Off-Site Condo Parking, New sidewalks, Trails & More in Orange Beach
By Marc D. Anderson, al.com, September 11, 2014
The city that’s pushing for traffic improvements is also on the move with ambitious “quality of life” projects.
Here’s some of what’s on the board:
- The city expects to invest $3 million into sidewalk projects.
- BP oil-spill compensation will fund environmental projects such as an aeration system at Cotton Bayou and nearby canals.
- The Backcountry Trail system is set to expand yet again.
- Plans are taking shape for a trolley system, a landscaped median on the beach highway, and construction of centralized off-site parking for condo visitors.
Mayor Tony Kennon said that the city is also campaigning for a “comprehensive medical center.”
“It’s not going to be a hospital,” he said. “We’re a long ways from a hospital, but we need something if you’re having a heart attack, a stroke. If there’s an emergency or trauma, you can be there within seven minutes.”
Kennon said that the city’s 5,000 full-time residents deserve the benefits and advancements for enduring heavy summer traffic congestion.
He said the city leadership is ready to pull “quality-of-life dollars” out of its reserves, pegging the amount at $2 million to $3 million.
Short- and long-term projects were unveiled during a town hall meeting Tuesday that mostly focused on transportation, including planned upgrades for Canal Road.
Pedestrian friendly
Priorities in the city’s master sidewalk plan are William Silvers Parkway, Lauder Lane, Ala. 161 from Catman Trail trailhead to the Publix boardwalk, the south segment of Gulf Bay Road and Oak Ridge Drive.
Funding would also go toward elevating low sidewalks that frequently flood along Ala. 161 and Canal Road, and the construction of new sidewalks along Canal Road from The Wharf to Ala. 161.
Also, said Kennon, “We’re going to look at landscaped medians on Perdido Beach Boulevard if the state will work with us.” He described these as “islands of safety” for people trying to cross the beach road on foot.
Community Development Director Kit Alexander said Alabama Department of Transportation Director John Cooper and Vince Calametti, head engineer for ALDOT’s Southwest Region, have already responded positively to the city’s idea of adding “strategically placed landscaped medians.”
In recent times, four pedestrians have been fatally hit on the beach highway in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. Just a few weeks ago, a 49-year-old Mississippi visitor waskilled while walking along Perdido Beach Boulevard near Live Bait Restaurant.
Backcountry Trail growth
A proposed expansion of the Backcountry Trail system at Gulf State Park includes:
- Over five miles of trails in different segments of the park’s west end near the campgrounds, in areas around Lake Shelby and along Ala. 135.
- Over two-and-a-half miles of boardwalk, including over a mile along Perdido Beach Boulevard from Orange Beach’s city limit to the Lake Shelby Picnic Area, where a 330-foot bridge would be built.
- Three fishing access point added to the west end of Lake Shelby along State Park Road 2.
- Mountain bike trails and a possible viewing platform.
- Expansion of the trail east of Ala. 161 to the city’s recreation center.
Trolleys and new parking
“We’re going to evaluate a trolley system of some type on the beach,” Kennon said. “At least on weekends in the summer. Maybe we are at the point where we can get enough use with the condo associations getting on board and helping us to market it.”
The goal, he said, is to find ways for people to move around without being in a car.
Ideally, according to the city, the system would link up with Gulf Shores and Perdido Key, Fla.
Meanwhile, the city wants to find a way to address overflow parking that spills from condos onto private property and public rights of way.
Kennon envisions a public-private effort that would establish a central site for parking by condo visitors who are bringing multiple cars.
Candace Crowley, director of association management at Turquoise Place, said she was encouraged by the plans because the high-end condo complex has experienced rising parking woes.
“We see all of these struggles. We deal with them every day,” she said. “We are on an island. And it’s not going get any bigger, just like my parking isn’t going to get any bigger. It is what it is.”
Another condominium complex that has dealt with parking problems is Mariner Pass on Cotton Bayou near Perdido Pass.
Doug Bryant, president of the Mariner Pass condo association board, said the association had to implement strict parking limits this summer because some visitors were arriving with three or four SUVs.
Bryant, who lived in Vail, Colo., prior to moving to Orange Beach, said the ski resort city successfully dealt with a massive influx of winter visitors through off-site parking and a shuttle and bus system.
“We want the people but we don’t want their cars,” Bryant said. “We can retrain these people. You just can’t come in with all these cars. (There’s) no place to put them. We need to offer them somewhere that’s effective and works.”
Kennon said all of the condo associations will have to join in for the off-site parking to be a success. “Everybody has to get on board,” he said.