Streets and Streetscapes

[Southron]

Bring Back Broad Street Initiative

The Bring Back Broad Street Initiative is a project to redesign Broad Street in downtown Mobile. The project will reduce the number of vehicle lanes and replace them with widened sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and medians. The project area includes Broad Street from the GM&O building all the way to I-10, including all of the Broad Street portion of the Hank Aaron Loop.

Sen. Richard Shelby secured federal funds for the project and it is listed on the ALDOT five year plan for 2006.

This will be an amazing redevelopment of the blighted Broad Street corridor when its done. Does anyone have renderings?

[PortofBama]

The Bring Back Broad Street Initiative is a project to redesign Broad Street in downtown Mobile. The project will reduce the number of vehicle lanes and replace them with widened sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and medians. The project area includes Broad Street from the GM&O building all the way to I-10, including all of the Broad Street portion of the Hank Aaron Loop.

Sen. Richard Shelby secured federal funds for the project and it is listed on the ALDOT five year plan for 2006.

This will be an amazing redevelopment of the blighted Broad Street corridor when its done. Does anyone have renderings?

I'm all for bringback broad street but narrowing lanes for wider side walks is not the smartest idea to me the trollys would be cool, traffic is already heavy on broad street with six lanes reduce it to four and thers a broblem I say leave the side walks get rid of the medians for the trully and wolla perfect planning

[The Dude]

The Bring Back Broad Street Initiative is a project to redesign Broad Street in downtown Mobile. The project will reduce the number of vehicle lanes and replace them with widened sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and medians. The project area includes Broad Street from the GM&O building all the way to I-10, including all of the Broad Street portion of the Hank Aaron Loop.

Sen. Richard Shelby secured federal funds for the project and it is listed on the ALDOT five year plan for 2006.

This will be an amazing redevelopment of the blighted Broad Street corridor when its done. Does anyone have renderings?

The renderings are being done in house by the City of Mobile Planning Department. I saw some preliminary drawings and they looked great. The person working on this project has extensive urban design knowledge.

I'm all for bringback broad street but narrowing lanes for wider side walks is not the smartest idea to me the trollys would be cool, traffic is already heavy on broad street with six lanes reduce it to four and thers a broblem I say leave the side walks get rid of the medians for the trully and wolla perfect planning

A trolley downtown would be a complete disaster right now. We simply do not have the urban fabric (residents, businesses, pedestrian activity) to sustain a trolley. To quote Andres Duany, we need to "experience a level of discomfort" (traffic congestion associated with a successful urban location) before we can justify the cost of a rail transit system.

[Southron]

A developer is trying to build a gas station on Broad Street, south of downtown, on property that is partially inside the existing Oakleigh historic district. The developer is seeking approval from the Mobile Planning Commission to divide out the portion inside the district, to avoid having to get approval from the Architectural Review Board for the project. The Oakleigh historic district is about to be expanded to take in all of the area and more. Apparently the developer is trying to sneak this through before the expansion takes effect.

The Oakleigh Garden District Society strongly opposes the gas station, as does Palmer Hamilton, who has led the Bring Back Broad effort and renovated houses in Oakleigh. Bring Back Broad planners want to spend $2 million (mostly federal funds) for narrowing Broad south of Government Street, landscaping and installing new lights and better sidewalks.

Mobile Press-Register: Gasoline station fueling dispute

I hope the planning commission kills this gas station. The developer should be ashamed of himself for trying to crap on the Oakleigh expansion and Bring Back Broad effort.

The article mentions the Bring Back Broad initiative area as south of Government Street. I thought it included Broad St. all the way to the GM&O building. Does anyone know for sure?

[The Dude]

A developer is trying to build a gas station on Broad Street, south of downtown, on property that is partially inside the existing Oakleigh historic district. The developer is seeking approval from the Mobile Planning Commission to divide out the portion inside the district, to avoid having to get approval from the Architectural Review Board for the project. The Oakleigh historic district is about to be expanded to take in all of the area and more. Apparently the developer is trying to sneak this through before the expansion takes effect.

The Oakleigh Garden District Society strongly opposes the gas station, as does Palmer Hamilton, who has led the Bring Back Broad effort and renovated houses in Oakleigh. Bring Back Broad planners want to spend $2 million (mostly federal funds) for narrowing Broad south of Government Street, landscaping and installing new lights and better sidewalks.

Mobile Press-Register: Gasoline station fueling dispute

I hope the planning commission kills this gas station. The developer should be ashamed of himself for trying to crap on the Oakleigh expansion and Bring Back Broad effort.

The article mentions the Bring Back Broad initiative area as south of Government Street. I thought it included Broad St. all the way to the GM&O building. Does anyone know for sure?

The article is incorrect, and you are right, Bring Back Broad encompasses all of broad st up to the GM&O.

[Southron]

^Thanks, Dude, I thought that was the case.

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Developers gave up on their plan to build a gas station on Broad Street at the edge of the Oakleigh Garden Historic District, because the community clearly doesn't want it there, and it would have had little chance of approval by the Architectural Review Board.

Mobile Press-Register: Developers drop gas station plan for edge of historic district

[elb401]

I think that they might just focus on one part...kind of like a phase one....because the money is harder to raise than they thought.

[Southron]

One-way to two-way conversions

Two-way traffic begins on St. Louis Street today -- the second downtown one-way street returned to two-way traffic this year, following the conversion of Royal Street.

The city plans to convert more one-way streets in the future, with St. Joseph and St. Francis at the top of the list.

Mobile Press-Register: St. Louis switches to two-way today

[Southron]

Work is beginning on the improvements to Broad Street, which will include a planted median, improved sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes. Video in the link below.

Bringing Broad Street Back

[Southron]

The city created a one-way to two-way street conversion plan, summarized in the downloadable brochure below. The Downtown Mobile Alliance recently added this to its website.

two_way_brochure.pdf

[Southron]

Mobile became the sixth Alabama Gulf Coast city to approve a Complete Streets policy, which will require officials to consider designing for pedestrians, cyclists, public transit riders and automobile drivers when streets are newly built or modified. It is just a policy, though, and doesn't require design for pedestrians, cyclists or transit riders. At least it's a good first step, and one that none of the other Big 4 cities have taken as far as I know.

Planners are working on a Bicentennial Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for Mobile County, which is to be ready by 2012.

Coastal Alabama advocates make Complete Streets in Mobile a reality

Complete Streets policy passed by Mobile City Council

Mobile-area bicyclists, pedestrians state their case for better roadway access