Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Council President Virginia Smith, seen here in a file photo from a previous council meeting, said the new ordinance was designed specifically with Halbrook Lane and Arundel Drive in mind.
Mountain Brook’s City Council on Monday unanimously passed an ordinance that prevents trucks from using residential streets.
The topic came to light when residents along Halbrook Lane and Arundel Drive voiced concerns over the high volume of cars using the roads.
According to residents, the traffic issues began when construction in 2020 closed Crosshaven Drive in Vestavia Hills, and Halbrook and Arundel were designated as detour routes. Many residents say people continue to use the streets as a cut-through even though the construction was completed in 2021.
The council first took up the issue in late 2022 after residents reached out, and this year they passed a no-through-traffic ordinance and installed corresponding signs in May, placed speed humps on streets on July 18-19 and added chicanes on July 23.
The ordinance passed on Monday amends chapter 50 of the city code, and there were two versions of the ordinance presented to the council.
“Specifically, this ordinance has been drafted in both versions, and it addresses which route within the city trucks should take and, in other words, which routes we do not want them to take,” said Council President Virginia Smith. “We specifically, with respect to that latter part, have mentioned in one draft, Halbrook, Arundel, and Cromwell because this ordinance was drafted with that particular area in mind, even though it affects the entire city.”
The second draft, and the one passed during the meeting, does not specifically list the streets, instead using wording that prohibits trucks from using residential streets not specifically identified as an acceptable route.
City attorney Whit Colvin explained why the amendment to the current code was needed.
“It's squishy,” said Colvin. “When it comes to what you can and can't do, it requires a lot of judgment. The definition is difficult to interpret of what a truck is, and then it pretty much says, ‘You can't go on these certain roads,’ but they don't really relate to our villages. And then it says, ‘but you can, as long as you're going the most direct route, you can still go on these roads.’ So it's very difficult to enforce.”
In deciding what the new ordinance would say, councilmembers consulted traffic engineer Richard Caudle, who spearheaded the traffic studies along Halbrook and Arundel through Skipper Consulting Inc. They also discussed the different definitions of a truck and what would make sense for this scenario.
“We talked about the different classes of trucks and cars, and that's hard to enforce. And we talked about weight and that stuff too,” said Smith. “And then we talked about trucks pulling trailers, and that one started to make it into the ordinance, but we realized that the guy who does your yard may have a truck with a trailer attached that’s a two axle, and he may have a small backhoe on it. So it's tough, and we may end up finding that we have to revise this later on, but we felt like this was a pretty simple, straightforward approach that the [police] chief felt he and his department could get behind and enforce.”
Smith also mentioned that with the approval of the ordinance, they would look to put a map online to help commercial businesses and others figure out available truck routes.
To see other council actions from Monday’s meeting, visit https://www.mtnbrook.org/meetings.
