brick school in Montgomery includes
an addition that harmonizes with
the original two-story neo-Gear��gian
building. The original building
was designed by Frank Lockwood,
a prominent Montgomery archilect
FOREST AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL who deSigned an addition to the
This two-story, neo-Georgian school was designed in the late 1920s by Frank Lockwood, a prominent Montgomery state capitol.
architect whose work includes the addition to Alabama·s state capitol. A unique characteristic is its central auditorium
flanked by classrooms. The auditorium, which also serves as a cafeteria, features a balcony and columns
around the stage.
Half-round arches create a pleasant entry to this straightforward, traditional building, notes Mont­gomely
architect David Payne, who, aiong with architect Robert Borden, designed the $5 million, 60,000-
square-foot classroom and libraty addition. Gamble calls this recent two-story addition a "very sensitive
job" that resembles the original structure. Meticulous renovation included finding brick to match the
original, eventually located in Ohio, and using course sand in the mortar to match the original mixture, ex­plains
John Hutcheson of Hutcheson Construction, the Montgomely company involved with the project.
25 Volume Xv. No. iI
The Birmingham Historical Society presented its 2005 Preservation Awards this spring to honor the following efforts to save historic
places and revive them with sensitivity to historic fabric and neighborhoods'
Phoenix Building (1927, 1950)
- For Alabama's first mixed­income
lofts
Owner & Developer: Phoenix
Arts LLC, Ben, Anna and Jeremy
Erdreich. Carl Hess
Architect Erdreich Architects,
Birmingham
Once the home of South Central Bell, the former office building
has been converted to 74 industrial-style lofts. The interior was
gutted to the concrete walls, but the lobby and varnished doors
and surrounds were preserved. The exterior has been restored with
particular care for the terra cotta and copper storefront framing.
Taylor Carriage Co./Ballard Building
(c.1904) - For salvaging and saving
Owners. Patrick and Janice Ballard
Architect.· Cohen & Company, Birmingham
The Ballards renovated the building them­selves
with a little help. Roof leaks were
repaired and beams salvaged and reused
as stair treads. Ceiling bead board was
removed planed and refinished, and wallpaper was stripped after
which walls of multi-colored plaster were clear coated. The couple
now live and conduct their law practice in the building.
Kress Building (1937) - For
returning a grande dame to glory
Owner: Wiggins Childs Quinn &
Pantazis PC
Developer Southpace Properties
Architect.' Cohen & Company
This four-story plus departrnent
store was built for the ages. The recent renovation for its new law
firm owners restored the building's terra-cotta exterior, terrazzo
floors and metal and gilding finishes at the former entrance. The
entrance was reoriented to 19th Street with the original one serv­ing
as an emergency exit. A new interior stair from the lobby to
the mezzanine and upper floors links these spaces and floods
them with light.
Penny (1950s) - For saving the
Penny dog
Owner Birmingham Hide &
Tallow Co.
Master Signmaker: Barry Crick
Folks heading along First Avenue
Viaduct always look for the Penny dog. Gold Seal Products made
the Penny sign and the canned dog food at the building now
occupied by the hide and tallow company where Christy Crick
works. Barry Crick, best known for keeping Vulcan's lights glow­ing,
rehabbed Penny, getting the old palls and motors working so
that she wags her tail and blinks her eyes once more.
The County Home/Jefferson
Co. Rehabilitation & Health
Center (1931, with additions)
- For compassionate care arnidst
distinguished buildings
Owner: Jefferson Co. Commission
Architecl.· Paul B. Krebs & Associates
The county horne built to care for the elderly is part of a campus
designed by architects Turner & Van Arman that includes a replica
of Mount Vernon, an Italian Renaissance bell tower and cloistered
courtyards leading to Colonial Revival-style chapels. Later-built
nursing facilities. which had becorne a 'jumble of buildings', were
dernolished and new ones built along with a new visitor entrance.
The arcades and courtyards were restored, as well as the interior
of the chapel.
DesignAlabama 30
Center Point School (1924)
- For the rescue and reuse of
historic schools
Developer/Tenant City of Center
Point
Partner: JCCEO's Head Start
Prograrn
City officials and Head Start students rnoved right into the build­ing.
The city clerk took the school office. the firemen the gymna­sium
and Head Start the classroorns and lunchroom. It's a fine fit
and a fitting model for future projects.
Robinson School (1906)
- For the rescue and reuse of
historic schools
Owner' City of Birrningham
Schools
As a new school rises on the
playground, school board
officials will stabilize the 1906 school, and South East Lake
neighborhood leaders will find and support the future use of this
historic school as a center for comrnunity education.
Zoe's in Forest Park (1920s)
- For working hard to rnake
, it right
Owner' Deborah Bashinsky
The new owner got rid of
the drop ceiling and carpet,
opened up transom windows and the back door and restored and
enhanced the newly found finishes. "We need to honor these old
buildings," she said. and that's what she did.
Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast (c.
1889) - For pioneering historic hospitality
Owners.' Ira and Sheila Chaffin
It took about a year of trying "not to
ruin the house" while installing new
wiring, bathroorns, food service and
safety equipment, plus painting, general
fixing-up and bringing in truck loads of
antiques ... but eight public hearings and
35 inspections later. the Chaffins' eight B&B quarters will wei­corne
guests.
Oak Hill Cemetery (est 1871) - For
assessing resources and developing a
conservation plan
Owner: Oak Hill Mernorial Association
There is much to adrnire here: an intact
landscape with statuary, a caretaker's
cottage, barn and chapel: extensive and
detailed interrnent, rnanagement and landscape records and a
board dedicated to preserving and interpreting the site.
Special Award
Tannehill Ironworks and
the Iron & Steel Museum
of Alabama - For exernplary
collections and exhibits on 19th­century
ironrnaking
Owner Alabarna State Park
Service
Restoration Specialis/.· Rusty Crouthers
Master Tradesman. Ted Burnett
Work at Tannehill began in 1969 when the state established a
comrnission to develop the historic site, a ruin since its destruc­tion
by federal cavalry in 1865. Today the 15,000-acre historical
park has been reconstructed and a superb collection acquired and
interpreted to tell the story of how iron was rnade and used by
farmers as munitions during the Civil War.
The need to preserve and stabilize the Sixteenth Street Baptist
Church and Annex was the catalyst for the establishment of The
Sixteenth Street Foundation Inc. under the leadership of Dr.
Neal Berte, past president of Birrningharn-Southern College and
Mrs. Carolyn McKinstry, a life-long rnernber of Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church and survivor of the Septernber 15,1963, bornb­ing.
In 2004, Birrningham firrns ArchitectureWorks LLP and
Brice Building Co., and Atlanta-based historic preservation firrn
OJP Architects Inc. prepared a case statement and budget
for the $3.8 rnillion project. OJP has cornpleted an Historic
Structures Report documenting the history, physical features.
character and condition of the structure to serve as a guide for
the restoration and preservation process. The Leport will rernain
with the building in perpetuity as a guide for decision-rnaking
by future generations of the congregation. Due to the significance
of the Civil Rights events that took place there during the early
1960s, the church has been submitted to the National Park Ser­vice
for nomination as a National Landmark. Final review of the
nornination by the U.S. Department of Interior is expected this fall.
The 16th Street Foundation has received contributions and
pledges totaling more than $3.2 rnillion frorn 600 local indi­viduals
and companies. In Septernber Brice Building Co. began
construction on Phase I, including excavating and waterproofing
the foundation walls, installing new storm-water collection sys­terns
and supplernental foundation work. Design treatrnent for
the new sidewalks and landscaping will rnatch the character of
the streetscape of 1963. ArchitectureWorks and the design team
are currently at work on Phase II, the restoration and repair of
all exterior masonry construction, exterior windows and doors,
roofing systerns of both structures and will return some of the
architectural features evident in 1963. Completion of Phase I
and II is anticipated in January 2007.
16th SL Baptist Church RerlOvatiorl Pians
Support the Arts
Purchase a "Support the Arts"
car tag and help support educational design art in
Alabama schools. Help to increase awareness of
design disciplines that influence our environment,
stimulate economic development and enhance
the quality of life for all Alabamians. When you
purchase a "Support the Arts" car tag, your $50
registration fee is tax deductible and directly helps
arts education programming in Alabama.
For further information:
www.arts.state.al.us
or call your local county probate office.
Graduate students in the Auburn University College 01
Architecture, Design and Construction's Design/
Build program have constructed a prototype using ship­ping
containers converted into portable housing units that
could provide comfortable temporary shelter for victims of
natural disasters. The converted container was designed
by the students under the direction of D.K. Ruth, director
of the Design/Build graduate program and John Mouton,
chair of Building Science. Intended as an alternative to tent
cities. each container can be converted at a cost of less than
$2,500 to include natural light and ventilation. a wall air­conditioning
unit, ceiling fans, electrical power and storage
and a srnall refrigerator. They are also built to accommodate
standard FEMA-distributed five-gallon potable water contain­ers.
The shipping containers are available in abundance in the
Southeast and throughout the U.S. They are typically 8-feet
wide. 40-feetlong and 9-feet high and are designed to be
weatherproof, withstand harsh environrnental conditions and
support loads of up to several tons. They are easily stackable
for transport, rnostlikely by rail. AU has approached FEMA
about using the easily constructed units to house victims of
natural disasters.
The student designers are Anubhuti Patodi of Hydrabad.
India; Kevin Singh of Columbus. Ohio; Michael Grote
of EI Paso, Texas; Hart McGarry of Prattville; Anthony
Tindill of Trussville; Christopher Pyron of Loachapoka;
David Wurst of Eufaula; and Carie Roddy and John Gay
of Auburn.
Emergenc)' Relief H0tJs1rrQ Prototype
A unique fundraiser is underway to help renovate Becker Hall,
a vertical log gymnasium on the campus of Kate Duncan Srnith
DAR School in Grant (see p.24) Listed on the National Register
of Historic Places, the three-story structure was constructed in
1937 with logs cut from the Gunter Mountain forests. In 1946,
siding was placed on the exterior of the building. The siding has
been removed, but not before contributing to the deterioration of
the exterior logs.
When the gymnasium was built in 1937. all of the country's 48
states. along with Alaska, Hawaii and the Philippines, contributed
to its construction. Each state is now encouraged to purchase
a log for the landrnark restoration project, which is expected to
reach more than $1 million. Contributions may be sent to Kate
Duncan Smith DAR School. 6077lv1ain Street, Grant. AL 35747.
Kate Duncan School Log G)'mnasium
In this issue's feature are photographs of roadways that beckon In October 2004 Montgomery·s Junior League held a Design Day
with driving appeal. Many are designed with medians of grass, as part of the process to create a new science-based playscape
sometimes embellished with shrubs and small trees. In Alabama, for area children. Architect Dennis Wille of leathers and
US 280 in Sylacauga and U.S. 31 in Homewood and Vestavia Associates of Ithaca, NY. met with children from local elemen-
Hills are examples of this type which, unfortunately, is fast becom- tary schools soliciting their input for an ideal playscape, then
Ing an endangered species. Here we excerpt from a newsletter by he incorporated their ideas into the design for Discovery Village
Scenic North Carolina. a group that batlles billboards and fights playscape. The playground was built in a community effort at
for attractive roadways in that state. which argues in their behalf Kiwanis Park in Old Alabama Town and opened in June 2005.
THE MEDIAN IS THE MES.SAGE
Medians Can Enhance RoadWay Appearance and Safely
To accommodalehiglH'olume Iralfic floVls, many slreetsand Iligh'
ways aCfossNorlh Oarolina are Widened each year, More .ollen than
no!, it seem.s,.roadsare widened 10 five lanes 6i asphall,Vlilhfbur
th rough Janes.anda center Iwo-way le!t-!Urillane(TWLTL). or
"suicide Jane "
lI.is difficult loimagjne a roadway design aestheliCiillyless attractive
than five lanes oLasphalLToptO\lide a more allracliv8 slreet environ'
menl aMln so(tenlhe visual impactor latgaexpans"sol asphalt.
ciiizensoflenrequ~sl a bOOlevard designWi.lhlreesandshrubsina
planted median:Bul in addition 10 tileaeslhetic benelits;medianscall
also have a.positiveeflect on molorisl salely and the. overall furycti.o.n­ing
oitheroad,
MNorist Safely
There isa groWing body otresearcll showing tilalroadwayswilh
f)',edrans aresaler lor moforisls than tive".laneroads. The median
provides safety benefits by separating opposing lanes·of Iraliie, fedu.c,
ing Ihe number 01 confliClpoints between veiliclesand minimizing
headlighlglare.
.Studies trom Georgia,FI.oridaafld Micbigandemonslratelhat r6ads
wilh IMdians haveabetiet safety record (lower average crash rales)
than roads wflh·C!lnter.lumlanes. TMseslUdies aresummarized·in a
reportlronrthe Oregon DOT available alllleJollowlngwebsile; HpJI
flp .odOI.StatM[ usltdbfp lanninglaccess :"'mgl/medians.pdf.
Based on this researCh, several state and local governments have
adopled .policies requiting thai melli.ans. be jncludedonnew orwid­ened
thoroughfares. Owlhl)eft CountY,Georgia, In the Atlanlamef'
topOlllan area, adopted such apolicy iI11992..ln 1993, the Florida
Deparili1ent of Transportalion adopted a simi.lar pOi icy thai
applies statewide.
Access managemenltecilniques recognize thai rriads.like otller pub'
liCresources,.need to be careiullymafiaged, Medians are olien aClil)·
tralparl of access l11anagementprograms becausell1ey can improve
trajlicflolV.increase safety and reduce oongestion . .Roundabouts
should be considered nnmads withmedians;ll1eeasy U,lurnat the
roundaboulmiligales the elimination allell lurosalongtheroadway.
Furlhermore, researchers.l1ayefoundlhalmedlans ona.t93dwaYCiiil
discourage poorly planned stripdeveloprnenl patterns and promote
betlermanagemenlolland use by l.ocal governments,
The Oimsted Piar:
Discovery Viiiage at Kiwanis Park. Old Town Alabama
This year's annual Birmingham Historical Society publication
explores the Olmsted legacy for our region - a vision of scenic
places - designed for public and private clients during the early
20th century. The vision includes parks, grounds for educational
institutions, private estates and most especially; greenways
across our ridges and creek beds.
Frederic law Olmsted is widely known as the father of
landscape architecture in America and famous for his designs
of Central Park in New York City, Biltmore Estate and the U.S.
Capitol GroundS. His son John Charles and nephew Frederic
law Olmsted Jr. established the Olmsted Brothers firm
of Brookline. Mass. Olmsted Brothers became the premier park
planning firm in the nation in the 1910s and 1920s, with exten­sive
work in Baltimore, Louisville, Seattle and California, The
firm published a plan, actually a shopping list for land acquisi­tion,
for the Birmingham park system in 1925 and drafted hun­dreds
of pages of advice and suggestions in correspondence to
Birmingham park advocates. The Birmingham Historical Society
will publish the plan, together with selected correspondence and
an analysis of implementation during the 1920s and 1930s.
The fail Society exhibit at the Birmingham Public Library, Nov.
6-0ec. 31,2005. will showcase current park and greenway
projects. completed and proposed. Says, Heather McArn, BHS
Trustee researching projects, "There are so many exciting ven­tures
-the Shades Creek Greenways, the Vulcan Trail on Red
Mountain, the Turkey Creek Preserve, the Ruffner Mountain
Preserve, U.S. Steers proposed new Red Mountain Park .. ,and
the many acquisitions of the Black Warrior Cahaba Rivers Land
Trust .. to name a few. We look forward to identifying and sharing
these with the public.··.
31 Volume XV NO.II
Desi nAlabama
Volume XV, Issue II
PUBLIC DESIGN AWARENESS AND EDUCATION
DesignAlabama Inc. works to increase awareness and value of the design disciplines
that influence our environment. We believe that the quality of life and
economic growth of this state are enhanced through attention to and
investment in good design.
STREETS & HIGHWAYS DESIGN
(7 shall be telling this with a sigh
somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
((There is more to life than
and J - J took the one less
increasing its speed. ))
traveled by, and that has
((1 am of the opinion -MohandasGandhi
made all the difference. J)
that my life belongs
to the community,
and as long as 1 live
it is my privilege
to dofor it
whatever 1 can. "
- George Bernard Shaw
For additional information about DesignAlabama, please call (334) 834-4346.
- Robert Frost
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