US 11/78 CORRIDOR STUDY BIRMINGHAM, AL EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT FEBRUARY 2014 US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... I LIST OF FIGURES ...... III LIST OF TABLES ...... VI 1 CORRIDOR PROBLEMS AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES ...... 1

1.1 CORRIDOR PROBLEMS ...... 1 1.2 EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES ...... 2 2 US 11 – US 78 CORRIDOR ...... 5

2.1 SUBAREAS ...... 5 2.2 PLANNING FRAMEWORK ...... 8 2.3 CORRIDOR DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 11 2.4 EMPLOYMENT ...... 23 2.5 NATURAL/CULTURAL RESOURCES ...... 27 2.6 LAND USE ...... 29 3 TRANSIT EXISTING CONDITIONS ...... 43

3.1 TRANSIT SERVICES IN JEFFERSON COUNTY ...... 43 3.2 TRANSIT SYSTEM PEER COMPARISON...... 47 3.3 STATUS OF TRANSIT PLANNING ...... 50 3.4 US 11/US 78 TRANSIT SERVICES ...... 51 4 TRAFFIC EXISTING CONDITIONS ...... 57

4.1 ROADWAY NETWORK ...... 57 4.2 TRAFFIC DATA AND ANALYSIS ...... 73 4.3 TRAVEL OBSERVATIONS...... 82 4.4 TRAFFIC SAFETY ...... 88 4.5 POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF COMPLETE STREETS ...... 88 4.6 PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLE PLANNING ...... 91 4.7 TRUCK TRAFFIC ...... 93 4.8 AIRPORT CONNECTIVITY ...... 95

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4.9 RAIL NETWORK ...... 95 4.10 PARKING ...... 98 5 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS ...... 99

5.1 CLOSE-IN US 11 EAST CORRIDOR STUDY AREA ...... 100 5.2 STRENGTHS ...... 104 5.3 WEAKNESSES ...... 105 5.4 OPPORTUNITIES ...... 106 APPENDIX I - SUBAREA CHARACTER ...... 107

DOWNTOWN ...... 107 UAB / FIVE POINTS SOUTH ...... 108 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL...... 109 AIRPORT ...... 110 CRESTWOOD/AVONDALE ...... 111 WOODLAWN ...... 112 PARKWAY EAST ...... 113 IRONDALE ...... 114 LEEDS ...... 114 TRUSSVILLE ...... 115 APPENDIX II – ECONOMIC CONDITION TABLES ...... 116

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LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2-1: STUDY AREA ...... 7 FIGURE 2-2: BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STRATEGIC POLICY MAP ...... 9 FIGURE 2-3: POPULATION DENSITY ...... 12 FIGURE 2-4: HOUSING DENSITY ...... 13 FIGURE 2-5: POPULATION CHANGE SINCE 1960 ...... 15 FIGURE 2-6: AGE DISTRIBUTION (PERCENTAGE) ...... 16 FIGURE 2-7: POPULATION UNDER AGE 18...... 16 FIGURE 2-8: POPULATION OVER AGE 65 ...... 16 FIGURE 2-9: POPULATION OVER AGE 65 ...... 17 FIGURE 2-10: SUBAREA COMPARISON – MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME ...... 18 FIGURE 2-11: HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION ...... 18 FIGURE 2-12: MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME ...... 19 FIGURE 2-13: SUBAREA MINORITY POPULATION PERCENTAGE ...... 20 FIGURE 2-14: PERCENTAGE OF SUBAREA POPULATION IN HOUSEHOLDS BELOW THE POVERTY LINE ...... 20 FIGURE 2-15: MINORITY POPULATION ...... 21 FIGURE 2-16: LOW INCOME POPULATION ...... 22 FIGURE 2-17: WORKERS OVER AGE 16 WITHOUT ACCESS TO A VEHICLE ...... 24 FIGURE 2-18: EMPLOYMENT...... 25 FIGURE 2-19: EMPLOYERS WITH 50 EMPLOYEES OR MORE ...... 26 FIGURE 2-20: CULTURAL RESOURCES ...... 28 FIGURE 2-21: PERCENTAGE LAND USE BY SUBAREA ...... 29 FIGURE 2-22: EXISTING LAND USE ...... 30 FIGURE 2-23: DISTRESSED PROPERTIES ...... 33 FIGURE 2-24: FEDERALLY SUBSIDIZED RENTAL HOUSING ...... 35 FIGURE 2-25: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMERCIAL REVITALIZATION DISTRICTS ...... 38 FIGURE 2-26: FUTURE LAND USE ...... 39 FIGURE 2-27: REGIONAL PLANNING DISTRICTS USED FOR FUTURE TRENDS DATA ...... 40 FIGURE 3-1: NEW MAX CNG BUSES ...... 43 FIGURE 3-2: MAX SYSTEM MAP ...... 44 FIGURE 3-3: MAX ANNUAL RIDERSHIP BY CORRIDOR ...... 45

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FIGURE 3-4: TRANSIT SYSTEM PEER COMPARISON ...... 48 FIGURE 3-5: US 11/US 78 CORRIDOR TRANSIT ROUTES ...... 52 FIGURE 3-6: ROUTE 17 EASTWOOD MALL ...... 53 FIGURE 3-7: ROUTE 20 ZION CITY ...... 54 FIGURE 3-8: ROUTE 25/26 CENTER POINT/JEFF STATE...... 55 FIGURE 3-9: ROUTE 28 SOUTH EAST LAKE ...... 56 FIGURE 4-1: STUDY AREA ROADWAY NETWORK AND KEY FACILITIES ...... 58 FIGURE 4-2: US 11 CORRIDOR PHOTOS ...... 60 FIGURE 4-3: US 11 TYPICAL SECTIONS ...... 61 FIGURE 4-4: US 78 CORRIDOR PHOTOS ...... 63 FIGURE 4-5: US 78 TYPICAL SECTIONS (3RD AND 4TH AVE SOUTH ONE-WAY COUPLET) ...... 64 FIGURE 4-6: US 78 TYPICAL SECTIONS (CRESTWOOD BLVD SEGMENTS) ...... 65 FIGURE 4-7: INTERSTATE 20 PHOTOS ...... 66 FIGURE 4-8: I-59 PHOTOS ...... 66 FIGURE 4-9: STUDY AREA INTERCHANGE MAP ...... 67 FIGURE 4-10: I-65 PHOTOS ...... 69 FIGURE 4-11: I-459 PHOTOS ...... 69 FIGURE 4-12: US31/280 PHOTOS ...... 70 FIGURE 4-13: AL 75 PHOTOS ...... 70 FIGURE 4-14: MESSER-AIRPORT HIGHWAY PHOTOS ...... 71 FIGURE 4-15: RICHARD ARRINGTON JR. BOULEVARD PHOTOS ...... 71 FIGURE 4-16: ALDOT ONLINE COUNT MAP ...... 73 FIGURE 4-17: 2012 AADT ALL VEHICLES ...... 74 FIGURE 4-18: RPCGB TRAVEL DEMAND MODEL (SAMPLE SCREENSHOT) ...... 75 FIGURE 4-19: 2012 TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM UAB HOSPITAL ...... 76 FIGURE 4-20: 2035 TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM UAB HOSPITAL ...... 77 FIGURE 4-21: 2012 TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM AIRPORT ...... 78 FIGURE 4-22: 2035 TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM AIRPORT ...... 79 FIGURE 4-23: 2012 AM PEAK PERIOD TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM DOWNTOWN ...... 81 FIGURE 4-24: 2012 PM PEAK PERIOD TRAVEL TIMES TO/FROM DOWNTOWN ...... 81 FIGURE 4-25: US 11/US 78 SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION MAP ...... 83 FIGURE 4-26: STREET SECTION CONCEPT FOR 1ST AVENUE NORTH AT 55TH PLACE (WOODLAWN) ...... 90 FIGURE 4-27: 2ND AVENUE SOUTH EXISTING BICYCLE LANES...... 92

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FIGURE 4-28: ESTIMATED 2012 AADT TRUCKS ...... 94 FIGURE 4-29: RAILROADS AND CROSSINGS ...... 97 FIGURE 5-1: US 11/US 78 EAST ANALYSIS AREAS ...... 101 FIGURE 5-2: POPULATION CHANGE BY SUBAREA 1990 TO 2010 ...... 102 FIGURE 5-3: HOUSEHOLD INCOME ...... 103 FIGURE 5-4: NUMBER OF UNITS BY GROSS RENT, 2010 ...... 104 FIGURE A-1: 2ND AVE N AT RICHARD ARRINGTON JR. BLVD ...... 107 FIGURE A-2: 3RD AVE N AT 19TH ST N ...... 108 FIGURE A-3: UAB UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ...... 108 FIGURE A-4: FIVE POINTS SOUTH ...... 109 FIGURE A-5: BJCTA OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY ...... 109 FIGURE A-6: HOLIDAY INN BRIMINGHAM-AIRPORT ...... 110 FIGURE A-7: STOCKHAM VALVES REDEVELOPMENT SITE ...... 111 FIGURE A-8: CRESTWOOD - 5TH AVENUE SOUTH AT 56TH STREET ...... 111 FIGURE A-9: WOODLAWN - CORNERSTONE SCHOOL ...... 112 FIGURE A-10: WOODLAWN HIGH SCHOOL ...... 113 FIGURE A-11: US 11 - PARKWAY EAST AT 4TH AVENUE SOUTH ...... 113 FIGURE A-12: LEEDS PARKWAY DRIVE (US78) ...... 115

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LIST OF TABLES TABLE 2-1: PROPERTY CONDITION INVENTORY ...... 32 TABLE 2-2: FEDERALLY SUBSIDIZED RENTAL HOUSING ...... 34 TABLE 2-3: POPULATION CHANGE FOR PLANNING DISTRICTS IN US11-78 CORRIDOR (2005 – 2035) ...... 41 TABLE 2-4: TOTAL EMPLOYMENT CHANGE FOR PLANNING DISTRICTS IN US 11-78 CORRIDOR (2005 – 2035) ...... 41 TABLE 3-1: MAX OPERATING STATISTICS FY 2007 AND FY 2012 ...... 43 TABLE 3-2: MAX OPERATING DATA BY ROUTE – MAY 2013 ...... 46 TABLE 3-3: ROUTES OPERATING IN THE US 11 / US 78 CORRIDOR – MAY 2013 ...... 51 TABLE 4-1: STUDY AREA INTERCHANGE LIST ...... 68 TABLE 4-2: US 11 SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION LIST ...... 84 TABLE 4-3: SPOT TRAVEL TIME OBSERVATIONS FOR AIRPORT ACCESS ROUTES ...... 96 TABLE 5-1: BIRMINGHAM-HOOVER, AL METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT TRENDS, 2001-2012 ...... 99 TABLE 5-2: POPULATION TRENDS, 1990-2010 ...... 100 TABLE A-1: BIRMINGHAM-HOOVER, AL METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT TREND, 2001-2012 ...... 116 TABLE A-2: POPULATION, AGE DISTRIBUTION AND HOUSEHOLD BY TYPE, 2010 ...... 117 TABLE A-3: POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD TRENDS, 2010 ...... 118 TABLE A-4: HOUSEHOLD TENURE, TYPE, SIZE AND VEHICLE OWNERSHIP, 2010 ...... 119 TABLE A-5: HOUSEHOLD TENURE AND HOUSING UNIT VACANCY STATUS, 2010 ...... 120 TABLE A-6: HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME, 2010 ...... 121 TABLE A-7: HOUSEHOLDS BY INCOME, 2012 ...... 122 TABLE A-8: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF RESIDENTS AGED 25 AND OVER, 2009 ...... 123 TABLE A-9: VACANCY STATUS 2010 ...... 124 TABLE A-10: RENTAL UNITS BY Gross Rent, 2010 ...... 125 TABLE A-11: GROSS RENT AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 2010 ...... 126 TABLE A-12: HOUSING UNITS BY NUMBER OF UNITS IN STRUCTURE, 2010 ...... 127 TABLE A-13: HOUSING UNITS BY YEAR BUILT, 2010 ...... 127

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1 CORRIDOR PROBLEMS AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES Poor Transit Service 1.1 Corridor Problems The City of Birmingham’s recently adopted Comprehensive Master Plan The City of Birmingham and especially the US 11 / US 78 corridor is notes poor transit service as a major problem for the Birmingham challenged to meet its mobility, housing, and economic development Community. The Community Speaks chapter of the Plan records a list of needs by its continued loss of population, disinvestment, uneven and low- challenges mentioned through a community visioning and outreach density land use patterns, a lack of affordable housing, poor transit service, process. “Lack of transportation alternatives; and inadequate transit underutilization of existing transportation resources, and limited bicycle, system and few bike trails or marked routes” was the most frequently and pedestrian options. mentioned challenge well above any other community problem. Improving transit was second to improving education on the Birmingham Population Loss Community’s Table of Priorities. “Participants (in the Master Plan Population in the City of Birmingham has decreased by 37.7 percent from Workshops) particularly emphasized the need for improvements in public 340,887 in 1960 to 212,237 in 2010. In the US 11 / US 78 corridor, transportation reliability, accessibility and facilities.” (Chapter 2 – The population loss has been acute in the close in residential areas just east of Community Speaks - Birmingham Comprehensive Master Plan). Downtown. Based upon regional forecasts population in the Center City Mobility and access in the study area are challenged by a fragmented and and Five Points South areas is expected to grow by 30% from 2005 to 2035 discontinuous transportation network and a lack of transit, bicycle, and while population in the Southside/Avondale/Crestwood, East Lake / pedestrian options. These transit and non-motorized conditions are Woodlawn, and Tarrant / Airport areas are expected to decline by 18% particularly evident when travel between communities and neighborhoods during the same period. While population growth is welcome in the within the City is attempted. These local trips are the dominant type of Center City and Five Points South sections of the City, a broader travel in the City, and are most often accomplished by personal revitalization throughout the eastern portion of the study area is needed. automobile. Transportation-related problems caused by these deficiencies Disinvestment include limited access and mobility and increased travel times. These problems also contribute to a lack of economic opportunity at the Over the past 30 years, Birmingham’s real estate development pattern has individual, communitywide, and citywide levels. been skewed to the southern portion of the Region. Much of this activity has been dominated by low-density, auto-centric development, such as Individually, each of these issues contributes to reduced quality of life, single-family residential development. Meanwhile, in the northern, eastern mobility, and economic competitiveness. Together, they are a severe and western portions of the City, little to no development occurred during impediment to creating sustainable growth and a vibrant livable the same period. This disinvestment in US 11 / US 78 corridor has resulted community in the years to come. If the City is to address these problems in lower property values and declining quality of life. Market and proactively, a comprehensive and progressive solution is required to demographic analyses show that without intervention these trends are set integrate land use, economic development, social, and transportation to continue into the future. needs holistically.

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1.2 Emerging Opportunities University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) developed from an The City of Birmingham and many governmental, business, and civic academic extension center established in 1936. UAB became an organizations have recognized the problems facing the City and the US 11 / autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the US 78 corridor. Work continues on a revitalized Birmingham. Some of the University of Alabama System. UAB offers 140 programs of study in 12 emerging opportunities that will positively affect the corridor include: academic divisions. UAB is the state's largest employer, with more than Downtown Birmingham 18,000 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. In the fall of 2013, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham’s Central Business District, or “Downtown,” plays a significant enrolled 18,568 students up by 3.6 percent over the prior year. role as both a regional employment and cultural center. Downtown has about 40,000 jobs and approximately 5 million square feet of office space, Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex 87% of which is currently occupied. The amount of employment in Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) is located on the north Downtown has been increasing in recent years, as has the amount of end of Downtown and contains 220,000 square feet of exhibit space along housing. Through ongoing revitalization efforts Downtown population and with a 19,000 seat arena. A recent addition to the BJCC has been the 2013 employment growth is expected to continue. Downtown contains an opening of the Uptown Entertainment District which contains over 60,000 impressive array of historic buildings that have been preserved. There are square feet of restaurant and retail space along with a new 303 room also significant cultural assets in Downtown, particularly those associated Westin Hotel. with the Civil Rights movement. These include Kelly Ingram Park, the 16th th Street Baptist Church, the 4 Avenue Historic District, and the Birmingham Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport Civil Rights Institute. The Alabama Theatre, Hotel Redmont, and Empire The Birmingham Airport Authority manages the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Building are among 33 registered historical sites in the downtown. Airport with over 100 daily flights to 25 cities. The FAA’s Terminal Area City of Birmingham Comprehensive Master Plan Forecast estimates about a 60% increase in enplanements in the period of 2010 to 2030. A Terminal Modernization Project is underway with the first Officially adopted as of October 2, 2013, the City of Birmingham phase completed in 2013. In addition to its passenger facilities, the Comprehensive Master Plan includes the creation of transit-ready urban Airport’s master plan provides for expansion of cargo facilities along the villages through investment in strategic neighborhood areas to make a southeastern portion of the Airport property. The Airport has been visible difference. There is a focus on implementation of the City Planning purchasing surrounding properties as part of the ongoing noise mitigation Commission’s Complete Streets policy. The Comprehensive Plan program. In the future, about 600 acres north of the airport is planned for specifically identifies the US 11 corridor as a candidate for enhanced aviation-related industrial, with a green buffer between the airport and transit service, and highlights Woodlawn and Parkway East as future urban residential neighborhoods. villages (Exhibit 21 of the Plan).

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Woodlawn United venue for local recreation, family activities, concerts, and cultural events, while connecting Birmingham's downtown area with Southside and UAB's Woodlawn United is a comprehensive community change effort. It is a campus. coalition of organizations working together to break the cycle of poverty and grow a safe community where children learn and play, families live in Innovation Depot quality housing, parents work in stable jobs and businesses grow. Woodlawn United has adopted the Purpose Built Communities framework Innovation Depot is a technology center and business incubation program of holistic community revitalization that includes a cradle-to-college-to- that focuses on developing emerging biotechnology/life science, career education pipeline, a mixed-income housing strategy, a vibrant information technology, engineering, and service businesses. It operates commercial district and a rich network of community and support services. in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). A public-private economic development effort, Innovation Depot is funded The Woodlawn Community Foundation worked closely with the residents by the Birmingham regional business community, the Community and stakeholders of Woodlawn for over a year to develop a Master Plan Foundation of Greater Birmingham and other leading private foundations, and establish a Redevelopment District through a resolution passed by the UAB, the City of Birmingham and Jefferson County. The 140,000-square- Birmingham City Council. The Foundation is working to establish a healthy foot facility provides office space for new and growing firms. mix of housing by building on the high quality affordable housing that the YWCA has already developed in Woodlawn. Construction will begin in early Transit Reinvestment 2014 on the first phase that will include 64 townhouses in The Parks at Recognizing the need to improve Birmingham’s transit service the City of Wood Station. Revitalization of the Woodlawn Commercial Area is being Birmingham is working with the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit led by Rev Birmingham. Community workshops completed in 2013 have Authority (BJCTA) and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater explored Woodlawn’s redevelopment potential. Birmingham (RPCGB) to reinvest in transit facilities, equipment and Regions Field services. Thirty new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses financed with federal funding including funds flexed by the RPCGB began operation in In April of 2013, the City of Birmingham opened Regions Field as the new August 2013. A new three block long $30 million intermodal station that ballpark for the Birmingham Barons minor league baseball club. The 8,500 will combine BJCTA, Amtrak and Greyhound is in final design and expected seat facility is in the heart of downtown between Railroad Park and UAB. to break ground in 2014. The In-town Transit Partnership (ITP) sponsored by the City and the RPCGB has been flexed Congestion Mitigation and Air Railroad Park Quality (CMAQ) funds for a new service connecting Downtown with UAB Railroad Park is a 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that and Five Points South. The ITP with seven BRT style buses is planned to celebrates the community’s industrial and artistic heritage. Located along start-up service in 2015. 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is a joint effort between the City of Birmingham and the Railroad Park Foundation. Hailed as "Birmingham's Living Room," Railroad Park provides a historically rich

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2 US 11 – US 78 CORRIDOR The US 11-78 Corridor extends approximately 20 miles in an east-west Birmingham (UAB) and UAB Medical Center, which combined is the largest direction from downtown Birmingham east to the Jefferson County line. employer in the city. Just east of downtown, the US 11-78 corridors pass The study includes the area within approximately ¾ mile of US 11, US 78, through an industrial area south of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth and Interstates 20 and 59. 44% of the corridor falls within the City of International Airport. Further east, the corridor consists of older Birmingham. US 11 (also State Route 7) is 1st Avenue North in downtown neighborhoods that have a mix of service and retail uses along US 11 and Birmingham. In portions of the corridor US 11 is known as Parkway East, US 78, but are largely residential. East of I-459, the developed area of Gadsden Highway, or Main Street. US 11 roughly parallels I-59 and travels Trussville is primarily single family suburban residential, with development northeast to Trussville. US 78 (also State Route 4) in the downtown along US 11 that includes shopping centers, a low density suburban operates as a one-way pair on 3rd Avenue South and 4th Avenue South until commercial corridor at the downtown main street, and an industrial park. 36th Street, where US 78 becomes a two-way street on 3rd Avenue South The City of Leeds, along US 78 east of I-459, is a traditional older town. The and then follows Crestwood Boulevard. US 78 roughly parallels I-20, and majority of the land area east of I-459 in both the US 11 and US 78 travels east through Irondale to Leeds. In Leeds, US 78 is named Bankhead corridors is undeveloped or open space. Highway. West of I-459, the entire area between US 11 and US 78 is within the study area; east of I-459, the corridors diverge to Trussville and 2.1 Subareas to Leeds. In the City of Birmingham the study includes portions of the communities of Cahaba, Crestline, Northside, Southside, East Birmingham, For analysis purposes, the corridor has been grouped into ten subareas Red Mountain, Crestwood, Woodlawn, East Lake, Roebuck, and Huffman. based on location and general character. The subareas are:

The Norfolk Southern Railroad runs east-west between US 11 and US 78. In Downtown: Bounded on the north by 12th Avenue North, on the south by some areas, the railroad tracks limit north-south vehicle circulation. In 4th Avenue South, on the west by I-65 and on the east by Red Mountain downtown Birmingham, most cross streets are elevated over or tunnel Freeway (US 31/US 280). under the tracks. Further east, only the main north-south streets are grade separated at the railroad; some streets have at-grade crossings and UAB/Five Points South: Area just south of Downtown, bounded on the most local streets do not cross. north by 4th Avenue South, on the south by 13th Avenue South, on the west by I-65 and on the east by 33rd Street South. Downtown City of Birmingham is a major employment center for government, healthcare, businesses, and education. It is home to the Crestwood /Avondale: Area east of UAB/Five Points South, along US 78 Convention Center complex and a minor league baseball stadium. The and bounded on the north by the railroad, on the south by Montclair Road, downtown Amtrak station provides daily train service to east coast cities on the west by 33rd Street South, and on the east by Irondale City limits. via Atlanta and also to New Orleans. The station is being redeveloped as an intermodal center. Downtown is also emerging as a residential area. In Irondale: Area east of Crestwood/ Avondale, along US 78 and bounded on the southern half of the downtown is the University of Alabama at the north by Ruffner Road, on the south by Old Leeds Road, on the west by

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the city limit, and on the east by I-459. Portions of this subarea lie in the on the south by the railroad, on the west by 41st Street and on the east by City of Birmingham and unincorporated Jefferson County. 77th Street.

Light Industrial: Area east of Downtown, bounded on the north by 10th Parkway East: Along US 11 and east of the Airport and Woodlawn, Avenue North (Richard Arrington Boulevard), on the south by 4th Avenue bounded on the north by Roebuck Drive, on the south by Ruffner Road, on South, on the west by Red Mountain Freeway and on the east by 41st the west by 77th Street and on the east by Edwards Lake Road. Street. Trussville: Along US 11 and east of Edwards Lake Road/I-459 to the Airport: Northeast of the Light Industrial subarea, and bounded on the Jefferson County line. Portions of this subarea lie in the City of Birmingham north by I-20/I-59 and East Lake Boulevard, on the south by 10th Avenue and unincorporated Jefferson County. North (Richard Arrington Boulevard), on the west by Red Mountain Freeway and on the east by Bethel Avenue and 5th Avenue North. Leeds: Along US 78 and east of I-459 to the Jefferson County line. Portions of this subarea lie in the City of Birmingham and unincorporated Jefferson Woodlawn: Along US 11 and between the Airport and County. Crestwood/Avondale areas, bounded on the north by 10th Avenue North, The study area and subareas are shown in Figure 2-1.

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Figure 2-1: Study Area

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2.2 Planning Framework 2.2.1 Birmingham Comprehensive Plan Officially adopted as of October 2, 2013, the City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan includes a variety of visions that are equally valid for this project. These visions predict that in the future:

 People choose the City of Birmingham as a place to live.  Birmingham has a connected network of walkable urban places.  Birmingham is innovative and prosperous, with a diversified and sustainable economy.  Birmingham is the most sustainable, “greenest” city in the South.  Birmingham’s success is built on local and regional partnerships.

Strategies to accomplish those visions include the creation of transit-ready urban villages through investment in strategic neighborhood areas to make a visible difference. There is a focus on implementation of the City Planning Commission’s Complete Streets policy and development of a connections plan to link attractions and neighborhoods to Downtown. The Comprehensive Plan specifically identifies the US 11 corridor as a candidate for enhanced transit service, and highlights Woodlawn and Transit, multimodal traffic and economic development components of the Parkway East as future urban villages (Exhibit 21 of the Plan). US 11/78 East Corridor Study will be addressed in a manner consistent with the visions, goals, strategies, and recommendations of the 2035 Other key findings from the Comprehensive Plan relevant to anticipated Regional Transportation Plan, and the City of Birmingham Comprehensive traffic/transportation efforts on this study are noted below: Plan. The Trussville Downtown Master Plan and the Leeds Master Plan will also guide this corridor study as it applies to Trussville and Leads. At its  Over 13% of households within Birmingham’s city limits do not most basic level, this study will follow and fulfill guidance from the have access to a car. Birmingham Comprehensive Plan, including a general acknowledgement of  Regional roadways identified as congested include I-20/59, I-65, a need for improved transit and application of Complete Streets concepts. US 11, US 78, US 31 and US 280. However, participants in the This study will serve as a natural continuation of efforts to focus on specific planning process did not identify congestion within the City as a transportation corridors at a higher level of detail. matter of concern, and RPC data identified congestion as being mostly confined to highway ramp junctions and major commuter routes during peak periods. Many of the area’s arterials and downtown streets were noted to have excess capacity, or more lanes than needed to support traffic demand.

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Figure 2-2: Birmingham Comprehensive Plan Strategic Policy Map

Source: Birmingham Comprehensive Plan (Executive Summary)

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 All City traffic signals are planned to be controlled and operated  The Comprehensive Plan recommends the use of a multimodal from a centralized location, the Traffic Management Center performance-based planning approach during the development (TMC). This Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) investment is and assessment of future improvement alternatives. currently limited in its ability to effectively manage traffic congestion due to lack of City personnel available to staff the  The Comprehensive Plan included a Traffic Calming & Active TMC. Transportation Safety Toolbox to address a variety of potential improvement areas including high vehicle speed traffic calming  The City has invested in signal hardware capable of using treatments, high traffic volume control treatments, pedestrian advanced technologies that are compatible with bus and intersection safety enhancements, pedestrian safety crossing scheduling systems. But these systems must be coordinated by improvements, and bicycle accommodations contributing to their owners through agreement and regular ongoing traffic calming. collaboration.  The toolbox also proposes a series of location-specific street  There is redundancy among many of the interregional freight sections, including 1st Avenue North at 55th Place in Woodlawn as travel corridors. well as locations along 20th Street North downtown, 5th Avenue South in Avondale and Lakeview, 83rd Street South in East Lake,  Several streets overlapping the US 11/78 study area were and others. proposed to become transit priority streets including, for example, segments along 18th and 20th Streets downtown, Richard 2.2.2 Complete Streets Arrington Jr. Boulevard North and Messer Airport Highway to the The Birmingham Planning Commission’s Subdivision Regulations define east, 1st Avenue North, 3rd Avenue South, and 4th Avenue South. Complete Streets as streets that are designed to accommodate all users – motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. Complete Streets  Several streets overlapping the US 11/78 study area are included design elements may include, but not be limited to, sidewalks, signage, in various future bicycle corridors designated in the Red Rock paved shoulders, bicycle lanes, traffic lanes shared with motorists including Ridge and Valley Trail System (RRRVTS). The Comprehensive Plan sharrows and other bicycle pavement markings, crosswalks and other also identified a series of ten street sections for incorporating pavement markings for pedestrians, pedestrian control signalization, bicycle travel into street rights-of-way. bicycle actuated traffic signals, bus pull outs, curb cuts, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, traffic islands and other traffic calming measures. The City’s  The Comprehensive Plan recommends establishing Mode Priority regulations emphasize that Complete Streets principles should guide Streets for truck, transit and bicycle routing to guide public and future street and transportation plans for both new and retrofit projects in private improvements to City streets as a means to implement the the City of Birmingham, and any exception to this approach should be Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Policy Resolution. appropriately justified.

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The subdivision regulations further highlight the potential benefits of a 2.3 Corridor Demographics Complete Streets planning and design approach. Benefits include promoting multiple transportation options for all people; sparking 2.3.1 Population economic development and community development by helping to create The City of Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama with a 2010 walkable, vibrant communities; playing a role in the reduction of population of 212,288. Birmingham is at the core of a seven county pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and deaths; and reducing traffic metropolitan area that consists of high growth counties such as Shelby congestion while improving air quality both by promoting alternative forms County to the south, St. Clair County to the east, Blount County to the of transportation and by helping to improve traffic flow. north, and Chilton County to the south. However, while these counties have experienced growth, Jefferson County as a whole has experienced It is anticipated that this US 11/78 study will embrace this policy and little growth, and the City of Birmingham population has declined. explore opportunities to incorporate Complete Streets elements where feasible and appropriate. This approach will reinforce and better Population data was obtained from the 2010 census for an analysis area accommodate the variety of users along the US 11 and US 78 focal that includes all census blocks with a portion in the study area. The corridors including residents and communities, tourism and visitors, population of the US11 – US78 corridor is 102,380. About 63% of the arterial/commuter traffic, parking, ped/bike/transit traffic, school traffic, corridor population resides in the combined subareas within Birmingham, and community business access. While Complete Streets concepts may be 20% in the Trussville subarea and less than 10% each in the Irondale and considered study area wide, they may also be explored in a more strategic Leeds subareas. manner for exceptionally well-suited corridors, community/town centers, or related pockets of activity. Suitable candidates likely include town The population density is less than 3,000 persons per square mile (less center or urban village areas through Woodlawn, East Lake, Parkway East, than 5 persons per acre) in the great majority of the corridor. Large areas Trussville, Leeds or similar locations. of higher population density (3,000 – 10,000 persons per square mile or 5 – 15 persons per acre) are found in Parkway East, Woodlawn, Irondale and Crestwood/Avondale. The highest density blocks (greater than 50,000 per square mile or 78 persons per acre) are found in UAB/Five Points South and parts of Downtown.

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Figure 2-3: Population Density

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Figure 2-4: Housing Density

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Figure 2-5 illustrates changes in population since 1960. The subareas in the City of Birmingham have experienced significant population loss, partly due to construction of highways and airport expansion in once heavily populated areas, combined with a loss of employers and reduction in jobs.

The number of residents has fallen by a third to three quarters in the City subareas since 1960, with the exception of Parkway East.

Despite the population loss in the City since the 1960’s, the combined Downtown and UAB subareas have been experiencing significant population increases. This reversal mirrors the national trend being seen in many city centers nationwide, which are becoming increasingly popular with young professionals and college students. According to the Birmingham City Center Employment Profile of 2011:

“Birmingham City Center is home to 8,995 residents, an increase of 32% between 2000 and 2010. Primarily due to UAB expansion and recent loft apartment/condo developments within the

downtown area, the City Center has seen a 31% increase in the

number of households, an 18% increase in the number of occupied rental units, a 670% increase in the number of owner- occupied households, and a household vacancy rate that has dropped 17% over the decade.”

The Irondale and Leeds subarea populations have grown modestly over the last 50 years, averaging about 1% per year. The Trussville subarea population has grown substantially, and its year 2010 population of 21,224 is over six times the population in 1960.

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Figure 2-5: Population Change Since 1960

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2.3.2 Age Distribution Figure 2-7: Population Under Age 18 The age distribution of the population in the study area as a whole is similar to the statewide population. The population under age 18 comprises about 20% to 25% in most subareas. UAB/Five Points South has the lowest percentage of children under 18 with less than 10%. The average percentage of the population under 18 years of age statewide in Alabama is 23.3%.

In UAB/Five Points South, fully 35% of the residential population is aged 18-24 due to the concentration of students living in that area. In Downtown, the percentage of 18-24 year-olds is 20%; in the other subareas, the percentage in this age group is about 10%.

The percentage of persons over age 65 ranges by subarea from 4% in the Light Industrial area to 16% in Crestwood/Avondale, as shown in Figure 2-6. The average percentage of the population over age 65 in Alabama is 14.5%. The subareas of Light Industrial, Downtown, and Woodlawn have Figure 2-8: Population Over Age 65 the lowest percentages of senior citizens with less than 10%. The Crestwood/Avondale and Leeds subareas have slightly higher percentage of senior citizens than the statewide average.

Figure 2-6: Age Distribution (Percentage)

Figure 2-9 illustrates that there are pockets in the corridor with a relatively high proportion of senior citizens.

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Figure 2-9: Population Over Age 65

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2.3.3 Income A mapping of median household income illustrates that median income is highest in Trussville, followed by Irondale, Crestwood/Avondale, and Figure 2-11: Household Income Distribution Leeds. The lower income households are concentrated in the City of Birmingham west of the Airport and north of the Norfolk Southern Railroad, as well as several blocks south of the railroad in the Avondale section of Crestwood/Avondale and in UAB/Five Points South. Figures 2-10 and 2-11 illustrate median household income.

Figure 2-10: Subarea Comparison – Median Household Income

Figure 2-12 illustrates income distribution within subareas.

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Figure 2-12: Median Household Income

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2.3.4 Disadvantaged Populations Federal environmental justice policy is aimed at avoiding, minimizing or 2.3.4.2 Low Income Populations mitigating disproportionately high and adverse effects of transportation A low income household has an income at or below the Department of projects on minority and low income populations. Environmental justice Health and Human Services poverty guidelines. In 2010 the federal also aims to prevent denial of, reduction in, or significant delay in receipt poverty income for a family of four was $22,050. The average household of benefits by minority or low income populations. size in most subareas of the corridor was close to 2 persons, for which the poverty income guideline was $14,570. The percentage of persons who 2.3.4.1 Minority Populations live in households below the poverty line is lowest in Trussville, at 4%. In Minority and low income populations were examined in the US 11-78 Irondale the percentage is 13% and in Leeds it is 17%. Within the City of corridor. Minority is defined as black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Birmingham, the percentage of the population in low income households is Indian and Alaska Native. The overall percentage of minority population in lowest in Crestwood/Avondale (17%) and in Parkway East (18%), and the seven county Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area is 33%. highest in the Light Industrial and Downtown subareas (44% and 48%, The minority population in the City of Birmingham is 78%. In the study respectively). Figures 2-14 and 2-16 illustrate location of low income area, the Airport and Woodlawn subareas have a minority residential population. population that is higher than the Birmingham city-wide average. Crestwood/Avondale (36%) and UAB/Five Points South (38%) have the Figure 2-14: Percentage of Subarea Population in Households below the lowest percentages of minority population of subareas within Birmingham. Poverty Line The percentage of minorities is 50% in Irondale, 28% in Leeds, and 17% in Trussville. Figures 2-13 and 2-15 illustrates the geographic concentrations of minority population in the study area.

Figure 2-13: Subarea Minority Population Percentage

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Figure 2-15: Minority Population

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Figure 2-16: Low Income Population

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2.3.5 Percentage of Workers without a Vehicle another 13% and 7% respectively. Figure 2-18 illustrates number of jobs Households without a vehicle may be transit-, bicycle-, or walking- by subarea. dependent. The areas with the lowest income closely correspond with the areas having the highest percentage of workers with no access to a vehicle. The five largest employers in the City of Birmingham are located within the The highest percentages are found in the Airport (12%) Light Industrial US 11-US 78 study corridor. They are: (12%) Downtown (11%) Woodlawn (9%), and UAB/Five Points South (7%).  The University of Alabama (UAB) and UAB Health Services In the City of Birmingham east of the airport and in Irondale, fewer than Foundation, with a combined employment of 23,000 in 2013. 5% reported having no access to a vehicle, and in most of Leeds and  Regions Financial Corporation, a full service provider of consumer Trussville the percentage of workers without access to a vehicle is less than and commercial banking, with 6,000 local employees. 1%. The area in Trussville between I-59 and US 11 reports 1.6% of workers  AT&T, with just under 6,000 employees without a vehicle. (See Figure 2-17.)  St. Vincent’s Health System, with 4,700 employees  City of Birmingham, Mayor’s Office, with 4,565 employees. 2.4 Employment Among the other top employers are two healthcare providers, Baptist Health System and Children’s Health System/Children’s of Alabama, and Total employment within the US 11/78 corridor is approximately 124,000 Alabama Power Company. jobs. The Downtown and UAB/Five Points South subareas combined have about 73,600 jobs, or almost 60% of all jobs in the corridor. According to Figure 2-19 illustrates locations of employers with over 50 employees in the Birmingham City Center Employment Profile (2011), the predominant the US 11-78 corridor. Large employers are concentrated in the type of jobs in downtown were in the Educational and Healthcare/Social Downtown and UAB/Five Points South subareas, and also near Assistance sectors, each accounting for just over 20% of jobs downtown. interchanges of the major highways. Public Administration and Finance/Insurance sectors accounted for

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Figure 2-17: Workers Over Age 16 without Access to a Vehicle

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Figure 2-18: Employment

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Figure 2-19: Employers with 50 Employees or More

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2.5 Natural/Cultural Resources - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a landmark of the civil rights movement, located in Downtown, and Natural and cultural resources include publicly owned parks, recreation areas, and wildlife or waterfowl refuges, as well as any publicly or privately - Sloss Furnaces, formerly one of the leading iron producers in the owned historic site listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of country, located in the Light Industrial subarea. Historic Places. Attractions for visitors to see in the corridor in addition to those The largest natural resource in the corridor is the Ruffner Mountain Nature mentioned above range from performing arts, museums, historical sites Center, an urban nature preserve and a Certified Wildlife Habitat of over and entertainment districts. Most are located in the downtown or UAB 1,000 acres, located on the border of Birmingham and the City of Irondale. subareas. Notable attractions include Alabama Museum of the Health Two large parks, East Lake Park and Donna Hawkins Park, are located in Sciences and the Alys Robison Stephens Performing Arts Center at UAB, Parkway East. Many smaller city, neighborhood and district parks are the McWane Science Center museum, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute located within the corridor and provide recreation opportunities. and the historic Civil Rights District, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Five Points South Historic There are 144 cultural resources listed on the National Register of Historic District, the city’s top entertainment district, and Regions Field, home of Places, including historic districts, buildings, and locations of historic minor league baseball Birmingham Barons. Attractions to the east include events. Most are within the City of Birmingham. A cultural resource in the the Southern Museum of Flight located near the airport and the Barber City of Leeds is the Southern Railroad Depot and the surrounding Leeds Motorsport Museum and Raceway in Leeds. Downtown Historic District.

The corridor has two sites that have been designated as National Landmarks by the National Register of Historic Places:

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Figure 2-20: Cultural Resources

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2.6 Land Use About half of the land area of the Woodlawn and Crestwood/Avondale subareas is in residential use. Woodlawn’s retail development consists Overall, the land use in the study corridor is typified by a classic cross- mostly of small parcels along US 11. Crestwood/Avondale has small retail section from central city business district to old industrial areas and in Avondale along 41st Street South and 5th Avenue South, whereas the neighborhoods built before World War II to postwar and newer suburban eastern portion of Crestwood has more suburban style shopping centers. and exurban communities and rural hinterlands. These areas grew and were defined by the transportation systems that served them during the Parkway East has about 43% single family residential use. Four percent of eras in which they were developed. Older, close in areas were developed Parkway East is in retail/mixed use and shopping center development, and st around the pedestrian and transit, whereas newer areas were largely it is concentrated along 1 Avenue North, Parkway East and Gadsden developed around the car and the modern highway system. The exception Highway (US 11). Parkway East has a large amount of undeveloped land, to this are the original small towns along the corridor, which were but about half of this is park, recreation or nature preserve area. developed as industrial or agricultural railroad towns, including Irondale, The Irondale subarea features a concentration of industrial uses at the Leeds, and Trussville. railroad. The subarea boundaries shown include the City of Irondale but Figures 2-21 and 2-22 illustrate existing land use and land use category also portions of the City of Birmingham. The large ‘retail/services/mixed percentages within subareas in the US 11-78 corridor. use’ area in the northern part of the subarea is the Birmingham Race Course, which is open all year with live greyhound racing and simulcast 17% of Downtown Birmingham is devoted to commercial office uses, by far greyhound and horse racing. the highest concentration of such use among the subareas. By comparison, the second highest subarea has less than 5% commercial office uses, and Trussville and Leeds subareas are notable in that these areas are only 25% most other subareas have 1% or less. About a third of Downtown is developed and have large areas in agriculture or open space. devoted to retail/mixed use or institutional space, with the Birmingham- Figure 2-21: Percentage Land Use by Subarea Jefferson Convention Complex being included as institutional use. A significant portion of the western Downtown is in industrial use.

In UAB/Five Points South, education and healthcare institutional uses predominate with 40% of the area. Retail services and an expanding residential base surround the institutions.

The Airport and Light Industrial subareas are heavily if not exclusively industrial. The large institutional uses shown in the Airport subarea are cemeteries. The Airport subarea does have adjacent residential areas located to the south and east.

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Figure 2-22: Existing Land Use

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Land uses that may be considered supportive of transit include multi- within the City of Birmingham and did not extend into Irondale, Leeds or family residential, office, commercial services/mixed use, schools and Trussville. Surveyed parcels were rated as active and in good condition, hospitals (institutional), because they have a higher concentration of active but dilapidated, abandoned (abandoned structure and lot), or residents and jobs. Land use mix and concentration, combined with vacant (no structure). Figure 2-23 shows a mapping of the properties. The pedestrian friendly street/block patterns, are also factors that can affect to mapping also includes parcels that were tax delinquent as of 2013. The what degree a particular area is transit supportive. mapping indicates there may be financial hardship even among owners of some properties that appear active and in good condition. 2.6.1 Property Condition A field inventory was conducted in fall of 2013 in a portion of the study area to determine condition of properties. The inventory covered areas

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Table 2-1: Property Condition Inventory

% of Surveyed Parcels Subarea % of total Number of % Abandoned % Dilapidated % Vacant Total subarea parcels parcels surveyed surveyed Airport 81.7% 2199 9.2% 3.0% 35.6% 47.8% Crestwood/Avondale 8.7% 606 4.6% 1.8% 17.0% 23.4% Downtown 53.4% 800 1.5% 1.3% 9.0% 11.8% Irondale 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A Leeds 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A Light Industrial 100% 716 5.7% 0.6% 17.6% 23.9% Parkway East 14.0% 1195 11.5% 4.1% 17.3% 33.0% Trussville 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A UAB/Five Points South 12.6% 171 0.6% 0.0% 11.7% 12.3% Woodlawn 76.4% 4208 14.1% 3.8% 23.9% 41.7%

% of Surveyed Acres Subarea % of total Acres % Abandoned % Dilapidated % Vacant Total subarea acres Surveyed surveyed Airport 78.1% 6598.73 0.7% 0.4% 6.0% 7.1% Crestwood/Avondale 2.6% 293.95 2.2% 0.6% 12.0% 14.7% Downtown 51.8% 430.96 1.0% 0.3% 8.5% 9.9% Irondale 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A Leeds 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A Light Industrial 100% 857.10 5.4% 0.2% 4.7% 10.2% Parkway East 3.3% 429.73 7.5% 2.8% 13.1% 23.4% Trussville 0% 0 N/A N/A N/A UAB/Five Points South 8.8% 80.38 0.2% 0.0% 8.9% 9.1% Woodlawn 57.2% 1168.24 12.1% 2.4% 18.8% 33.4%

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Figure 2-23: Distressed Properties

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2.6.2 Federally Subsidized Rental Housing Table 2-2: Federally Subsidized Rental Housing A listing of rental housing units with active federal housing subsidies was obtained for Jefferson County from the National Housing Preservation Subarea Properties Units % of total corridor units Database. The housing located within the US 11/US 78 East corridor is shown on Figure 2-24. The subsidized housing includes properties for low Airport 3 119 3% income, elderly, and mentally disabled residents. Table 2-2 lists the Crestwood/Avondale 7 532 12% number of properties and units by subarea. Downtown 9 855 19% Irondale 0 0 0% Leeds 1 30 1%

Light Industrial 0 0 0% Parkway East 7 547 12% Trussville 0 0 0%

UAB/Five Points South 6 879 20% Woodlawn 10 1426 32% Total Corridor 43 4388

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Figure 2-24: Federally Subsidized Rental Housing

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2.6.3 Future Land Use  Convert many of the existing one-way streets to two-way operations to enhance the walkability of downtown and “bring The 2013 City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan has a strategy of down” (channelize) the interstate focusing density in a few areas that have potential to develop as “urban  Design and place public spaces to encourage the attention and villages” and to serve as locations for enhanced bus service. Urban villages presence of people at all hours of the day or night identified in the US 11-78 corridor are Woodlawn and some portions of Parkway East. Key locations are designated as mixed use and are suitable  Strengthen and expand downtown and in-town residential for multi-family development. The Comprehensive Plan does not neighborhoods and housing opportunities. recommend densification of the existing Residential-Low Density/Single

Family neighborhoods. A commercial office market study conducted in 2004 for the Birmingham

City Center Master Plan Update estimated that there was demand for up Goals for the future development of Birmingham’s City Center (Downtown to 800,000 square feet of new office buildings, 300,000 square feet of and UAB areas) were expressed in the “Birmingham City Center Master research and development space, a 150 room hotel and 100,000 square Plan Update” conducted in 2004. They remain relevant in the City’s feet of retail. Comprehensive Plan: The residential market study predicted a demand of over 3,000 new  Create a major new downtown destination – the Railroad housing units in the City Center and in the immediately adjacent Reservation Park – as a distinctive and attractive public space. neighborhoods. The projected mix of housing was estimated to include 43 This goal was realized as Railroad Park, opened in 2013. percent single family, 11 percent townhouses, 12 percent condominiums  Build on existing strengths, including UAB and the Medical Center, and 34 percent rental apartments. the emerging Lakeview and loft design districts, and downtown museum and entertainment venues A 15-story apartment building with about 300 apartment units is currently being planned on Highland Avenue in the Five Points South area. The  Focus public financial investment and urban design attention at developer is hoping to attract tenants from among professors, researchers selected locations - the “Focused Initiative Areas” (Civil Rights and graduate students at nearby UAB. District, Civic Center District, Technology and the Cultural District and Loft/Design District) and continue to support strong activity The current Baptist Health System headquarters at 32nd Street and 4th centers, “Existing Enhancement Areas” (Birmingham Green, UAB Avenue South is being purchased for a planned redevelopment, which is and the Medical Center, Five Points South, Lakeview, and Park likely to be residential or mixed use rather than institutional. Baptist Place) Health System headquarters will remain in the subarea with a relocation to 22nd Street South.  Create a network of attractive and well maintained “green streets” and gateways to connect downtown destinations such as The City of Birmingham created Commercial Revitalization Districts in an parks and adjacent neighborhoods effort to renew and revitalize designated areas into vital business and cultural districts. These include: East Lake-First Avenue North, Woodlawn, Five Points South, Downtown Cultural, Downtown West, Downtown 36 US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report

Northwest, Birmingham Green, 19th Street, 4th Avenue North, Midtown, research, and bio-medical uses. The future use for large inactive heavy Morris Avenue, 1st Avenue North, 2nd Avenue North, 12th Avenue North, industry sites is uncertain since no new heavy industry is foreseen and Lakeview, Phelan Park, Roebuck Parkway East, and 41st Street (Avondale) environmental mitigation is needed for any new use. Areas with light districts. The Commercial Revitalization Districts are shown in Figure 2-25. industrial properties in the downtown and in the proposed urban village areas have been designated with the Mixed Use land use category in the Comprehensive Plan. Goals of the districts include improving the infrastructure, making the areas safer places to live and work, decreasing building vacancy, preserving The decline in City of Birmingham population has correlated with a decline any culturally or architecturally significant buildings, improving the in school student population. Because of the demographic change and aesthetic appearance of the areas through landscaping and other activities, state funding cuts, the school board has closed over 30 schools city-wide and making the areas more attractive overall to potential businesses or since 2000. Most school sites are located in residential areas. The residents. presence of vacant school sites along with vacant houses within the neighborhoods discourages investment. The City of Birmingham has a number of shut down industrial plants that leave behind thousands of acres of underutilized land and thousands of In the Leeds subarea, the major change in land use is a large Planned Unit square feet of vacant structures. The perceived risk of developing Development on the north side of Rex Lake Road approximately two miles potentially contaminated brownfield sites, and lack of a local brownfield south of US 78. The City of Leeds has annexed this area and the zoning was redevelopment strategy (assuming this is the case), is driving development approved in 2013. This development could ultimately include up to 2,000 to greenfield sites outside of the City. Low property values due to residential households and neighborhood supportive uses. The actual conditions of nearby brownfield sites have resulted in a lack of upkeep on level and pace of development will depend on market forces. commercial and residential properties. REV Birmingham, an economic development organization that stimulates business growth and improves Continued growth is anticipated in the Trussville subarea. Future quality of life in the City Center and Neighborhood Commercial Centers, commercial land use is planned to be concentrated at interchanges of the has created a database to market abandoned industrial sites to interstate highways, along with development of a retail downtown core in developers. the City of Trussville and additional mixed use centers along US 11. The majority of the developed land area will remain in residential use. In the industrial area, the plan calls for continued industrial use in the operating properties. The City’s economic analysis concluded that over time some of these areas will transition to more office, technology,

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Figure 2-25: City of Birmingham Commercial Revitalization Districts

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Figure 2-26: Future Land Use

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Figure 2-27: Regional Planning Districts Used for Future Trends Data

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2.6.4 Projected Growth Areas Population projections show strong growth in residential population for The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham prepared the Central district (Downtown). Population is also expected to increase in population and employment growth projections as part of their Long Five Points South (UAB/Five Points South). The areas of Irondale, Leeds Range Transportation Plans (LTRPs). The most recent future projections and Trussville are expected to continue their population growth. The other for Jefferson County are for Year 2035. The RPCGB uses Planning Districts subareas within the City of Birmingham face challenges to slow and composed of census tract groupings to develop these projections. These reverse the trend of declining residential population. planning district boundaries differ somewhat from the subarea boundaries used for this Land Use report; however, both are based on areas with Employment projections show job growth in all Planning Districts except similar characteristics. There are seven Planning Districts that most closely the Tarrant/Airport district. The strongest areas for job growth are cover the defined US 11-78 corridor area. Because the Planning District expected to be Downtown, UAB/Five Points South, Irondale, Leeds and boundaries differ from the subarea boundaries, numbers will differ from Trussville. Downtown and UAB/Five Points South will grow in importance data previously presented for the subareas; however, they represent the as an employment center as they are expected to add the greatest number best available information on future trends. of new jobs.

Table 2-3: Population Change for Planning Districts in US11-78 Corridor Table 2-4: Total Employment Change for Planning Districts in US 11-78 (2005 – 2035) Corridor (2005 – 2035) Planning District 2005 2035 Change Percent Planning District 2005 2035 Change Percent Change Change 1 – Central Area 3,502 6,748 3,246 92.7% 1 – Central Area 27,929 42,296 14,367 51.4% 2 - Five Points South 10,575 11,644 1,069 10.1% 2 - Five Points South 27,284 37,977 10,693 39.2% 3 - 27,698 25,908 -1,790 -6.5% 3 - Southside/Avondale/Crestwood 30,763 35,867 5,104 16.6% Southside/Avondale/Crestwood 4 - East Lake/Woodlawn 7,157 8,439 1,282 17.9% 4 - East Lake/Woodlawn 24,911 18,360 -6,551 -26.3% 5 - Tarrant /Airport 7,043 6,330 -713 -10.1% 5 - Tarrant /Airport 12,621 9,130 -3,491 -27.7% 11 - Irondale/Leeds 12,808 17,270 4,462 34.8% 11 - Irondale/Leeds 14,730 17,827 3,097 21.0% 20 - Trussville 11,669 16,879 5,210 44.6% 20 - Trussville 38,354 50,830 12,476 32.5% Source: RPCGB Population, Housing & Employment Projections, 2005 - 2035 Source: RPCGB Population, Housing & Employment Projections, 2005 - 2035

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3 TRANSIT EXISTING CONDITIONS Table 3-1: MAX Operating Statistics FY 2007 and FY 2012 FY 2007 FY 2012 Average 3.1 Transit Services in Jefferson County Annual Change Unlinked Trips 3,124,269 2,734,046 -2.6% Four public transportation systems operate in Jefferson County and the Revenue Miles 2,867,445 2,718,346 -1.1% City of Birmingham including The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Revenue Hours 231,342 223,692 -0.7% Authority (BJCTA) which operates the MAX, the Regional Planning Operating Expenses $19,322,604 $22,295,644 2.9% Commission of Greater Birmingham which operates the Commute Smart Passenger Fares $2,245,640 $2,212,502 -0.3% vanpool program, ClasTran which provides coordinated human service Net Cost of Service $17,076,964 $20,083,142 3.3% transportation in Jefferson, Shelby and Walker counties and Blazer Express Operating Expense per $83.52 $99.67 3.6% operated by UAB. BJCTA provides the transit services in the US 11/US 78 Revenue Hour East corridor. Operating Expense per $6.74 $8.20 4.0% Revenue Mile BJCTA/MAX provides fixed route and paratransit service to ten Recovery Ratio 11.6% 9.9% -3.1% municipalities. The current service area is estimated to be 176 square Source: National Transit Database miles. The municipalities within the service area are Birmingham, Bessemer, Fairfield, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Midfield, Tarrant, Center Point, Hoover, and Vestavia Hills. National Transit Database Figure 3-1: New MAX CNG Buses information for fiscal years 2007 and 2012 are presented in Table 3-1.

Figure 3-3 shows the annual change in MAX ridership by corridor with the services grouped by North, East, South, West, UAB and Shuttle. Ridership in each corridor declined through 2010 but has shown a slight rebound in 2011 and 2012. Also note that UAB ended their service contract with BJCTA in 2013 and have started a separate system for the University.

As of October 2013, the MAX operates 58 peak buses on 37 routes. Table 3-2 presents operating data per route using May 2013 transit ridership.

During the five year period FY 2007 to FY 2012, unlinked trips on MAX fell 2.6 percent per year while operating expenses increased an average of 2.9 percent per year. The operating cost of a revenue hour of transit service increased by 3.6 percent per year on average.

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Figure 3-2: MAX System Map

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Figure 3-3: MAX Annual Ridership by Corridor

1,200,000

1,000,000

800,000 North East

600,000 South West UAB Shuttles 400,000

200,000

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

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Table 3-2: MAX Operating Data by Route – May 2013 MAX Operating Data by Route Revenue Riders Speed Riders per Expense per Recovery Average Annual Estimated May 2013 Hours Revenue Hour Rider Ratio Change ’07 to ‘12 1 & 1X South Bessemer 1,150.0 13,923 15.8 12.1 $ 9.05 8.9% -4.1% 3 Jefferson Wenonah 617.5 10,868 13.4 17.6 $ 5.86 13.8% 1.1% 5 Ensley Wylam 798.0 10,901 12.8 13.7 $ 7.42 10.9% 0.0% 6 Pratt Ensley 973.5 13,726 13.5 14.1 $ 7.33 11.0% -4.3% 8 Sixth Avenue South 642.0 5,016 8.9 7.8 $ 11.63 7.0% -8.4% 12 Highland 374.8 3,465 10.6 9.2 $ 10.31 7.8% -0.4% 14 Idlewild Palisades 911.8 15,997 10.6 17.5 $ 5.44 14.9% 3.9% 17 Eastwood Mall 1,176.0 18,675 13.0 15.9 $ 6.43 12.6% -3.3% 18 Fountain Heights 331.2 3,882 9.5 11.7 $ 7.88 10.3% -6.8% 20 Zion City 401.5 4,097 12.8 10.2 $ 9.95 8.1% -2.2% 22 Tarrant 486.0 5,305 10.7 10.9 $ 8.76 9.2% -5.1% 23 North Birmingham 739.5 9,719 9.0 13.1 $ 6.93 11.7% -1.8% 25&26 Centerpoint 878.0 12,379 13.4 14.1 $ 7.31 11.1% -4.1% 28 South Eastlake 563.8 12,727 16.5 22.6 $ 4.94 16.4% -3.2% 31 Highway 31 South 261.0 5,099 16.4 19.5 $ 5.70 14.2% -7.4% 38 Graymont 757.0 10,096 12.3 13.3 $ 7.50 10.8% -1.0% 39 Homewood Wildwood 572.0 5,978 12.5 10.5 $ 9.63 8.4% 0.6% 40 Fairmont 666.8 11,725 10.4 17.6 $ 5.40 15.0% 2.7% 41 Fairfield 864.0 14,913 9.4 17.3 $ 5.34 15.2% -2.2% 42&43 Brookwood Mall/Zoo 561.0 5,942 9.2 10.6 $ 8.64 9.4% 5.1% 44 Montclair 406.5 5,789 11.9 14.2 $ 6.95 11.6% -0.3% 45&45X Bessemer 1,159.3 19,914 15.3 17.2 $ 6.30 12.8% 1.6% 48 South Powderly 473.8 3,963 12.8 8.4 $ 12.14 6.7% -2.6% 50&51 Worker Shuttles 154.0 1,167 13.0 7.6 $ 13.45 6.0% -23.0% 72 Express 73.0 878 21.6 12.0 $ 10.44 7.8% 5.5% 90 NS Dart North South 723.6 7,220 7.6 10.0 $ 8.75 9.2% -2.8% 91 EW Dart East West 216.0 2,259 10.6 10.5 $ 9.13 8.9% 5.9% 92 SSL Southside Loop 498.5 924 8.1 1.9 $ 47.72 1.7% 3.0% 96 Titusville Shuttle 191.6 443 14.8 2.3 $ 46.23 1.8% -28.5% 95 Westend Shuttle 191.6 409 15.3 2.1 $ 50.70 1.6% -19.8% HWY280 Highway 280 768.0 8,639 16.3 11.2 $ 9.86 8.2% -1.3% MAX System Total 18,581.1 246,038 12.3 13.2 $ 7.56 10.7% -1.6% Sources and Methodology: Revenue Hours estimated from published schedules; Revenue Miles from BJCTA route operating statistics; May 2013 Ridership by Route from BJCTA Board Report; Operating Expenses and Revenues from National Transit Database Fiscal Year 2012.

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3.2 Transit System Peer Comparison

Birmingham’s transit operations have been compared to 12 other peer systems throughout the southeast. Systems of similar size in terms of peak revenue vehicles and service area population were selected. The recently published National Transit Database Report Year 2012 was utilized for the analysis which shows that BJCTA’s MAX is a troubled transit system that has been losing ridership over time. Figure 3-4 on the following pages compares MAX in twelve areas.

During the 2012 reporting period, when compared to these 12 systems, MAX did not perform well on any of the performance measures evaluated. MAX’s performance problems are well recognized in Birmingham. The

BJCTA Board and the Birmingham City Council as the primary financial sponsor are taking steps to improve the service. During 2013 significant progress has been made with a new general manager and investment in new vehicles.

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Figure 3-4: Transit System Peer Comparison

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3.3 Status of Transit Planning Traffic conditions in the study corridor are congested and are expected to become more severe in the years to come. Also, transit service in the Recent transit planning studies have been completed in Birmingham and I-65/US 31 MMP corridor primarily consists of a limited number of bus are relevant to the US 11/78 East Corridor Study. They include: routes that have lengthy time between buses. Mobility has become increasingly difficult and time consuming for commuters using I-65 and Regional Transit Improvement Plan: The Regional Transit Improvement other routes within the study corridor. Both transit improvements and Plan completed by the RPCGB in 2009 established a corridor based highway improvements are proposed for the I-65/US 31 corridor. framework for developing a regional transit system. Seven corridors (including the US 11/78 corridor) are woven together within the core US 280 Corridor Transit Study: The US 280 study investigated transit service area of Downtown Birmingham. The planned Regional Transit alternatives along the US 280 corridor from Birmingham to the south System is comprised of a variety of service types that include bus rapid through Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Example goals include improving transit (BRT), regional express buses, cross-town community connector operations, congestion, economic development opportunities, and services, and traditional local bus services. local/regional connectivity. Preferred alternatives include premium bus service in managed lanes or BRT service in a dedicated guideway along the In-Town Transit Partnership (ITP) Project: The In-Town Transit shoulder. The proposed US 280 transit improvements would connect to Partnership Project (ITP) developed a plan for transit services in the the ITP’s proposed BRT system in the vicinity of Five Points. Downtown Birmingham and University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) areas. The City of Birmingham, the RPCGB and the BJCTA are moving Southwest Corridor Transit Study: The Southwest Corridor Transit Study forward with the ITP services connecting Five Points South with UAB, the reviewed ways to improve transit services in the southwest corridor of New Central Station, Downtown and the Birmingham Jefferson County Greater Birmingham along the Bessemer Superhighway. In addition to Convention Center (BJCC). improving transit services, the study considered ways to encourage “smarter” and greener planning and land uses to energize economic I-65/US 31 Mobility Matters Project: The I-65/US 31 Mobility Matters development for those who live, work and go to school in the corridor. Project is a plan that proposes both transit and highway improvements to address the existing and emerging transportation system issues associated BJCTA Short Range Transit Plan: Completed in September 2012, the Short with the I-65/US 31 south-central corridor of metropolitan Birmingham. Range Transit Plan recommends changes in management systems and the service design.

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3.4 US 11/US 78 Transit Services

There are five local routes and one express route that operate within the A boarding and alighting study was completed during October 2013 for corridor including: routes 17, 20, 25/26 and 28. The routes have been divided into segments so that performance can be measured along each route. Operating  Route 17 – Eastwood Mall schedules and ridership data collected during the boarding and alighting  Route 20 – Zion City study have been used to estimate the ridership, operating costs and  Route 22 – Tarrant revenue for each route and segment. The ridership has been normalized to  Route 25/26 – Centerpoint/Jeff State the May 2013 average weekday. Operating costs are estimated to be  Route 28 - South East Lake $66.38 per revenue hour plus $2.74 per revenue hour. Revenues are  Route 72 – Centerpoint Express estimated to be $.809 per rider. These values were estimated from fiscal year 2012 National Transit Database reports. Figure 3-5 illustrates the routes operating within the corridor and Table 3-3 lists the key operating information and performance indicators.

Table 3-3: Routes Operating in the US 11 / US 78 Corridor – May 2013

Route Revenue Hours Riders Average Speed Riders per Cost per Rider Recovery Ratio Estimated (MPH) Revenue Hour Annual Net Cost 17-Eastwood Mall 1,176 18,675 13.0 15.9 $ 6.43 12.6% $ 1,259,035 20-Zion City 401 4,097 12.8 10.2 $ 9.95 8.1% $ 449,164 22-Tarrant 486 5,305 10.7 10.9 $ 8.76 9.2% $ 506,005 25/26-Centerpoint 878 12,379 13.4 14.1 $ 7.31 11.1% $ 965,775 28-South Eastlake 564 12,727 16.5 22.6 $ 4.94 16.4% $ 630,878 72-Express 73 878 21.6 12.0 $ 10.44 7.8% $ 101,450

Figures 3-6 through 3-9 present the boarding and alighting study results.

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Figure 3-5: US 11/US 78 Corridor Transit Routes

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Figure 3-6: Route 17 Eastwood Mall

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Figure 3-7: Route 20 Zion City

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Figure 3-8: Route 25/26 Center Point/Jeff State

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Figure 3-9: Route 28 South East Lake

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4 TRAFFIC EXISTING CONDITIONS 4.1.1 US 11 Project Focal Corridor Running on a broader context from Louisiana to New York, US 11 enters This section of the US 11/US 78 East Existing Conditions Report Birmingham from the southwest and traverses northeast through the summarizes a preliminary inventory of the existing traffic, roadways, and metropolitan area and across the Jefferson County line. It enters the study related operational components in the study area. This summary begins area as a multilane highway traveling locally along 1st Avenue North defining the traffic/transportation system contexts within which future through the Downtown, Light Industrial, Woodlawn, and Parkway East opportunities will eventually be assessed. It also supports scoping efforts subareas. North of the East Lake community, the route’s local reference for future project work orders and the eventual formulation of an overall transitions from 1st Avenue North to Parkway East and then to Gadsden traffic data collection and analysis approach that will be tailored to suit the Highway. US 11/Gadsden Highway crosses through the remainder of the anticipated project needs. Such detailed efforts have not yet been Parkway East and Trussville portions of the study area, briefly doubling as conducted and are not intended below. Main Street through Trussville’s town center. The overall corridor is concurrent with Alabama State Route 7 (AL 7), and overlaps segments of 4.1 Roadway Network US 78 through the Downtown area. US 11 is well-connected with the area’s local street grid network, allows convenient access to the Though the project’s primary corridor focus includes US 11 and US 78, surrounding interstate/expressway systems, and specifically parallels I-59 there are a number of key roadway facilities throughout the study area from the I-20/I-59 split near the airport to the eastern end of the study that make up the overall local and regional transportation systems and area. that interconnect, support, or potentially influence travel patterns along the focal corridors. Key facilities, as shown in Figure 4-1, are summarized below.

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Figure 4-1: Study Area Roadway Network and Key Facilities

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Given its overall connectivity to the surrounding roadway system and the and Trussville. Pockets of activity in such areas generate a mix of varied land uses along the corridor, US 11 likely serves a variety of local traffic circulation, on-street parking, ped/bike/transit travelers and interests within the study area. Examples include: connections, and school or community business access.

 Arterial and Commuter Traffic: Coupled with the local street grid,  Retail Centers: Along the Parkway East and Gadsden Highway access to US 31/280, and connections to the interstate system, US segments of US 11, particularly in the vicinity of AL 75/Roebuck 11 is a viable commuter corridor for serving Downtown Parkway or east of I-495 just inside Trussville, several larger Birmingham and the adjacent UAB/Five Points South area. commercial areas, big-box retail stores, and restaurants are fed by the corridor.  Freight Activities: Through the Light Industrial areas of East Birmingham, US 11 provides access for local business, industry,  Interstate Detours: Considering multiple interchange locations and light manufacturing uses that would encompass local truck and the fact that US 11 parallels I-59 through much of the study traffic, nearby rail facilities, or related freight and goods area, it is likely that the corridor may experience periodic detour movement opportunities. or diverted traffic in the event of nearby interstate congestion, closures, or other incidents.  Tourism and Visitors: Via connections to 34th or 35th Street, US 11 links visitor, tourist, or event traffic with the Sloss Furnaces Though specific cross-sections vary, US 11 through the study area is National Historic Landmark site. predominantly a five-lane signalized arterial with a dedicated center turn lane and periodic on-street parking (Figures 4-2 and 4-3). Portions of the  Airport Traffic: In conjunction with nearby cross streets and route through Woodlawn narrow to just four travel lanes, while parallel routes such as Messer-Airport Highway, US 11 provides commercial or interchange areas to the east accommodate up to seven travel options for visitor and employee access to and from lanes including additional left/right turn lanes. Typical posted speed limits Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. range from 30 to 45 MPH.  Residents and Communities: Motorists traveling US 11 northeast

of Downtown essentially pass through the town centers of several outlying communities including Woodlawn, East Lake, Roebuck,

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Figure 4-2: US 11 Corridor Photos

US 11/US 78/1st Ave N (Downtown) US 11/1st Ave N (Bridge near Sloss Furnaces)

US 11/1st Ave N (Light Industrial Subarea) US 11/1st Ave N (Woodlawn)

US 11/1st Ave N (Parkway East Subarea) US 11/Gadsden Hwy (Trussville Subarea)

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Figure 4-3: US 11 Typical Sections

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4.1.2 US 78 Project Focal Corridor five-lane roadway with a dedicated center turn lane or dividing median and Running west-to-east from Tennessee to South Carolina, US 78 enters the periodic on-street parking (Figures 4-4, 4-5 and 4-6). Commercial areas in study area as a multilane highway concurrent with US 11/1st Avenue North Irondale typically add additional left/right turn lanes. Locations farther through Downtown before branching off at 24th Street North and linking east of I-459 include a mix of divided/undivided sections and eventually the UAB/Five Points South subarea. US 78 then tracks along the 3rd transition to an undivided two-lane roadway passing through Leeds’ town Avenue South and 4th Avenue South one-way couplet through the Light center. Typical posted speed limits along the corridor vary with many Industrial subarea and into the Crestwood/Avondale subarea. The one- segments at 30 to 35 MPH, or up to 50 MPH in some of the divided way couplet ends in Avondale at 36th Street South where US 78 transitions highway locations. back to two-way travel solely along 3rd Avenue South. Beyond East Avondale, the route’s local reference transitions from 3rd Avenue South to Crestwood Boulevard. US 78/Crestwood Boulevard continues through the Crestwood/Avondale and Irondale subareas before eventually transitioning to US 78/Bankhead National Highway through the Leeds subarea, or as US 78/Parkway Drive in Leeds’ town center. The overall corridor is concurrent with Alabama State Route 4 (AL 4) and is well-connected with the area’s local street grid network. It also allows convenient access to the surrounding interstate/expressway systems and specifically parallels I-20 through Irondale and Leeds.

Similar to the US 11 corridor, US 78 likely serves a variety of travelers and interests within the study area. Emphases along US 78 would include strong commuter, employee, resident, visitor, or student travel to the UAB/Five Points South subarea. The route is a key link to the numerous urban and suburban communities through which it passes, from the redeveloping areas in Avondale to the eastern suburbs toward Leeds. Freight and delivery traffic will serve the Light Industrial subarea and numerous commercial areas. Shopping, dining, and heavy commercial traffic will access big-box developments in Irondale and the Outlet Shops at Grand River or Bass Pro Shops in Leeds. Some segments of the corridor may also experience periodic detour or diverted traffic surges given its proximity to I-20.

Though specific cross-sections vary along the corridor, US 78 through Downtown, Crestwood/Avondale, and Irondale is predominately a four or

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Figure 4-4: US 78 Corridor Photos

US 78/24th St S (Downtown) US 78/3rd Ave S (Light Industrial Subarea)

US 78/Crestwood Blvd (Crestwood Area) US 78/Crestwood Blvd (Irondale Subarea)

US 78/Bankhead Hwy (Leeds Subarea) US 78/Parkway Drive (Leeds Town Center)

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Figure 4-5: US 78 Typical Sections (3rd and 4th Ave South One-Way Couplet)

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Figure 4-6: US 78 Typical Sections (Crestwood Blvd Segments)

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4.1.3 Interstate System The Interstate System that surrounds and connects with the study area’s US 11/US 78 focal corridors includes routes I-20, I-59, I-65, and I-459 as Interstate 59: I-59 is a north/south route linking Downtown Birmingham summarized below (Figures 4-7 and 4-8). with Trussville and eventually near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Within the study area it generally operates as a 4-8 lane divided highway with speed Interstate 20: I-20 is an east/west route linking Downtown Birmingham limits ranging from 50-70 MPH. I-59 provides direct access to I-65, with Leeds and eventually Atlanta, Georgia. Within the study area it Downtown, the Airport, and multiple locations along the US 11 corridor. generally operates as a 6-8 lane divided highway with speed limits of 50-70 MPH. I-20 provides direct access to I-65, Downtown, the Airport, the US Figure 4-8: I-59 Photos 11 corridor, and multiple locations along the US 78 corridor.

Figure 4-7: Interstate 20 Photos

I-59 near Birmingham I-59 near Trussville

I-20 near Birmingham I-20 near Leeds

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Figure 4-9: Study Area Interchange Map

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Table 4-1: Study Area Interchange List

Interstate Exit # Destination I-20/59 124 I-65 I-20/59 125A 17th St/Downtown I-20/59 125B 22nd St/Downtown I-20/59 126A US 31/280 and Carraway Blvd I-20/59 126B 31st St I-20/59 128 AL 79/Tallapoosa St I-20/59 129 Airport Blvd

I-20 130A (WB) I-59 North (to Gadsden) I-20 130B (WB) US 11/1st Ave S I-20 130A/B (EB) US 11/1st Ave N I-20 132A US 78/Oporto Madrid Blvd I-20 132B US 78/Montavello Rd I-20 133 US 78/Kilgore Memorial Dr I-20 135 US 78/Old Leeds Rd I-20 136 I-459 I-20 140 US 78/Leeds

I-59 130 I-20 East (to Atlanta) I-59 131 Oporto-Madrid Blvd I-59 132 US 11/1st Ave N I-59 133 4th Ave S I-59 134 AL 75/Roebuck Pkwy I-59 137 I-459 I-59 141 Trussville/Pinson I-59 143 Deerfoot Pkwy/Mt Olive Church Rd

I-459 29 I-20 I-459 31 Derby Pkwy I-459 32 US 11/Trussville I-459 33 I-59

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Interstate 65: I-65 is a north/south route located just outside the western Interstate 459: I-459 is essentially a partial beltway around the south side edge of the study area and is the major connecting route for motorists and of Birmingham offering major connections to/from/between I-20 and I-59 communities north and south of Birmingham (e.g., Hoover or Fultondale). on either side of the city and to I-65, US 31, and US 280 south of the city. Near Birmingham, it operates as a 6-8 lane highway with speed limits of The route links travelers between McCalla, Hoover, Leeds, and Trussville. 50-60 MPH. It provides major interchange access to/from the I-20/59 Within the study area I-459 is predominantly a 6-lane divided highway with corridor and is also accessible just a few blocks north of the US 11/US a speed limit of 70 MPH. 78/1st Avenue North corridor between 9th and 13th Streets North. Figure 4-11: I-459 Photos Figure 4-10: I-65 Photos

I-459 near Leeds I-459 Interchanges with I-59 and

I-65 near Birmingham I-65 Interchange with I-20/59 US 11

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4.1.4 Other Key Arterials Figure 4-13: AL 75 Photos US 31/280: US 31 and US 280 run together through the study area as the Red Mountain Expressway, an elevated 8-lane highway with interchange access between I-20/59, the US 11/1st Avenue North corridor, and the US 78/3rd and 4th Avenue South corridor. The route provides critical connections to the Downtown, UAB/Five Points South, and Light Industrial subareas. South of the study area, US 31 and US 280 split near Homewood and link Birmingham with various suburban communities and other points south of the city. Speed limits in the study area are 50-55 MPH.

Figure 4-12: US31/280 Photos

AL 75 at US 11/Pkwy AL 75 north of US 11 East/Gadsden Hwy

Messer-Airport Highway: Messer-Airport Highway provides access between Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Downtown, where it links with 5th Avenue North at a below-grade railroad underpass in the vicinity of the US 31/280 expressway. The highway serves a variety of light manufacturing, industry, or business locations through the Light Industrial subarea, but also connects segments of residential and school US 31/280 Interchange at US 31/280 Interchange between 3rd uses entering the Woodlawn area. The route’s typical section varies, but I-20/59 and 4th Ave S outside of the Downtown area is predominately a 4-5 lane highway with a

designated center turn lane and posted speed limits of 35-40 MPH. Alabama State Route 75: SR 75/Roebuck Parkway is a multi-lane highway meeting US 11 at a natural breakpoint between the Parkway East and Gadsden Highway segments of the corridor, while also providing direct interchange access with nearby I-59. SR 75 serves significant commercial and suburban areas just north of US 11 and generally operates in that area as 6-8 lane divided and signalized arterial with posted speed limits of 35-45 MPH.

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Figure 4-14: Messer-Airport Highway Photos Figure 4-15: Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard Photos

Messer-Airport Hwy and 5th Ave N Messer-Airport Hwy near 33rd Richard Arrington Jr., Blvd Richard Arrington Jr., Blvd RR Crossing between Carraway Blvd near 36th Way N Railroad Underpass St N th and 28 Street N

Richard Arrington, Jr., Boulevard: Within the core of Birmingham’s Downtown, Richard Arrington, Jr., Boulevard runs north/south as a de facto 21st Street and provides a direct connection to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. From there the roadway turns to run east/west as a de facto 10th Avenue North, providing almost direct access toward the airport and eventually intersecting with Messer-Airport Highway. The route is predominately a 4-lane section with periodic turn lanes and provides access to a variety of land uses – from Downtown, to the Convention Complex, to light industrial sites, to residential areas – as well as potential redevelopment sites near the airport.

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4.1.5 Other Key Connecting Routes and may be relevant to existing and future airport area redevelopment With respect to potential travel patterns, roadway usage, and system opportunities. connectivity, there are a number of other key connecting routes that help to complete the network of focal corridors, interchange locations, and key Oporto Madrid Boulevard: Oporto Madrid Boulevard runs north/south as th arterials noted above. While any number of city and local streets may be a de facto 77 Street and provides an essentially direct cross-connection st included, those highlighted below may become exceptionally relevant to between the US 11/1 Avenue North corridor in the Woodlawn and East this project as follows: Lake areas to the US 78/Crestwood Boulevard corridor in the vicinity of Crestwood and just west of Irondale. The route serves a number of 31st Street North: 31st Street North provides notable heavy truck access residential areas along its length, but also provides convenient access to for light industrial and manufacturing areas north of the US 11 corridor. the Airport and I-59 at its northern junction with US 11, as well as Future project efforts may investigate the precise levels of truck activity, commercial areas and I-20 at its southern junction with US 78. specific truck routes, access issues, or other implications relative to other project findings or improvement alternatives.

32nd, 35th, and 41st Streets North/South: Each north/south street provides a localized link across the existing rail lines that divide the north/south portions of East Birmingham in the vicinity of the Light Industrial and Avondale subareas. Specifically, these cross connections tie the US 11/1st Avenue North corridor with the US 78/3rd and 4th Avenue South corridor.

5th Avenue South and 1st Avenue South: Various segments of 5th Avenue South, 1st Avenue South, and other local streets provide an important link between the US 78 corridor in the vicinity of Avondale (near 47th Street South) to the US 11 corridor in Woodlawn (near Georgia Road).

Georgia Road: Various segments of Georgia Road provide a cross- connection between Messer-Airport Highway, US 11/1st Avenue North, and the 5th Avenue South / 1st Avenue South link noted above. The route is also relevant in light of existing and future community redevelopment opportunities within the Woodlawn area.

65th Street North: 65th Street North from its intersection with US 11/1st Avenue North provides a direct link to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. This access includes a connection to Aviation Avenue

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4.2 Traffic Data and Analysis Volumes crest in the 20,000 to 30,000 range through Irondale before decreasing again eastward to Leeds. Detailed data collection and analysis programs will be developed during future phases of work contingent on the scope/direction of the project and  US 31/280 – expressway portions of this route carry 60,000 to the type/location of improvements that may be considered. Overall 80,000 vehicles daily. efforts will be coordinated with RPCGB, the City of Birmingham, ALDOT, and other stakeholders as applicable. Specific data collection efforts may  I-20/59 – 2012 daily volumes exceed 120,000 vehicles through include daily traffic volume counts, peak period intersection turning Downtown Birmingham where the two interstates overlap. East movement counts, vehicle classification data, speed data, of the I-20/59 split, I-20 and I-59 each carry 40,000 to 80,000 pedestrian/bicycle/transit data, and / or origin/destination studies. vehicles daily. East of I-459, I-20 traffic tends to increase, while Information summarized below has primarily been derived from readily- I-59 tends to decrease slightly. available sources from RPCGB, ALDOT, or document reviews.

Figure 4-16: ALDOT Online Count Map 4.2.1 Traffic Volumes The ALDOT Transportation Planning Bureau maintains an online interactive traffic count map for the entire state (Figure 4-16). Traffic data from 2003 to 2011 is available, along with a list of traffic counter locations. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) data is available on each roadway segment based on the location of the traffic counters.

RPCGB provided additional GIS data (the ALDOT 2012 AADT Jefferson County Shapefile) that includes 2012 data not currently available on the ALDOT website. Summary traffic volume maps for the study area were created based on the 2012 dataset (Figure 4-17). Summary findings indicate that:

 US 11 – 2012 daily traffic volumes range from 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles from the Downtown area through Crestwood/Avondale. Volumes increase near Roebuck Parkway and again east of I-459, reaching the 30,000 to 40,000 range before gradually decreasing again farther east.

 US 78 – 2012 daily traffic volumes range from 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles from the Downtown area through Crestwood/Avondale.

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Figure 4-17: 2012 AADT All Vehicles

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4.2.2 Travel Times  UAB Hospital (Figures 4-19 and 4-20): Travel time to/from areas Broad-based preliminary travel time assessments for the study area were around UAB Hospital, measured to approximately the intersection conducted primarily using the latest version of the RPCGB Regional Travel of 5th Avenue South and 19th Street South. Demand Model (TDM). The Cube Voyager software model (Figure 4-18) estimates daily trips, traffic flows, and transit usage across the region’s  Airport (Figures 4-21 and 4-22): Travel time to/from the transportation network and generates traffic volumes along each roadway Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, measured to based on trip begin/end points, travel speeds, and estimated capacities. approximately Messer-Airport Hwy at Aviation Avenue. Using TDM data, contour maps were created to estimate travel times in base year 2012 and future year 2035 to/from the following benchmark locations:

Figure 4-18: RPCGB Travel Demand Model (Sample Screenshot)

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Figure 4-19: 2012 Travel Times to/from UAB Hospital

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Figure 4-20: 2035 Travel Times to/from UAB Hospital

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Figure 4-21: 2012 Travel Times to/from Airport

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Figure 4-22: 2035 Travel Times to/from Airport

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Based on the contour maps, traveling to UAB Hospital within the CBD and Congestion Monitoring Report. For the 2012 version of that report, peak airport limits will range from less than 5 minutes to 15 minutes and will period travel times were measured on various routes using commercial take approximately the same amount of time for both years 2012 and 2035 fleet probe data. Four weeks of speed data collected in October 2012 (Figures 4-19 and 4-20) . An increase in travel time in the future year were used to compute average travel times during the AM (6:00-10:00 becomes more evident at the I-459 interstate limits. For example, AM) and PM (3:00-7:00 PM) peak periods. Maps were prepared showing traveling to UAB Hospital from points east of I-459 may take 20 to 80 travel times to and from downtown Birmingham along major interstate minutes today; whereas in 2035 those times increase to between 30 and and arterial routes during the most congested peak periods (Figures 4-23 110 minutes. and 4-24).

Based on the contour maps, traveling to the airport within the I-65 and When comparing the TDM-based travel times to those in the Congestion I-459 interstate limits will range from less than 5 minutes to 20 minutes Monitoring Report, both sets of data yield similar results. Travel time from and will take approximately the same amount of time for both years 2012 downtown to the airport would take approximately 10-15 minutes and 2035 (Figures 4-21 and 4-22). An increase in travel time in the future according to both sources of data. Travel time from downtown to the year becomes more evident at the I-459 interstate limits. For example, outskirts of Trussville would take approximately 20-30 minutes according traveling to the airport from points east of I-459 may take 20 to 90 minutes to both sources of data. today; whereas in 2035 those times increase to between 20 and 110 minutes.

On a peak period basis and to supplement/verify the TDM estimates above, additional data was reviewed per the Birmingham Regional

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Figure 4-23: 2012 AM Peak Period Travel Times to/from Downtown Figure 4-24: 2012 PM Peak Period Travel Times to/from Downtown

Source: 2012 Birmingham Regional Congestion Monitoring Report

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4.3 Travel Observations area. Congestion at I-459 was also evident along the exit ramps from the interstate onto US 11; the I-459 northbound off-ramp Based on preliminary observations gathered during project-specific was specifically observed backing up beyond the exit gore along fieldviews in October 2013, travel times, delays, and levels of congestion the interstate’s mainline. vary widely by corridor and segment. Interstate and expressway operations may be largely influenced by interchange locations and  Notable congestion and queuing was also observed along the th associated merge, diverge, weave, or lane-drop conditions, by high traffic stretch of 5 Avenue South that links with US 78 near East demands versus available capacity, and by non-recurring congestion that Avondale, particularly inbound during the AM peak period. It is th may be caused by construction, weather, or traffic incidents. Traffic and likely that 5 Avenue South in this area is fed upstream by I-20, st travel conditions elsewhere may be largely influenced by traffic signal Oporto-Madrid Boulevard, and 1 Avenue South with traffic that rd operations along key arterials and within the city’s grid network. Along the is ultimately destined for the US 78/3 Avenue South corridor into US 11 and US 78 focal corridors alone there are at least 99 existing the Downtown and UAB/Five Points South area. signalized intersections just within the study area limits (Figure 4-25 and Tables 4-2, and 4-3). Other travel observations may be highlighted as  Truck traffic and minor intersection delays were also noted in the st follows: vicinity of 31 Street for continuous travel along Messer-Airport Highway or Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard. Traffic signals along st  Average travel speeds of 40-60 MPH with an urban interstate feel 31 Street, which is fed upstream by direct access with I-20/59, st were typical along I-20/59 nearer downtown Birmingham. appeared to favor north/south flow along 31 Street versus However, peak period congestion and traffic incidents appeared east/west flows along the crossing streets. to often drop travel speeds to 20-30 MPH or less (i.e., stopped or rolling queues), particularly downtown between the I-65 and US Further investigation of traffic operations to quantify intersection delays, 31/280 interchanges, and also east of downtown between the Levels of Service (LOS), or related will be considered and scoped as-needed US 31/280 interchange and the I-20/59 split. during future phases of work.

 Average travel speeds of 30-35 MPH with an urban arterial feel were typical along US 11 and US 78, though speeds of 20-55 MPH were observed depending on the segment and levels of congestion. Some congestion was observed in the downtown, town center, or commercial areas, though traffic flow along the broader corridors appeared to be relatively unimpeded.

 Notable traffic chokepoints along US 11 were also observed crossing AL 75/Roebuck Parkway and past the I-459 interchange

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Figure 4-25: US 11/US 78 Signalized Intersection Map

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Table 4-2: US 11 Signalized Intersection List

Project ALDOT Main Street Cross Street Node # Node # Downtown Subarea 11-010 39397 US 11-78/1st Ave N 13th St N 11-020 2378 US 11-78/1st Ave N 14th St N 11-030 2379 US 11-78/1st Ave N 16th St N 11-040 2380 US 11-78/1st Ave N 17th St N 11-050 2381 US 11-78/1st Ave N 18th St N 11-060 11780 US 11-78/1st Ave N 19th St N 11-070 2382 US 11-78/1st Ave N 20th St N 11-080 2383 US 11-78/1st Ave N Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N 11-090 2384 US 11-78/1st Ave N 22nd St N 11-100 2385 US 11-78/1st Ave N 23rd St N 11-110 2386 US 11-78/1st Ave N 24th St N 11-120 2387 US 11/1st Ave N 25th St N Light Industrial Subarea 11-130 2418 US 11/1st Ave N Carraway Blvd 11-140 2395 US 11/1st Ave N 34th St N 11-150 2398 US 11/1st Ave N 39th St N 11-160 2400 US 11/1st Ave N 41st St N Woodlawn Subarea 11-170 2403 US 11/1st Ave N 43rd St N 11-180 4618 US 11/1st Ave N 50th St N 11-190 4623 US 11/1st Ave N 54th St N 11-200 4625 US 11/1st Ave N 55th St N 11-210 4626 US 11/1st Ave N 55th Pl N 11-220 4627 US 11/1st Ave N Georgia Rd & 56th St S 11-230 4629 US 11/1st Ave N 57th St N 11-240 4631 US 11/1st Ave N 59th St N 11-250 4639 US 11/1st Ave N 64th St N 11-260 4644 US 11/1st Ave N 65th St N 11-270 4645 US 11/1st Ave N 66th St N 11-280 4649 US 11/1st Ave N 68th St N 11-290 4652 US 11/1st Ave N 69th Pl N 11-300 4658 US 11/1st Ave N 75th St N 11-310 4659 US 11/1st Ave N 76th St N 11-320 4660 US 11/1st Ave N Oporto-Madrid Blvd

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Table 4-2: US 11 Signalized Intersection List (Continued)

Project ALDOT Main Street Cross Street Node # Node # Parkway East Subarea 11-330 4661 US 11/1st Ave N 78th St N 11-340 4655 US 11/1st Ave N 80th St N 11-350 4667 US 11/1st Ave N I-59 SB Ramps 11-360 4669 US 11/1st Ave N 83rd St N 11-370 4670 US 11/1st Ave N 84th St N 11-380 4671 US 11/1st Ave N 85th St N 11-390 4679 US 11/Parkway East 4th Ave S 11-400 - US 11/Parkway East Roebuck Center 11-410 4681 US 11/Parkway East Shopping Ctr Dr & Eubanks St 11-420 21156 US 11/Parkway East Wal-Mart & Pkwy E/Gadsden Hwy Split 11-430 4685 US 11/Parkway East Roebuck Pkwy (SR 75) 11-440 4692 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Gene Reed Rd / Willow Ln 11-450 11851 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Medical Park Dr 11-460 20591 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Sunset Blvd & Ruffner Rd 11-470 18029 US 11/Gadsden Hwy John Rodgers Dr Trussville Subarea 11-480 11754 US 11/Gadsden Hwy I-459 SB Ramps 11-490 11755 US 11/Gadsden Hwy I-459 NB Ramps & Edwards Lake Rd 11-500 4486 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Edwards Lake Pkwy 11-510 13631 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Morrow Rd 11-520 1141 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Roosevelt Blvd 11-530 13636 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Mary Taylor Rd 11-540 17739 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Tutwiler Dr 11-550 908 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Watterson Pkwy 11-560 52 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Chalkville Rd (SR 94) 11-570 122 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Parkway Dr 11-580 17413 US 11/Gadsden Hwy Deerfoot Pkwy / Camp Coleman Rd

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Table 4-3: US 78 Signalized Intersection List

Project ALDOT Main Street Cross Street Node # Node # Downtown Subarea (Concurrent w/ US 11) 11-010 39397 US 11-78/1st Ave N 13th St N 11-020 2378 US 11-78/1st Ave N 14th St N 11-030 2379 US 11-78/1st Ave N 16th St N 11-040 2380 US 11-78/1st Ave N 17th St N 11-050 2381 US 11-78/1st Ave N 18th St N 11-060 11780 US 11-78/1st Ave N 19th St N 11-070 2382 US 11-78/1st Ave N 20th St N 11-080 2383 US 11-78/1st Ave N Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N 11-090 2384 US 11-78/1st Ave N 22nd St N 11-100 2385 US 11-78/1st Ave N 23rd St N 11-110 2386 US 11-78/1st Ave N 24th St N Downtown Subarea (US 78 Only) 78-010 2341 US 78/24th St S 2nd Ave S 78-020 2308 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 24th St S 78-030 2287 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 24th St S 78-040 2423 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 25th St S 78-050 2288 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 25th St S Light Industrial Subarea 78-060 2311 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 27th St S 78-070 2289 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 27th St S 78-080 2313 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 29th St S 78-090 2291 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 29th St S 78-100 2316 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 32nd St S 78-110 2294 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 32nd St S 78-120 2319 US 78 WB/3rd Ave S 35th St S 78-130 2297 US 78 EB/4th Ave S 35th St S

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Table 4-3: US 78 Signalized Intersection List (Continued)

Project ALDOT Main Street Cross Street Node # Node # Crestwood/Avondale Subarea 78-140 2325 US 78/3rd Ave S 41st St S 78-150 2330 US 78/3rd Ct S/4th Ave S 44th St S 78-160 2333 US 78/4th-5th Ave S 45th St S 78-170 2334 US 78/4th-5th Ave S 46th St S 78-180 4595 US 78/Crestwood Blvd 5th Ave S 78-190 4602 US 78/Crestwood Blvd 56th St S 78-200 - US 78/Crestwood Blvd The Edge Movie Theater 78-210 - US 78/Crestwood Blvd Cresthill Festival/Shopping Ctr 78-220 4610 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Cresthill Rd 78-230 43411 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Century Plaza 78-240 4613 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Oporto Madrid Blvd 78-250 4611 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Frederick St 78-260 11646 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Montevallo Rd Irondale Subarea 78-270 86 US 78/Crestwood Blvd 16th St S and Montclair Rd 78-280 101 US 78/Crestwood Blvd 18th St S 78-290 104 US 78/Crestwood Blvd 22nd St S and Kilgore Memorial Dr 78-300 414 US 78/Crestwood Blvd Irondale Industrial Park 78-310 - US 78/Crestwood Blvd Unknown Plaza 78-320 527 US 78/Crestwood Blvd John Rodgers Dr 78-330 15045 US 78/Bankhead Hwy AL 94/Alton Rd 78-340 15015 US 78/Bankhead Hwy Old Leeds Rd Leeds Subarea 78-350 - US 78/Bankhead Hwy Grand River Parkway 78-360 17487 US 78/Bankhead Hwy Rex Lake Rd/Coosa Ave 78-370 72 US 78/Bankhead Hwy President St/Brian Dr 78-380 364 US 78/Bankhead Hwy Vivian St 78-390 315 US 78/Parkway Dr Ashville Rd NE and Elliot Ln 78-400 269 US 78/Parkway Dr 8th St NE/SE 78-410 264 US 78/Parkway Dr 9th St NE/SE

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4.4 Traffic Safety removing/repurposing lanes (i.e., a Road Diet). The Road Diet Handbook generally defines a road diet as a project that “entails removing travel Future project efforts will consider traffic safety issues relative to the lanes from a roadway and utilizing the space for other uses and travel locations and potential improvements being investigated. Specific modes.” Potential benefits of road diets include reduced travel speeds, concerns that may be explored include the following: reduced crash frequencies, improved pedestrian safety, or a general reduction of passing, multilane crossing, or other driving maneuvers that  Crash data may be compiled and reviewed in select areas to may otherwise increase the chance for vehicle-vehicle or vehicle- locate any notable crash clusters or significant trends in crash pedestrian conflicts to occur. The reallocated space may be used to rates, types, conditions, and probable causes. Issues related to introduce or better accommodate parking, bus pull-offs, bike lanes, transit pedestrian crashes, speeding, or other special interest areas will lanes, sidewalks, or even street café areas. Case-by-case assessment of likewise be considered where applicable. candidate locations, however, is crucial. Potential issues or drawbacks of implementing a road diet may include congestion or diversion,  Multiple traffic incidents were observed along I-20/59 throughout construction costs, adverse public opinions, emergency or alternate route a one-week project fieldview in October 2013. If representative conflicts, slow-moving vehicle impacts with fewer passing opportunities, or of normal occurrences, it may be relevant to further investigate truck maneuverability and related freight/goods movement concerns. the potential impact or influence of interstate incidents on travel along other routes such as the parallel US 11 corridor (i.e., According to Road Diets: Fixing the Big Roads (Burden and Lagerway), road diverted/detoured traffic). The observed incidents resulted in diet candidates are often four-lane roads carrying 12,000 to 18,000 queuing and congestion from downtown to beyond the I-20/59 vehicles per day (vpd) or, in some circumstances, as much as 25,000 vpd or split. higher. More than one source, however, cautions that the likelihood of introducing congestion or diverting traffic to an alternate route increases  In general, safety issues and higher travel speeds can occur along for facilities carrying more than approximately 20,000 vpd (FHWA-HRT-04- corridors with very wide lanes or roadway sections. Field 082). Peak hour thresholds for LOS D have specifically been cited as 1,050 observations noted that certain sections of US 11/1st Avenue vehicles per hour per direction (vphpd) for a three-lane arterial, and only North have up to 20’ wide curb lanes (where parking is prohibited nominally higher at 1,150 vphpd on a four-lane arterial (Road Diet or unoccupied and not striped). In such areas, it may be relevant Handbook). While conditions vary widely and detailed case-by-case to further investigate the potential influence of the typical section assessments are absolutely critical, Burden and Lagerway suggest that on vehicular or pedestrian safety. ideal factors to ensure successful implementation may include the following:

4.5 Potential Application of Complete Streets  Daily volumes of 8,000-15,000 ADT  Roads with safety issues In order to achieve the Complete Streets concepts, it is often necessary to  Transit corridors gain additional space for improvements by either widening a corridor or by

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 Bicycle routes/corridors aforementioned thresholds based on 2012 traffic estimates; future traffic  Commercial reinvestment areas or economic enterprise zones increases would likely push these volumes higher. For example, estimated  Historic streets, scenic routes, entertainment districts, or main 2012 ADT’s for US 11 through Woodlawn range from 15,000 to 20,000; streets through Parkway East they increase to 16,000 to 24,000. Estimates for US 78 along the 3rd/4th Avenue South one-way couplet are 11,000 to Given these criteria and in comparison to existing traffic volumes (previous 13,000 on each street; nearby Crestwood Boulevard increases to Figure 4-17), it is expected that detailed analyses will be needed to fully approximately 18,000. What can be concluded is that a thorough assess the potential impact of possibly implementing road diets along investigation and analysis would be needed, as the rule-of-thumb segments of US 11, US 78, or other study area streets. Many of the thresholds do not provide a clear-cut answer to the road diet question. candidate segments are already within, or at the high end of, the

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Figure 4-26: Street Section Concept for 1st Avenue North at 55th Place (Woodlawn)

Source: Birmingham Comprehensive Plan (Chapter 12)

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4.6 Pedestrian/Bicycle Planning

The Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System (RRRVTS, http://www.redrocktrail.org/) has been identified in Birmingham’s Comprehensive Plan as the current reference guide for building the City’s bicycle network. The RRRVTS Jones Valley Corridor would directly impact several streets within the US 11/78 study area including, but not limiting to, the following:

 35th Street Bridge Trail – a street-based trail that would reduce the 35th Street Bridge crossing from four-lanes to two-lanes.

 1st Avenue North Trail – a street-based trail that would reduce lanes along 1st Avenue North from approximately 14th Street to the Roebuck Springs Golf and Recreation Center. Accompanying road diet proposals include four-lane to three-lane reductions as In addition to future planning opportunities, several existing well as conversion of the existing shoulder lane along the Sloss pedestrian/bicycle/trail networks are mixed throughout the CBD and Furnaces Bridge to install bike lanes. nearby. Existing networks that may influence the study area include the Norwood Greenway, Railroad Park Greenway, Clairmont Trail, 14th Street  Crestwood Connector – a proposed sidewalk and sharrow Bike Trail, and 7th Avenue South. On-street bicycle lanes are also currently installation (i.e., bicycle travel in the vehicular lane with shared- installed along some segments of 2nd Avenue South downtown (Figure use pavement markings and signage) along portions of US 78 on 4-27). Sidewalk availability – though it varies throughout the study area – 3rd Avenue South and Crestwood Boulevard from approximately is prevalent through downtown and most of the town center areas, and 35th Street to Cresthill Road. sidewalks are an inherent element of Birmingham’s preferred Complete Streets philosophy. Despite these facilities, or maybe because of any Additional roadways throughout the broader study area would also be potential gaps or shortcomings beyond the downtown area, limited field influenced by other RRRVTS corridors. The Village Creek Corridor would observations revealed only minimal pedestrian or bicycle traffic along most th impact Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard, 65 Street, and other roadways of the broader US 11 and US 78 corridors. Where activities were observed, around the Airport and through the East Lake community. The Shades safety concerns were typically apparent. For example, pedestrians were Creek Corridor would influence sections of US 78/Crestwood Boulevard in often seen crossing at random midblock locations (not at an intersection or Irondale and Leeds. And the Cahaba River Corridor would influence traffic signal), and cyclists were found to squeeze alongside vehicular various roadways throughout Leeds and Trussville. traffic along 40-45 MPH stretches of road with no additional shoulder or recovery area.

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Figure 4-27: 2nd Avenue South Existing Bicycle Lanes

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4.7 Truck Traffic

It is anticipated that future phases of this study will investigate or US 11/78, US 31/280, or other local routes. Field observations, for acknowledge and account for truck-related details contingent on the example, confirmed that 35th Street is signed as a truck access route scope/direction of the project and the type/location of improvements that linking US 11 and US 78 via the railroad overpass bridge, although the may be considered. Potential details may include a review of truck route itself enters the Sloss Furnaces area and does not tie directly with 1st wayfinding signs; isolated truck turning obstructions due to curb radii, on- Avenue North (rather it ties with 2nd Avenue North). Observations also street parking, or utilities; truck loading zone concerns; special event confirmed that a variety of potential truck generators are spread planning for truck detour routes; posting of weight restricted roads; or throughout the study area and may encompass: area-wide over-dimensional truck considerations.  Business, manufacturing, or warehouse locations in the Light 2012 truck volumes Figure 4-28 were estimated using truck percentages Industrial subarea and AADT data in the ALDOT 2012 AADT Jefferson County GIS shapefile.  Business, delivery, and special event truck traffic for major sites The total percentage of heavy vehicles throughout the study area ranges downtown, such as the Birmingham Jefferson Convention from approximately 4% to 35%. The roadways with the highest Complex percentages of trucks include I-65 (20%), I-59 (36%), I-20 (24%), and I-459 (15%).  Commercial truck traffic such as those serving industrial parks or big box retail centers in Irondale or Trussville. In addition to the Interstate routes within the study area, specific US routes and state routes are widely used truck corridors, including

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Figure 4-28: Estimated 2012 AADT Trucks

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4.8 Airport Connectivity

Travel connectivity between the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International scope/direction of the project and the type/location of improvements Airport, Downtown Birmingham, and the surrounding communities is a that may be considered. Potential details may include a review of select critical component of both an efficient and responsive multimodal system, at-grade railroad crossings; overpass/underpass considerations; rail and also as a driver for existing and future employment and economic access, staging, or loading/unloading requirements; specific rail-served development opportunities. The formal airport to downtown connection business/industry requirements; specific truck access issues for rail- is currently signed to follow I-20/59 from the Airport Boulevard related operations; or general noise or safety considerations relative to interchange located just south of the airport. Based on limited field rail activity and the surrounding communities. observations, airport access to downtown via the interstate was only marginally faster than other routing possibilities (Table 4-4). The interstate Rail activities and a robust rail network are evident throughout the study and expressway segments between the airport and downtown are also area, from the central rail reservation that divides various neighborhoods prone to peak period congestion, traffic incidents, higher speeds, and a and north/south portions of the city, to the numerous connecting lines and series of merges, weaves, and lane-drops that may negate its travel time rail-served sites throughout multiple study subareas. Key rail lines and benefits for some users, especially for out-of-town travelers who may be crossings – including at-grade crossings and underpass / overpass locations unfamiliar with the area, or for local travelers and commuters who may for select areas of the US 11/78 study area are shown on Exhibit 4-29. The otherwise know and prefer the local road system. major rail operators in the corridor include:

At less than a 10-minute trip, there may be justification for diverting  Norfolk Southern (NS) operates 1,330 miles of track statewide, locally-destined airport traffic away from the congested interstate and serving over 40 cities and including major classification yards in onto other available arterial routes. As this study moves forward, other Birmingham. Major commodities are numerous, including coal, airport access routes may be investigated and possibly coupled with coke, iron ore, metals, and construction materials; paper, clay, broader advantages for economic redevelopment, local community access, and forest products; intermodal shipments; agricultural products; local business patronage, downtown gateway treatments, Convention chemicals; and automotive parts and vehicles. In 2007, NS Center Complex access and visibility, or similar topics. Known handled an Alabama intrastate tonnage of more than 6.3 million redevelopment interests in the vicinity of the airport currently include sites tons. along Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard near 40th Street (Stockham Valves), and near 50th Street North and 18th Street North (Air Cargo Ramp).  CSX Transportation (CSXT) operates over 1,400 miles of track statewide. Major commodities include coal, corn, limestone, and paper/pulp products. CSXT handles approximately 575,000

4.9 Rail Network carloads annually within Alabama.

It is anticipated that future phases of this study will investigate or  Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) operates 115 miles acknowledge and account for rail-related details contingent on the of track statewide from the western state border to its

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multimodal yard in Birmingham. Typical exports include steel achieved along the Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard pipe, wood pulp, and automobiles; while imports include Powder underpass located approximately two blocks to the south. River Basin coal. BNSF handles almost 186,000 inbound, 73,000 outbound, and 328,000 in-state carloads annually.  The existing underpass along Messer-Airport Highway, west of 28th Street, ties with one-way segments of 5th Avenue North, At a more focused level within the project study area, railroad crossings forcing inbound/westbound traffic to shift one block north on 6th that may be of particular interest relative to overall traffic patterns and Avenue North (via 26th Street) to maintain continuous east-west transportation system operations (or limitations) include: vehicular travel along this route.

 The existing at-grade crossing of Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard.,  The Rail Reservation through much of the study area effectively east of Carraway Boulevard, limits efficient through-traffic divides north/south portions of the City and adjacent opportunities for continuous east-west vehicular travel along this neighborhoods. Particularly through the Light Industrial subarea, route between downtown’s convention center area and the cross-connections between US 11/1st Avenue North and airport. Field observations documented apparent rail stoppages US 78/3rd-4th Avenue South are limited. Primary crossings in that or staging that effectively closed this crossing for an extended area follow 32nd, 35th, and 41st Streets. period of time. Nearby access across the railroad can be

Table 4-3: Spot Travel Time Observations for Airport Access Routes Primary Airport Mileage Time Speed Key Observations Access Route Multiple merge/weave points; interstate speeds; I-59 4.6 8 33 incident prone areas; CBD congestion 1st Ave N No clear connection to Messer Airport Hwy; 50th St 3.7 9 26 (via 41st or 50th) connection not ideal RR obstruction at Carraway Blvd; one-way couplet in Messer Airport Hwy 3.9 10 23 CBD; Truck activity; light industrial areas One-way couplet in CBD; No clear connection to Messer 3rd/4th Ave S (via 50th) 4.8 14 20 Airport Hwy; 50th St connection not ideal RR obstruction at Carraway Blvd; jog to 8th Ave N; Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd 4.2 16 15 highest signal delays (CBD, 31st St N, etc.) Note: Data above is based on a limited number of manually-timed travel runs; travel start/stop points were measured between roughly the I-20/59 Airport Boulevard interchange and RPCGB offices downtown near 19th Street North and Morris Avenue.

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Figure 4-29: Railroads and Crossings

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 Cross connections along 50th Street between 1st Avenue North phases of work contingent on the scope/direction of the project and the and 5th Avenue South could benefit additional linkages from the type/location of improvements that may be considered. US 78 corridor to the US 11 corridor or the airport. However, 50th Street itself is by no means an ideal travel route. The roadway includes multiple crossings with very steep grades and/or sharp

grade breaks, as well as direct access to nearby light industrial sites and generally slow-moving local traffic given the overall roadway geometry and related conditions.

 In concert with potential economic development and urban

revitalization efforts, there is local interest in establishing new quiet zones in the Woodlawn community. Establishment of quiet zones could entail roadway geometry, barrier, or gated crossing improvements; automated warning devices; or permanent closure and diversion of select crossings. Crossings of exceptional interest run parallel to 5th Avenue South in Woodlawn and include 55th Place South, 56th Street South, and 59th Street South.

Other area crossings may also be investigated as the study progresses, potentially including those within ½-mile of the above sites, or multiple crossings of Brussels Avenue near the Harris Homes development.

4.10 Parking

There is a wide variety of on-street and off-street parking availability within Birmingham’s downtown area. Along specific study corridors, on- street parking availability also varies. Several segments of 1st Avenue North, 3rd/4th Avenue South, and many local cross-streets accommodate substantial stretches of on-street parking. Town centers along US 11 and US 78 also typically incorporate various styles of parallel or angled on- street parking, such as through Woodlawn, East Lake, or Leeds. Additional parking inventory and investigation may be considered during future

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5 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS of jobs has changed significantly. The region’s manufacturing base has continued to shrink as the area’s role as a regional distribution center has The economics of the US 11 East corridor, in part, reflect the regional grown. Manufacturing companies provided one of 10 jobs (9.7 percent) in economy and its changes over the past decade. The metropolitan area job 2000; by 2012 it was down to one in 14 jobs (7.4 percent). Wholesale base added 17,300 jobs or 3.4 percent from 2000 to 2007, but then lost trade, transportation and warehousing declined much more slowly, losing 41,600 jobs during the Great Recession to 2010 with a partial recovery to 1,000 jobs or 2.0 percent, taking advantage of Birmingham’s superior 2012 with the addition of 9,600 jobs, as shown in Table 5-1. Appendix highway and rail service. Table A-1 provides annual employment data. Since 2000, the region’s mix

Table 5-1: Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Area Employment Trends, 2001-2012

2001-2012 Change Industry 2001 2007 2010 2012 Number Percent Mining, Logging, and Construction 35.5 37.3 27.2 28.2 -7.3 -20.6% Manufacturing 49.7 44.1 34.7 37.0 -12.7 -25.6% Wholesale Trade 30.7 31.6 28.3 28.9 -1.8 -5.9% Retail Trade 61.4 63.4 56.5 56.5 -4.9 -8.0% Utilities ** 7.0 7.5 7.6 ** ** Transportation and Warehousing 13.5 14.1 13.2 14.3 0.8 5.9% Information 15.3 11.5 9.5 8.8 -6.5 -42.5% Financal Activities 41.4 41.6 39.5 40.5 -0.9 -2.2% Professional and Business Services 63.9 68.1 59.6 63.3 -0.6 -0.9% Educational Services 4.4 5.1 6.2 6.5 2.1 47.7% Health Care and Social Assistance 52.5 58.7 59.4 60.5 8.0 15.2% Leisure and Hospitality 39.9 44.1 42.5 44.6 4.7 11.8% Other Services 25.3 23.8 23.7 23.8 -1.5 -5.9% Federal Government 9.4 8.9 9.7 8.8 -0.6 -6.4% State Government 23.4 27.8 27.9 27.2 3.8 16.2% Local Government 42.9 46.4 46.5 44.9 2.0 4.7% Total Jobs 516.1 533.4 491.8 501.4 -14.7 -2.8% Note: Data in thousands of jobs. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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The larger story lies in the expansion of Birmingham’s education and Table 5-2: Population Trends, 1990-2010 health care industries – the “eds” and “meds”. With more than 20 higher education institutions, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Close-In Jefferson Birmingham- Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College and Miles College, Study Area County Hoover, AL MSA education jobs expanded from 0.9 percent to 1.3 percent of the regional economy from 2000 through 2012 with the 48-percent growth of 2,100 Population jobs. Serving as the health care center for a large portion of Alabama, 1990 78,743 651,525 956,852 health care jobs in the region grew by 15 percent or 8,000 jobs during the 2000 73,796 662,047 1,052,238 same period. Health care’s share of the regional economy increased from 2010 65,171 656,912 1,115,485 10.2 percent in 2000 to 12.1 percent in 2012. Professional, technical and 1990-2010 Change -17.2% 0.8% 16.6% scientific services declined somewhat with the loss of 600 jobs (1 percent) 1990-2000 Change -6.3% 1.6% 10.0% from 2000 to 2012, and the finance sector shrank by 2.2 percent with bank 2000-2010 Change -11.7% -0.8% 6.0% mergers and increased productivity. Median Age 2010 34.4 37.0 37.3 5.1 Close-In US 11 East Corridor Study Area Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); ESRI, Census 2000 Summary Profile, Census 2010 Summary Profile, 1990-2000 Comparison Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, Historically, the US 11 East corridor has benefited from a cluster of heavy 2013. industry and distribution companies. Cutbacks in the steel industry and other manufacturing industries have impacted the corridor’s workforce with high rates of unemployment and underemployment. This economic Figure 5-1 on the following page separates the corridor into 10 subareas to analysis focuses on the close-in portion of the US 11 East corridor allow comparison of trends across the different parts of the corridor. The extending from downtown through Parkway East, where the trend is one close-in study area includes the Downtown, UAB/Five Points South, of steady depopulation. Crestwood/Avondale, Woodlawn, Light Industrial, Airport and Parkway East subareas. The close-in study area lost almost one-eighth of its population from 2000 to 2010, as shown in Table 5-2. From almost 79,000 residents in 1990, The corridor’s population losses were greatest in the Woodlawn and population in the close-in portion of the corridor declined 17 percent to Airport subareas, as shown in Appendix Table A-3 and Figure 5-2. The less than 65,200 in 2010. The loss of households outstripped even the loss depopulation had many causes, including crime, inadequate public schools, of population as the average household size increased somewhat in the a stock of older houses smaller than those being sought by the market and close-in study area. (See Appendix Table A-2.) During the same 20-year limited commercial services. Those with money and choices largely period, the metropolitan area population grew by 17 percent with most of relocated to suburban jurisdictions, leaving behind a population that is the increase occurring in outlying counties. disproportionately low in educational attainment, work skills, income and employment.

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Figure 5-1: US 11/US 78 East Analysis Areas

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Figure 5-2: Population Change by Subarea 1990 to 2010

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Figure 5-3: Household Income in Crestwood/Avondale and Parkway East did owners outnumber renters Household Income, 2010 at 70.1 and 67.5 percent, respectively, as shown in Appendix Table A-5.

The close-in study area had a median household income of $34,745 in 2010 as compared with the county median of $48,278 and the regional median of $49,232. (See Appendix Table A-6.) Forty-one percent of close- in study area households had incomes less than $25,000 including 24 percent with incomes below $15,000, as shown in Appendix Table A-7. These low incomes reflect, in part, the relatively low levels of educational attainment shown in Appendix Table A-8.

The pattern of depopulation has been exacerbated and accelerated by the housing crisis and widespread abandonment of housing throughout the corridor. The close-in study area had 19.3 percent vacancies in its 2010 housing stock, compared with 13.2 percent in Jefferson County, 12.9 percent in the region, and 12.2 percent in the U.S (Appendix Table A-9). The American Community Survey run by the U.S. Bureau of the Census showed 2,405 vacant units in the close-in study area (7.3 percent of the total) that were neither for rent or for sale in 2010; most of these are assumed to be abandoned or possibly tied up in estates.

Shown in Appendix Table A-5, vacancies ranged significantly by subarea with the highest total vacancies in the Woodlawn and Airport subareas, which had 24.3-percent and 27.3-percent vacancies, respectively, in 2010. The share of units that were vacant but not available for rent or for sale ranged from 0.4 percent downtown to 13.2 percent in the Airport subarea. The corridor’s large number of abandoned houses further accelerates the population decline as the vacant units both blight the neighborhood’s physical condition and harbor criminal activities, encouraging additional residents to leave the neighborhood. See previous Figure 2-23.

Homeownership in the close-in portion of the corridor averaged 47.9 Rental units experienced much higher vacancies than are typical in a percent of total households as compared with 66.8 percent in Jefferson healthy real estate market. The close-in study area’s vacant units available County and 72.1 percent in the region in 2010 (Appendix Table A-4). Only for rent or rented but not yet occupied represented 17.2 percent of all

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US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report rental units. Ideally, the vacant units would be about five percent of the In spite of the availability of units at relatively low rents, households in the rental housing to allow for vacancies between occupants while new close-in portion of the study area still face housing affordability problems. tenants are found and the units are prepared for re-occupancy. By More than 51 percent of close-in renters spend 30 percent or more of their subarea, rental vacancies in the rental stock ranged from 12.6 percent in income for housing, the national standard for affordability, as shown in Downtown and 12.8 percent in Parkway East to 22.8 percent in the Airport Appendix Table A-11. This compares with 45 percent of metro area subarea in 2010. renters.

Rents are relatively low in the close-in portion of the corridor with almost Compared to the regional housing stock, the close-in corridor’s housing 70 percent with monthly gross rents (including utilities) below $800 and includes a smaller share of single-family detached units (59 percent versus one-quarter of all units with cash rents below $500. (See Appendix Table 69 percent), a larger share of multi-family units in structures of 10 or more A-10.) This reflects the fact that 14 percent of the close-in corridor’s rental units (22 percent versus 9 percent) and a much smaller share of mobile housing is owned by the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District. homes (1 percent versus 10 percent). The corridor’s housing stock is also Occupancy of these units is restricted to low- and moderate-income older with 71 percent of its units built before 1970 and less than 4 percent families with rents set at 30 percent of their incomes. built from 2000 to 2010. In contrast, the region’s stock includes only 37 percent built before 1970 and more than 13 percent built from 2000 to Figure 5-4: Number of Units by Gross Rent, 2010 2010. (See Appendix Tables A-12 and A-13.)

5.2 Strengths

The US 11 East Corridor offers a number of assets that could support longer-term economic development.

5.2.1 Infrastructure Birmingham enjoys a pivotal location in the Southeast U.S. with the intersection of four major interstate highways (I-20, I-22, I-59 and I-65) and three major rail hubs (Norfolk-Southern, CSX and BSNF). The US 11 East corridor has superior access to the railroad network, reflecting its industrial history along the railroads. With comparable access to the major highways, the corridor is well located for distribution operations. The cluster of distribution (and production) companies at I-20/I-59 at the 31st Street interchange has developed to take advantage of that accessibility. Reconstruction of the interchange between I-20/I-59 and US 31 will affect traffic movements at the 31st Street interchange, somewhat reducing the

104 US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report area’s ability to compete for trucking uses. The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth 5.3 Weaknesses International Airport rounds out the area’s transportation infrastructure, providing more than 100 daily flights to more than 25 cities. Several weaknesses have prevented the corridor from taking full advantage of its many assets. Some of the factors relate directly to the Other major assets include: changes in the city’s and region’s economies.  The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Medical District – powerful anchors at the corridor’s western boundary; They include:  Innovation Depot nurturing new companies just west of the  a limited local job base challenged by the closing of several corridor; manufacturing operations over recent decades;  Downtown’s cluster of cultural and historical institutions and  a troubled bus system hobbled by infrequent and unreliable attractions; service that limits residents’ ability to access jobs in other parts of  The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center and the the region; Entertainment District with new retail uses to expand its appeal  extensive housing abandonment and blighted buildings; and activity;  disinvestment in the corridor’s commercial and residential  a solid base of operating businesses located primarily in the neighborhoods; western end of the corridor in downtown and the historic  significant depopulation; industrial district;  a population with low levels of educational attainment and high  available industrial buildings and sites; levels of unemployment and underemployment;  public parks and trails, including the new Greenwood Park;  relatively low spending power due to both low average household  private reinvestment in Avondale, Crestwood and the loft district incomes and a low density of households; downtown;  a limited commercial base;  Woodlawn Foundation’s comprehensive community change  a constrained City budget; initiatives;  schools with low achievement rates;  the new Land Bank Authority with power to acquire abandoned  crime rates higher than other parts of the city and the region; property, clear the title and make the property available for reuse  environmental contamination constraining reuse of industrial or redevelopment; brownfields;  new affordable housing sponsored by the YWCA and the  railroad noise impacting residential neighborhoods; Woodlawn Foundation;  physical isolation of some neighborhoods due to rail lines and  quality mixed-income housing replacing old public housing highways; developments;  limitations on major new manufacturing plants due to air quality  affordable housing owned and managed by the Housing Authority standards; and of the Birmingham District;  high-speed traffic on US 11, threatening pedestrian and bicyclist  REV Birmingham’s revitalization efforts in the Avondale, safety. Woodlawn and East Lake business districts;  the presence of grocery stores and farmers market; and  physical upgrading of Woodlawn High School and other local schools.

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5.4 Opportunities In the interim, access for corridor residents to jobs at Dollar General and other outlying employment centers could be improved by organization of The corridor’s weaknesses limit development opportunities over the near commuter vanpools under the CommuteSmart program. Creation of new term, requiring both comprehensive and focused initiatives to reverse bus hubs in the Woodlawn and Parkway East urban villages designated in some of those limiting conditions. The Woodlawn Foundation has the Comprehensive Plan could be leveraged to help focus demand into undertaken broad-ranging initiatives to change the lives of Woodlawn small, walkable clusters of retail uses. Focusing demand can help to attract children while holistically changing their environment. Focusing on the and support retailers by aggregating spending from a larger geography. education and development of the neighborhood’s children lays the groundwork for a healthy community that breaks the cycle of poverty. Currently, market economics support only limited private investment in Investments in schools, public spaces, community facilities and affordable commercial businesses, which has focused largely in Avondale and serve housing, coupled with demolition of abandoned buildings, offer long-term middle-income residents. New and renovated commercial space in opportunities for rebuilding Woodlawn as a truly mixed-income Woodlawn and East Lake will most likely require public or non-profit community for existing and new residents alike. support due to the mismatch between the rents currently supported by the market and the rents required to provide an adequate return on the The region continues to attract major distribution facilities, such as Dollar required investment. A pilot program in the Woodlawn urban village that General’s facility south in Bessemer. Such facilities typically rely on a provides grants or low-cost loans for building improvements could help lower-skilled workforce willing to work for wages of $11 to $15 per hour. bring existing storefronts back into usable condition and reinforce the Given the concentration of such workers within the City of Birmingham, a revitalization efforts. city location should be competitive. Philadelphia, Baltimore and other major cities have been successful recently in attracting distribution centers With creation of the Land Bank Authority, Birmingham now has an based on their workforce and the availability of reliable transit service to invaluable tool for addressing the blight of abandoned property in the the new facilities. Philadelphia attracted a major TJ Maxx regional corridor’s neighborhoods. A targeted strategy that focuses demolition distribution facility (1 million square feet) that employs more than 1,500 activity within a small set of blocks at a time could stabilize neighborhoods. workers. The key location factor was access to a stable, well-trained Revitalization of challenged neighborhoods is most effective when focused workforce rather than the cost of land. Locating in the city near the on a small area at a time, incorporating the full range of strategies and workforce reduces the high turnover associated with centers that require investments. long and expensive commutes. Amazon has announced plans to develop a The need for affordable housing is quite large given the percentage of 1 million square-foot distribution center in East Baltimore on the site of a households who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing former auto plant. With site assembly and brownfield clean-up, sites in costs. The potential development, however, is constrained by the limited the corridor could compete for future distribution centers. availability of subsidy dollars to support construction. Upgrading the corridor’s bus access with reliable and more frequent service could provide better economic opportunities for corridor residents.

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APPENDIX I - SUBAREA CHARACTER of households in Downtown increased from 1,421 to 2,407. All of this has been a result of recent ongoing revitalization efforts and a growing interest in downtowns across the U.S. in general due to their unique character, Downtown historic architecture, and pedestrian-oriented nature. This trend is expected to continue. Birmingham’s Central Business District, or “Downtown,” is a primary anchor of the US 11/78 Corridor study area. Although not unlike regions While office and residential growth in Downtown is expected to continue, across the U.S. that have experienced decentralization of their currently Downtown is dominated by daytime office uses in the banking employment and retail bases, Downtown Birmingham continues to play a and government sectors, and a small but growing restaurant and significant role as both a regional employment and cultural center. Despite nightlife/entertainment scene. A recent significant change has been the having experienced a decrease in overall share of the region’s jobs, development of the Uptown Entertainment District at the Birmingham- Downtown still has about 40,000 jobs and approximately 5 million square Jefferson Convention Complex that contains over 60,000 square feet of feet of office space, 87% of which is currently occupied. The amount of space for new eating and retail establishments along with a new Westin employment in Downtown has actually been increasing in recent years, as Hotel with 303 rooms. There are also conceptual plans for replacing the has the amount of housing. Between the years 2000 and 2010, the number current arena within the convention complex with a new, larger one as part of a mixed use redevelopment that would also include additional Figure A-1: 2nd Ave N at Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd retail and housing to this area. The Uptown Entertainment District area is challenged, however, by the fact that the elevated section of I-59 runs between this area and the rest of Downtown, creating a psychological and visual barrier. The ultimate success or failure of this area may rest with how well this nascent district can be integrated with the rest of Downtown, as well as the re-design and reconstruction of I-59.

Downtown contains an impressive array of historic buildings that have been preserved, some of which have been renovated and in various of stages of being reoccupied as offices and loft style residences. There is also a significant amount of underutilized or vacant space in these buildings, and numerous buildings from this era have also been demolished and in most cases converted to surface parking lots or garages.

There are also significant cultural assets in Downtown, particularly those associated with the Civil Rights movement. These include Kelly Ingram Park, the 16th Street Baptist Church, the 4th Avenue Historic District, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Heritage Walk and numerous

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historical sites and markers along the way. The Alabama Theatre, Hotel UAB / Five Points South Redmont, and Empire Building are among 33 registered historical sites in the downtown. Immediately adjacent to the Central Business District is the University of Alabama Birmingham/Five Points South area. While considered to be part The street network and block pattern in the Downtown area is generally of Downtown Birmingham, this area is identified as a distinct subarea well-connected and encourages walkability and transit accessibility. The because it is also a major corridor anchor and destination in its own right. historic nature of the Downtown is such that the development pattern Besides the university, this area has a concentration of major healthcare placed most buildings up to the sidewalk. The streets are a grid pattern of institutions including UAB Medical Center, Children’s Health modestly-sized blocks which reinforce the pedestrian- and transit-friendly System/Children’s of Alabama, St. Vincent’s Health System, and Baptist character of the subarea. There have been efforts to provide enhanced Health System. streetscape elements to several downtown streets, particularly 20th Street/Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard which includes a landscaped median. The design configuration of many downtown streets, which have remained in place between the 1960s and 1970s, maximize automobile circulation and traffic flow. Figure A-2: 3rd Ave N at 19th St N Figure A-3: UAB University Hospital

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UAB itself is a large urban campus, largely integrated into the downtown Light Industrial street grid, occupying approximately 85 city blocks. There is a total of 8 million square feet of university related institutional space and more is This area is largely a single-use district of light industrial business planned as part of the UAB Strategic Plan. establishments, warehouses, and distribution centers. There is a total of 27 million square feet of these land uses, which represents 87% of the total UAB has been proactive in encouraging students and faculty to live near land use within this area. Of the total square footage of light industrial and campus and is actively working on developing new downtown residential warehousing development in this area, approximately 20% is occupied. development aimed at this market. In addition, the Five Points area has a This industrial area was historically an important economic engine for the significant housing stock ranging from apartment buildings of various sizes region. Today, the area employs fewer than 7,000 people and the ten and other types of rental properties which serves the university market. largest employers combined employ 1,700 people. The largest businesses Five Points is known as an entertainment destination for UAB students and include NAPA Auto Parts (300), Birmingham Water Works (300 other residents of the Birmingham region. It contains a concentration of employees), Supreme Beverage Co Inc. (200 employees), Birmingham- restaurants and bars clustered around the intersection of 20th Street Jefferson County Transit Authority (170 employees), and US Pipe & th South, 11 Avenue South, and Magnolia Avenue. The neighborhoods Foundry LLC (150 employees). surrounding the core of Five Points consists of older, pedestrian-oriented development with a mix of small office buildings, moderate density This area is also served by an extensive network of freight rail lines. residential, neighborhood scale retail establishments, and other mixed use buildings. Figure A-5: BJCTA Operations and Maintenance Facility

Figure A-4: Five Points South

Despite the presence of numerous rail spurs, this area is also known as

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“Truck City” because of the predominance of heavy truck traffic on local outbound on the same schedule, in order to make air cargo service to BHM streets accessing the businesses. This area is well served by regional and more attractive to carriers. interstate freeways with multiple access points to and from I-20/59 and the Red Mountain Expressway. The future land use planned for the area north of the airport is aviation- related industrial, with a green buffer between the airport and residential neighborhoods. The airport layout plan shows a third runway that would Airport follow the north side of I-59. The plan was approved by FAA in 2011. The third runway would require land acquisition east of the existing airport to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is the major airport I-59,including East Lake Park. The third runway might inhibit development that serves central Alabama and the City of Birmingham. It is located along US 11 between I-59 and Parkway East. The time frame for adding a about 5 miles northeast of downtown Birmingham. The airport complex third runway is unknown at this time. has 2,000 badged employees including terminal, TSA, and rental car employees. BHM is not a hub, and therefore has not been impacted by Figure A-6: Holiday Inn Birmingham-Airport airline mergers. The FAA’s Terminal Area Forecast estimates about a 60% increase in enplanements in the period of 2010 to 2030, from 1,428,107 to 2,377,767 (average annual compound growth rate of 2.6%). Air taxi/commuter emplanements have been growing at a faster rate than air carrier enplanements. Passengers’ mode of transportation to-from the airport is private auto, rental car, or taxi. Bus service to the airport has just recently been implemented. Feasibility of bus service will depend on the service schedule needed and the potential ridership of employees (and possibly passengers with minimal luggage).

The airport has been purchasing surrounding properties as part of the ongoing noise mitigation program. The airport purchased 600 acres north of the airport to 90th Street as a noise mitigation area. Other land not related to the noise program has been identified on the airport layout plan, such as the isolated residential area between the airport and I-59.

Airport plans call for modernization of its airside and landside facilities and improvements to access and parking, and expansion of air cargo and industrial uses. The air cargo market is for expensive, light weight and time Land use in the portion of the Airport subarea south of I-59 is heavy critical goods, such as electronics. Most cargo is inbound to Birmingham. industrial and lower income residential. Several commercial office The airport is attempting to expand the market for cargo services to ship

110 US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report properties and hotels are located at the interchange of I-59 with Messer that have opened in the area in recent years. The commercial retail district Airport Highway. is also undergoing a modest rebirth with local entrepreneurs renovating smaller commercial buildings in the downtown Avondale, which is bringing Figure A-7: Stockham Valves Redevelopment Site a new sense of energy and hopefulness into the area. Several “pop-up” storefront and streetscape installations have been done over the past few years by REV Birmingham which have garnered some media attention.

Adjacent to the commercial and light industrial portions of Crestwood/Avondale are modest residential neighborhoods which consist of early to mid-20th Century housing stock, mostly small lot bungalows and ranch style single family homes on tree lined streets. Significant disinvestment in this part of Birmingham over the last forty plus years resulted in a significant decrease in the population and employment base of the Crestwood/Avondale area. In recent years, the residential neighborhoods have struggled to stabilize and begin to improve. Modest progress has been made and there is evidence of steady reinvestment, not only in commercial but also residential properties.

Figure A-8: Crestwood – 5th Avenue South at 56th Street

Crestwood/Avondale

Crestwood/Avondale is a transitional area between Truck City and older residential neighborhoods of Birmingham. Approximately half of its total land use is residential and eight percent is dedicated to light industrial and manufacturing uses. While many of the older manufacturing plants and factories in this area have since closed down, this area has also begun to experience a modest renaissance in recent years. Numerous one story industrial and manufacturing buildings have been renovated and as light manufacturing start ups, artisan shops, and other eclectic art-oriented businesses. There are also several micro-breweries and upscale restaurants

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Along Crestwood Boulevard (US 78) at the eastern end of this subarea are Woodlawn area ranging from commercial property renovations to multi- several large shopping centers including a Walmart Supercenter and a family housing redevelopment initiatives. These successes have led to a Home Depot shopping center. sense of optimism and allocation of additional resources for planning and revitalization initiatives. This includes a recent revitalization plan Woodlawn completed by the City of Birmingham for the Woodlawn commercial district and the identification of Woodlawn as a regional mixed-use Transit- Woodlawn is a historic neighborhood nestled between Avondale and Oriented Development Opportunity Area in the 2013 Comprehensive Plan. Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Established in the late Figure A-9: Woodlawn – Cornerstone School 19th Century, Woodlawn was developed as worker housing for several nearby steel mills and other related industrial establishments. Much of Woodlawn’s housing stock consists of modest one- and two-story frame houses built before World War II. The development pattern is a network of interconnected, pedestrian-scale streets and blocks, which enabled residents to walk or take streetcars to work in the mills. After the steel mills closed, like other older neighborhoods in this part of Birmingham, Woodlawn has seen dramatic disinvestment and abandonment since the 1960s. Its population has fallen from 20,189 in 1960 to 10,123 in 2010. The most recent housing survey shows that of a total of 5,741 dwelling units, 1,742, or 30%, are vacant. Many of these are in various stages of disrepair and abandonment.

Once a vibrant African American neighborhood with a thriving downtown district centered on 1st Avenue North (US 11) and 56th Place North, today Woodlawn is a shadow of its former self. The construction of the interstate highways and interchanges, loss of manufacturing jobs, and the steady expansion of Birmingham Airport were significant factors in Woodlawn’s decline. However, in recent years there have been concerted revitalization A significant challenge for revitalization projects through the Woodlawn efforts to turn Woodlawn around. These efforts have been a partnership area is the current character of US 11 (1st Avenue North). The current between non-profit foundations and local government which has focused design of the roadway promotes vehicle speeds that are too high for significant resources on establishing the Woodlawn Foundation which creating the kind of pedestrian- and transit-friendly character required to facilitates revitalization efforts through advocacy, grant writing and achieve the comprehensive plan vision and goals. implementation, and community organizing. There have been several successful efforts to date in improving key properties in the downtown

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Figure A-10: Woodlawn High School shifted and this area has become predominantly African American. Most of the homes in this area are ranch homes on medium sized lots and are occupied and well maintained. The commercial strips along US 11 or Parkway East, as it is called in this area, have significant vacancy rates and show significant signs of disinvestment.

Figure A-11: US 11 – Parkway East at 4th Avenue South

Parkway East

Parkway East is to the north and east of Birmingham International Airport. It is largely suburban in character, with the two predominant land uses being single family detached homes and auto-oriented strip commercial shopping centers and individual establishments along major arterial roadways.

The Parkway East subarea consists of two distinct development patterns: 2) A portion of the East Lake neighborhood, which is located closer to 1) A large sprawling area of residential subdivisions on wooded, the eastern edge of the airport. This area was largely developed in the curvilinear streets with no sidewalks and commercial strip centers early part of the 20th century, and consists of an extensive grid network of developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This area is located in the more interconnected streets with a wide variety of period single family homes eastern and northern portions of the sub area and is bisected by I-59 and on small lots. The streets generally have sidewalks and are lined with Centerpoint Parkway. The subdivisions that were developed around these street trees. There are numerous commercial establishments lining the major roadways were a destination for white middle class families into US 11 (1st Ave N) corridor, although many of these businesses are marginal then-developing suburbs, but more recently the demographics have or vacant. I-59 was built through the heart of this community, which

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US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report undoubtedly played a significant role in the decline of the area. The which is bisected by active Norfolk Southern (NS) freight rail lines. There is expansion of the airport and extension of the main runway very close by also a significant amount of light manufacturing and warehousing uses have also likely contributed to the negative perception of noxious land operating in the traditional industrial section of Irondale near the Irondale uses in this formerly stable area. The residential streets in this area have NS rail yards, however few if any of these appear to be served by rail. The also experienced significant disinvestment and abandonment. However, city’s largest sales tax generator, the Irondale Auto Mall located at the there are also signs in recent years of modest reinvestment, although I-459/Grants Mill Road interchange, is located outside the study area. varying widely from block to block. This is likely due to the historic, Interstate 20 also traverses Irondale’s incorporated limits and is a primary pedestrian friendly development pattern here, plus good housing stock commuter route that connects Irondale to Downtown Birmingham and the with charm and character, affordable prices, and good proximity/access to region. Downtown and the interstate highway network. There are also several community amenities here including East Lake Park with its scenic lake and Irondale’s incorporated limits have been dramatically expanded over the surrounding jogging path, tennis courts and public swimming pool. There is years. Whereas Irondale remained essentially a 1 square mile town for also a municipal golf course just to the north. much of its history, in recent decades it has been expanded nearly tenfold. The traditional 19th and early 20th century town consisted of a classic grid of streets with the railroad depot as the focal point. The compact business Irondale and industrial district was clustered immediately around the depot and quickly transitioned to residential neighborhoods. Much of the residential The City of Irondale is an incorporated municipality of about 12,000 streets consist of modest single family pre-war homes on relatively small residents and over 500 businesses approximately five miles east of lots. When industry began to decline and suburbanization began to Birmingham. Irondale’s roots are that of a gritty industrial railroad town, accelerate, Irondale annexed large surrounding areas to include new which historically was home to early iron ore production, nearby coal residential subdivisions being built in rural, hilly areas overlooking the mining on Red Mountain, and an extensive network of rail lines and yards industrial valley. Much of the housing stock built since the 1960’s consists that serviced this growing industry for nearly a century. Since the decline of single family homes on larger lots with irregular street patterns and of domestic steel production, Irondale’s focus has changed to that of a designs that are largely automobile dependent, many without sidewalks business friendly suburb of Birmingham which actively markets its and with limited connectivity. available commercial properties, although there are still active rail yards here that service long distance freight train movements and storage.

Crestwood Boulevard (US 78) is the main commercial corridor that connects Irondale to Birmingham and points east. It has approximately 80 Leeds commercial and light industrial frontage locations, with 80% occupied. Grants Mill Station shopping center, located between Crestwood The Leeds subarea contains the incorporated City of Leeds with a Boulevard and Grants Mill Road adjacent to I-20, has significant vacancies population of approximately 10,000. The southwestern portion of the area as does the Irondale Shopping Plaza and Irondale’s historic downtown is agricultural. Historic downtown Leeds, located on Leeds Scenic Byway, is

114 US 11/US 78 East Corridor Study Existing Conditions Report a functional town center with banks, gift shops, an art center and library. to continue. Most businesses have been attracted to the areas near The residential blocks contiguous to the downtown are arranged along interchanges with I-459 and I-59. US 11 near I-459 has a large tree-lined sidewalks. concentration of shopping centers and other commercial retail. Trussville’s downtown is centered on the intersection of US 11 (or Main Regional destinations are located near the interchange of I-20 and I-459: Street) and Chalkville Road, and extends about ½ mile east and west and a Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and Racetrack, Bass Pro Shops, and few blocks north and south. The City recognized that the downtown the Shops at Grand River, a brand name outlet shopping center. The Bass commercial area was not generating business or investment, and Pro is the second largest in the nation, and it is open to the public, offering commissioned a Downtown Master Plan that was adopted in October education, children’s programs and a large variety of sporting goods to the 2013. The Master Plan includes zoning and design provisions and public. USS Real Estate has proposed a planned community development strategies aimed at developing a downtown core of shopping and dining on a 680-acre site located along the north side of Rex Lake Road in Leeds. destinations as well as cultural and entertainment amenities, to bring The development is planned to contain up to about 2,000 dwelling units, residents and visitors to the downtown more frequently. New offices and an elementary school, recreational and other community facilities. downtown residential would be located at the edges of the downtown core. Industrial development in the US 11 corridor is located in a few areas Leeds residents who work outside Leeds are more likely to work in another along the railroad, which runs within a couple blocks of US 11. The largest suburb than in Downtown Birmingham. Leeds has easy access to Hoover, industrial area is east of downtown at Trussville Industrial Park. to US 280 via Highway 119, and to the Honda manufacturing plant in Lincoln. Most of the land area of Trussville currently consists of single family Figure A-12: Leeds Parkway Drive (US78) residential and undeveloped or open space. The City of Trussville Comprehensive Plan dated 2006 recommended additional mixed use centers along US 11 and commercial development at the intersection of US 11 and Deerfoot Parkway. It continues to focus future commercial land use at interchanges of the interstate highways and keep most of the city residential.

The city currently has no bus service. Many residents work in Birmingham. The city did an informal poll to determine residents’ interest in bus service. Very few responded, and those that were interested in bus service were elderly, not workers.

Trussville

The incorporated City of Trussville has a population of over 20,000. It has grown rapidly over the last few decades, and the city expects rapid growth

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APPENDIX II – ECONOMIC CONDITION TABLES Table A-1: Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Area Employment Trends, 2001-2012

Industry 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Mining, Logging, and Construction 35.5 34.7 35.7 36.7 36.4 37.5 37.3 35.8 29.6 27.2 27.7 28.2 Manufacturing 49.7 45.4 43.0 42.6 43.4 44.3 44.1 42.3 36.7 34.7 35.1 37.0 Wholesale Trade 30.7 29.6 29.4 30.2 30.4 31.3 31.6 31.5 29.5 28.3 28.3 28.9 Retail Trade 61.4 61.3 61.9 62.6 62.2 62.7 63.4 62.4 57.9 56.5 56.7 56.5 Utilities ** ** ** 6.5 6.5 6.7 7.0 7.1 7.0 7.5 7.5 7.6 Transportation and Warehousing 13.5 12.8 12.3 12.4 12.8 13.5 14.1 14.2 13.2 13.2 13.4 14.3 Information 15.3 14.9 13.4 13.0 12.7 11.9 11.5 11.0 10.1 9.5 9.0 8.8 Financal Activities 41.4 41.5 41.0 41.2 41.5 41.5 41.6 41.4 40.3 39.5 40.0 40.5 Professional and Business Services 63.9 62.6 60.6 61.8 65.9 68.4 68.1 66.1 60.0 59.6 60.7 63.3 Educational Services 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.5 5.8 6.2 6.3 6.5 Health Care and Social Assistance 52.5 54.5 55.3 56.0 57.2 57.4 58.7 59.4 59.0 59.4 59.3 60.5 Leisure and Hospitality 39.9 39.2 39.7 41.2 42.7 43.7 44.1 44.4 43.0 42.5 43.5 44.6 Other Services 25.3 25.6 24.7 23.9 23.5 23.4 23.8 24.3 23.8 23.7 23.4 23.8 Federal Government 9.4 9.1 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.1 8.9 9.1 8.9 9.7 9.1 8.8 State Government 23.4 23.9 25.2 25.4 25.6 27.2 27.8 27.9 27.8 27.9 28.1 27.2 Local Government 42.9 43.2 43.8 44.2 44.7 45.5 46.4 47.0 47.0 46.5 45.6 44.9 Total Jobs 516.1 509.4 506.2 511.6 519.3 528.8 533.4 529.3 499.8 491.8 493.6 501.4 Note: Data in thousands of jobs. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-2: Population, Age Distribution and Household by Type, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Population Trends 1990 78,743 651,525 956,852 2000 73,796 662,047 1,052,238 2010 65,171 656,912 1,115,485 1990-2010 Change (13,572) -17.2% 5,387 0.8% 158,633 16.6% 1990-2000 Change (4,947) -6.3% 10,522 1.6% 95,386 10.0% 2000-2010 Change (8,625) -11.7% (5,135) -0.8% 63,247 6.0% Household Trends 1990 33,328 251,479 363,190 2000 30,432 263,265 412,376 2010 26,678 260,441 432,183 1990-2010 Change (6,650) -20.0% 8,962 3.6% 68,993 19.0% 1990-2000 Change (2,896) -8.7% 11,786 4.7% 49,186 13.5% 2000-2010 Change (3,754) -12.3% (2,824) -1.1% 19,807 4.8% Population by Age (2010) Under 20 Years 16,859 25.9% 174,066 26.5% 298,393 26.8% 20 to 24 Years 5,926 9.1% 46,257 7.0% 72,122 6.5% 25 to 34 Years 10,337 15.9% 92,404 14.1% 153,401 13.8% 35 to 44 Years 7,989 12.3% 86,295 13.1% 154,610 13.9% 45 to 54 Years 9,458 14.5% 96,957 14.8% 164,827 14.8% 55 to 64 Years 7,546 11.6% 75,438 11.5% 130,204 11.7% 65 to 74 Years 3,523 5.4% 42,992 6.5% 76,373 6.8% 75 to 84 Years 2,412 3.7% 30,343 4.6% 47,877 4.3% 85 Years and Over 1,121 1.7% 12,160 1.9% 17,678 1.6% Total Population 65,171 100.0% 656,912 100.0% 1,115,485 100.0% Median Age 34.4 37.0 37.3 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); ESRI, Census 2000 Summary Profile, Census 2010 Summary Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-3: Population and Household Trends, 2010

Downtown UAB / Five Points Crestwood/ Woodlawn Light Industrial Airport Parkway East Close-In Study South Avondale Area # % # % # % # % # % % % # % # % Population Trends 1990 78,743 4,154 7,215 10,569 15,219 4,913 19,464 17,209 2000 73,796 3,600 6,916 10,012 15,412 4,306 16,644 16,906 2010 65,171 3,992 8,483 9,155 12,186 3,629 13,085 14,641 Change ’90 – ‘10 (162) -3.9% 1,268 17.6% (1,414) -13.4% (3,033) -19.9% (1,284) -26.1% (6,379) -32.8% (2,568) -14.9% (13,572) -17.2% Change ’90 – ‘10 (554) -13.3% (299) -4.1% (557) -5.3% 193 1.3% (607) -12.4% (2,820) -14.5% (303) -1.8% (4,947) -6.3% Change ’90 – ‘10 392 10.9% 1,567 22.7% (857) -8.6% (3,226) -20.9% (677) -15.7% (3,559) -21.4% (2,265) -13.4% (8,625) -11.7% Household Trends 1990 1,565 3,755 4,995 5,998 2,109 7,476 7,430 33,328 2000 1,168 3,474 5,061 5,694 1,868 6,297 6,870 30,432 2010 1,526 3,559 4,789 4,496 1,593 4,898 5,817 26,678 Change ’90 – ‘10 (39) -2.5% (196) -5.2% (206) -4.1% (1,502) -25.0% (516) -24.5% (2,578) -34.5% (1,613) -21.7% (6,650) -20.0% Change ’90 – ‘10 (397) -25.4% (281) -7.5% 66 1.3% (304) -5.1% (241) -11.4% (1,179) -15.8% (560) -7.5% (2,896) -8.7% Change ’90 – ‘10 358 30.7% 85 2.4% (272) -5.4% (1,198) -21.0% (275) -14.7% (1,399) -22.2% (1,053) -15.3% (3,754) -12.3% Source: ESRI, Census 2010 Summary Profile, 1990-2000 Comparison Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-4: Household Tenure, Type, Size, and Vehicle Ownership, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Tenure, 2010 Owner 12,787 47.9% 173,937 66.8% 311,639 72.1% Renter 13,891 52.1% 86,504 33.2% 120,544 27.9% Total 26,678 100.0% 260,441 100.0% 432,183 100.0% Households by Type, 2010 Family Households 13,835 51.9% 168,529 64.7% 293,683 68.0% Married-Couple Families 6,655 24.9% 111,614 42.9% 211,376 48.9% With Related Children 2,260 8.5% 44,418 17.1% 86,648 20.0% Other Family (No Spouse) 7,180 26.9% 56,915 21.9% 82,307 19.0% With Related Children 3,590 13.5% 29,754 11.4% 43,690 10.1% Non-Family Households 12,843 48.1% 91,912 35.3% 138,500 32.0% Households by Size, 2010 1 Person Household 10,573 39.6% 79,455 30.5% 120,372 27.9% 2 Person Household 7,624 28.6% 84,603 32.5% 145,146 33.6% 3-4 Person Household 6,309 23.6% 77,215 29.6% 133,232 30.8% 5+ Person Household 2,172 8.1% 19,168 7.4% 33,433 7.7% Total Households 26,678 100.0% 260,441 100.0% 432,183 100.0% Households, 2010 Average Household Size 2.24 2.47 2.53 Vehicle Ownership, 2010 None 3,597 13.4% 20,822 8.0% 26,741 6.2% Owns 1 vehicle 12,118 45.0% 90,893 34.9% 137,746 31.9% Owns 2 or more vehicles 11,185 41.6% 148,726 57.1% 267,696 61.9% Average Vehicles 1.1 1.8 1.9 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); ESRI, Census 2010 Summary Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-5: Household Tenure and Housing Unit Vacancy Status, 2010

Downtown UAB/ Five Points Crestwood/ Woodlawn Light Industrial Airport Parkway East Close-In Study South Avondale Area

# % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % Tenure, 2010 Owner 226 14.8% 790 22.2% 3,359 70.1% 1,744 38.8% 368 23.1% 2,371 48.4% 3,929 67.5% 12,787 47.9% Renter 1,300 85.2% 2,769 77.8% 1,430 29.9% 2,752 61.2% 1,225 76.9% 2,527 51.6% 1,888 32.5% 13,891 52.1% Total 1,526 100.0% 3,559 100.0% 4,789 100.0% 4,496 100.0% 1,593 100.0% 4,898 100.0% 5,817 100.0% 26,678 100.0% Housing Units Occupied Units 1,526 83.3% 3,559 83.1% 4,789 87.4% 4,496 75.7% 1,593 82.9% 4,898 72.7% 5,817 84.6% 26,678 80.7% Vacant Units 306 16.7% 725 16.9% 688 12.6% 1,447 24.3% 328 17.1% 1,840 27.3% 1,059 15.4% 6,393 19.3% For Rent 185 10.1% 420 9.8% 309 5.6% 685 11.5% 210 10.9% 732 10.9% 267 3.9% 2,808 8.5% Rented, not occupied 3 0.2% 16 0.4% 13 0.2% 17 0.3% 4 0.2% 16 0.2% 9 0.1% 78 0.2% For sale only 96 5.2% 51 1.2% 179 3.3% 127 2.1% 29 1.5% 175 2.6% 209 3.0% 866 2.6% Sold, not occupied - 0.0% 21 0.5% 15 0.3% 9 0.2% 1 0.1% 16 0.2% 56 0.8% 118 0.4% For seasonal, recreational, or 14 0.8% 35 0.8% 34 0.6% 8 0.1% 5 0.3% 12 0.2% 10 0.1% 118 0.4% occasional use For migrant workers - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% Other vacant 8 0.4% 182 4.2% 138 2.5% 601 10.1% 79 4.1% 889 13.2% 508 7.4% 2,405 7.3% Total Housing Units 1,832 100.0% 4,284 100.0% 5,477 100.0% 5,943 100.0% 1,921 100.0% 6,738 100.0% 6,876 100.0% 33,071 100.0% Source: ESRI, Census 2010 Summary Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-6: Households by Income, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Income Less than $15,000 6,280 23.6% 40,391 15.5% 60,929 14.1% $15,000 to $24,999 4,658 17.5% 32,700 12.6% 51,960 12.0% $25,000 to $34,999 3,632 13.7% 28,815 11.1% 47,508 11.0% $35,000 to $49,999 4,424 16.6% 39,875 15.3% 63,865 14.8% $50,000 to $74,999 3,655 13.7% 46,189 17.7% 79,619 18.4% $75,000 to $99,999 1,594 6.0% 27,095 10.4% 48,920 11.3% $100,000 to $149,999 1,337 5.0% 26,829 10.3% 48,222 11.2% $150,000 to $199,999 491 1.8% 9,208 3.5% 16,271 3.8% $200,000 or More 517 1.9% 9,339 3.6% 14,889 3.4% Total Households 26,588 100.0% 260,441 100.0% 432,183 100.0% Median Household Income $34,745 $48,278 $49,232 Mean Household Income $44,078 $60,735 $62,674 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS), ESRI, Demographic and Income Comparison Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-7: Households by Income, 2012

Downtown UAB/ Five Points Crestwood/ Woodlawn Light Industrial Airport Parkway East Close-In Study South Avondale Area

# % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % Income Less than $15,000 732 43.8% 1,073 30.2% 448 9.4% 1,435 31.9% 505 32.4% 1,245 25.5% 842 14.8% 6,280 23.6% $15,000 to $24,999 321 19.2% 629 17.7% 532 11.2% 944 21.0% 360 23.1% 1,089 22.3% 783 13.8% 4,658 17.5% $25,000 to $34,999 19 1.1% 543 15.3% 545 11.5% 684 15.2% 222 14.2% 762 15.6% 857 15.1% 3,632 13.7% $35,000 to $49,999 93 5.6% 546 15.4% 856 18.0% 641 14.2% 165 10.6% 867 17.8% 1,256 22.1% 4,424 16.6% $50,000 to $74,999 376 22.5% 343 9.7% 836 17.6% 423 9.4% 133 8.5% 509 10.4% 1,035 18.2% 3,655 13.7% $75,000 to $99,999 44 2.6% 113 3.2% 583 12.3% 178 4.0% 76 4.9% 187 3.8% 413 7.3% 1,594 6.0% $100,000 to $149,999 9 0.5% 188 5.3% 456 9.6% 108 2.4% 87 5.6% 150 3.1% 339 6.0% 1,337 5.0% $150,000 to $199,999 66 4.0% 33 0.9% 250 5.3% 24 0.5% 4 0.3% 31 0.6% 83 1.5% 491 1.8% $200,000 or More 10 0.6% 82 2.3% 240 5.1% 62 1.4% 7 0.4% 35 0.7% 81 1.4% 517 1.9% Total Households 1,670 100.0% 3,550 100.0% 4,746 100.0% 4,499 100.0% 1,559 100.0% 4,875 100.0% 5,689 100.0% 26,588 100.0% Median Household $17,286 $25,994 $49,805 $23,026 $21,690 $26,001 $38,146 $34,745 Income Mean Household $35,633 $41,051 $72,470 $34,680 $34,209 $35,662 $49,832 $44,078 Income Source: ESRI, Census 2010 Summary Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-8: Educational Attainment of Residents Aged 25 and Over, 2009

Downtown UAB/ Five Points Crestwood/ Woodlawn Light Industrial Airport Parkway East Close-In Study South Avondale Area

# % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % Educational Attainment Population 25 years and over 2,201 100.0% 3,717 100.0% 8,131 100.0% 7,340 100.0% 3,282 100.0% 8,676 100.0% 11,347 100.0% 44,694 100.0%

Less than 9th grade 114 5.2% 101 2.7% 78 1.0% 626 8.5% 238 7.3% 589 6.8% 306 2.7% 2,052 4.6% 9th to 12th grade, no diploma 550 25.0% 252 6.8% 239 2.9% 1,202 16.4% 582 17.7% 1,693 19.5% 1,248 11.0% 5,766 12.9% High school graduate (includes equivalency) 644 29.3% 510 13.7% 993 12.2% 2,620 35.7% 1,055 32.1% 3,581 41.3% 3,603 31.8% 13,006 29.1% Some college, no degree 384 17.4% 819 22.0% 1,557 19.1% 1,739 23.7% 750 22.9% 2,004 23.1% 3,285 29.0% 10,538 23.6%

Associate's degree 32 1.5% 160 4.3% 511 6.3% 394 5.4% 256 7.8% 331 3.8% 942 8.3% 2,626 5.9%

Bachelor's degree 313 14.2% 1,208 32.5% 2,319 28.5% 638 8.7% 231 7.0% 374 4.3% 1,280 11.3% 6,363 14.2% Graduate or professional degree 164 7.5% 667 17.9% 2,434 29.9% 121 1.6% 170 5.2% 104 1.2% 683 6.0% 4,343 9.7% High school graduate or higher 1,537 69.8% 3,364 90.5% 7,814 96.1% 5,512 75.1% 2,462 75.0% 6,394 73.7% 9,793 86.3% 36,876 82.5% Bachelor's degree or higher 477 21.7% 1,875 50.4% 4,753 58.5% 759 10.3% 401 12.2% 478 5.5% 1,963 17.3% 10,706 24.0% Source: ESRI, ACS Population Summary, 2005-2009; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-9: Vacancy Status 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Housing Units Occupied Housing Units 26,678 80.7% 260,441 86.8% 432,183 87.1% Vacant Housing Units 6,393 19.3% 39,742 13.2% 63,976 12.9% For Rent 2,808 8.5% 10,046 3.3% 12,599 2.5% Rented, not occupied 78 0.2% 1,967 0.7% 2,497 0.5% For sale only 866 2.6% 5,763 1.9% 8,501 1.7% Sold, not occupied 118 0.4% 961 0.3% 1,841 0.4% For seasonal, recreational, or 0.4% 1.1% 1.8% 118 3,370 8,992 occasional use For migrant workers - 0.0% 14 0.0% 72 0.0% Other vacant 2,405 7.3% 17,621 5.9% 29,474 5.9% Total Housing Units 33,071 100.0% 300,183 100.0% 496,159 100.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); ESRI, Census 2010 Summary Profile; Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-10: Rental Units by Gross Rent, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Rent With cash rent 12,753 94.5% 80,776 93.4% 109,318 91.0% Less than $400 2,033 15.1% 8,368 9.7% 11,652 9.7% $400 to $499 1,334 9.9% 5,753 6.7% 9,255 7.7% $500 to $599 1,739 12.9% 8,934 10.3% 12,792 10.6% $600 to $699 2,154 16.0% 11,953 13.8% 15,906 13.2% $700 to $799 1,604 11.9% 11,598 13.4% 15,316 12.7% $800 to $899 1,140 8.5% 9,954 11.5% 13,370 11.1% $900 to $999 776 5.8% 7,694 8.9% 9,885 8.2% $1,000 to $1,249 1,418 10.5% 10,548 12.2% 13,111 10.9% $1,250 to $1,499 392 2.9% 3,212 3.7% 4,350 3.6% $1,500 to $1,999 90 0.7% 1,571 1.8% 2,146 1.8% $2,000 or more 73 0.5% 1,191 1.4% 1,535 1.3% No cash rent 736 5.5% 5,728 6.6% 10,858 9.0% Total 13,489 100.0% 86,504 100.0% 120,176 100.0% Median Cash Rent $649 $748 $733 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-11: Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Rent as a Percentage of Household Income Less than 20.0 percent 2,523 18.7% 17,962 20.8% 27,189 22.6% 20.0 to 24.9 percent 1,387 10.3% 10,672 12.3% 14,638 12.1% 25.0 to 29.9 percent 1,705 12.6% 9,108 10.5% 12,046 10.0% 30.0 to 34.9 percent 1,001 7.4% 6,096 7.0% 8,652 7.2% 35.0 percent or more 5,898 43.7% 35,209 40.7% 45,025 37.4% Not computed 975 7.2% 7,457 8.6% 12,994 10.8% Total Householders 13,489 100.0% 86,504 100.0% 120,544 100.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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Table A-12: Housing Units by Number of Units in Structure, 2010

Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Units in Structure 1, Detached 20,146 59.2% 209,034 69.6% 344,385 69.4% 1, Attached 748 2.2% 8,361 2.8% 12,867 2.6% 2 887 2.6% 5,472 1.8% 7,218 1.5% 3 to 4 1,733 5.1% 9,590 3.2% 11,916 2.4% 5 to 9 2,786 8.2% 16,808 5.6% 21,212 4.3% 10 to 19 3,291 9.7% 21,360 7.1% 25,615 5.2% 20 or more 4,203 12.3% 18,943 6.3% 21,473 4.3% Mobile Home 264 0.8% 10,562 3.5% 51,348 10.3% Other - 0.0% 53 0.0% 125 0.0% Total 34,058 100.0% 300,183 100.0% 496,159 100.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

Table A-13: Housing Units by Year Build, 2010 Close-In Study Area Jefferson County Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Year Built 2005 or later 598 1.8% 10,656 3.5% 22,968 4.6% 2000 to 2004 645 1.9% 19,144 6.4% 43,307 8.7% 1990 to 1999 1,284 3.8% 34,333 11.4% 87,039 17.5% 1980 to 1989 2,999 8.8% 36,536 12.2% 71,332 14.4% 1970 to 1979 4,359 12.8% 58,136 19.4% 88,817 17.9% 1969 or Earlier 24,173 71.0% 141,378 47.1% 182,696 36.8% Median Year Built 1950 1971 1977 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS); Partners for Economic Solutions, 2013.

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