Tuscaloosa Explores One-Way Streets in Downtown’s Temerson Square for Pedestrian Safety

The city of Tuscaloosa is exploring ideas to significantly change traffic flow in the popular downtown Temerson Square district of bars and restaurants, increasing pedestrian safety at the cost of two-directional traffic and about 30 parking spaces.

In a Tuesday meeting of the city's Projects committee, officials discussed their desire to simplify vehicle traffic by limiting it to a single direction of travel on three currently two-way streets.

"The project here is to increase pedestrian safety and reduce traffic congestion," explained Project Manager Laine McCool. "Conceptually, the idea here is to convert this to a one-way corridor with northbound traffic on 23rd Avenue being one-way, eastbound traffic along Fourth Street being one-way, and then southbound traffic on 23rd Avenue."

"Along with this, there's angled parking, ballards at 4th and 23rd, continental striping, and increased sidewalks along the Temerson Square block to improve pedestrian safety and reduce congestion," she continued.

The city is considering a contract with Duncan Coker Associates to design the project, which Mayor Walt Maddox said is long overdue for improved safety downtown.

"As you know, we've been looking at this area for seven or eight years. I mean, we've had issues within that entertainment area. We had the most recent incident a few months ago, and we're continuously talking to TPD about this area, about what we can do to make it safer for pedestrian traffic," Maddox said. "We've explored everything from closing the area and making it pedestrian-only, and we feel like this is probably the best option we have if we're going to have pedestrian safety in that area and control traffic flow, unless you wanted to close the streets, and I don't think that's an option."

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The proposal drew opposition from Jeremy Wyatt, the owner of Rhythm and Brews bar in Temerson Square, and Rolf Meyers from Rolf's German Restaurant nearby because McCool said it would eliminate almost 30 existing parking spots in an already congested area.

"Talk to every business owner downtown, and they're all going to say we want more parking," Wyatt said. "I'm not opposed to any kind of safety measures for pedestrians because we want to help all we can, but I think we have to add some parking somewhere to do this - a give-and-take thing, because we're going to be taking away about 29 parking spots. That's issue number one with everybody downtown."

Maddox said adding parking downtown isn't an easy pitch, and that a deck similar to the existing Intermodal Facility would require drilling through 40 feet of bedrock to set support piles. That would put the cost of every parking space added to the deck at about $70,000, Maddox said - a prohibitively expensive price tag.

Maddox cited concerns from the Tuscaloosa Police Department, and Executive Director of Public Safety Brent Blankley explained those to the Thread.

"The city of Tuscaloosa is committed to making Temerson Square as safe as possible for both pedestrians and drivers," he said. "We’ve noticed how congested the area becomes, especially on busy nights when two-way traffic competes with vehicles stopping for rideshare pick-ups and others constantly pulling in and out of parking spaces. This situation can be frustrating not only for drivers but also for pedestrians trying to navigate the area."

Mayor Maddox and councilman Lee Busby said there's no silver bullet to fix this problem, but Blankley believes the proposal given on Tuesday could help.

"To address these issues, we would like to transition Temerson Square to one-way traffic, while designating specific lanes for rideshare and delivery vehicles," Blankley wrote. "We believe these changes will help streamline the flow of cars, reduce bottlenecks, and make it much easier for everyone to get around safely."

On a few occasions, Maddox referenced an incident a few months ago that brought this conversation back to the forefront, and Blankley explained it was a bad situation that could have been worse.

"An equally important part of our plan is to install bollards along the curbs throughout the area. These barriers are designed to protect pedestrians in the event a vehicle accidentally leaves the roadway and mounts the curb. This measure has become even more significant following a recent incident that the mayor referenced," he said. "On November 9th, at around 12:57 am, an intoxicated driver drove onto the sidewalk, striking three pedestrians and knocking over a stop sign. Thankfully, the vehicle was moving slowly, and no injuries were reported, but it serves as a clear reminder of why protective measures are so critical."

The resolution before the council is not to approve or begin construction on the project itself, but will give Duncan Coker $140,000 to design the project for future consideration.

"We have been evaluating ways to improve pedestrian safety and business access in the Temerson Square area. As discussed in yesterday’s Projects Committee meeting, this effort is still in its early stages, and we are seeking Council approval to move into the design phase," Maddox told the Thread. "As that work progresses, we look forward to partnering with business owners to identify a solution that improves safety and eases congestion, while maintaining appropriate parking."

This work would be planned to avoid conflict with the University of Alabama's calendar and to avoid negatively impacting local businesses during football season or spring parent visits.

The work may take place alongside or soon after a transformational project planned for Greensboro Avenue nearby - read about that work here.

For more free coverage of hyperlocal news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.