One group of Gulf Coast citizens wants to help make the Port City a little more pedestrian, bicycle and motorist friendly by making it – of all places – a lot more like New York City.

On one of the warmest days of the past two weeks, members of the Mobile City Council and Mayor Sam Jones listened attentively as Wendy Allen of Smart Coast explained how they could make Mobile streets and outdoor spaces more complete by making them safer and more inviting to all.

A “complete street,” according to Allen, who served as Baldwin County’s first female county commissioner, is one that is designed and operated to be safe, comfortable and convenient for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities.

The complete street concept is achieved by adding grass medians to the center of streets or avenues with as few as four lanes so pedestrians are able to work their way across a roadway in segments instead of an “all or nothing” dash, adding bicycle lanes while also maintaining a safe distance from motorist traffic, and even creating adequate sized spots for the handicapped to wait for public transit.

“By making arrangements to accommodate all of these groups instead of just one, you narrow lanes on streets that are overly wide, which has a few positive effects,” Allen told Lagniappe. “It causes the speed of motorists to go down, and that also brings down the number of traffic accidents.”

Allen says the construction of our roadway system is a testament to an “old mindset,” which shows the value people place on being able to get somewhere quickly, a system Allen says, our current infrastructure doesn’t serve very well or safely.

“It’s the old idea of ‘if you build it they will come,’” Allen said, also noting that most of the large thoroughfares in our area are only busy – as in bumper-to-bumper traffic – for a few hours out of the day.

District 1 Councilman Fred Richardson along with his colleagues from District 6 and 7, Connie Hudson and Gina Gregory respectively, made it clear they’re on board with the idea from the word go.

Richardson noted a street in his district, Mobile Street, would be a perfect candidate for pioneering this system in Mobile.

Gregory noted that all of ALDOT’s projects now include a variation of the “complete street” concept and pointed to two projects currently underway in her district that might fit the bill for further “completion” as well.

“I’ve got the Old Shell widening project going on as well as work going on at Hillcrest,” Gregory said. “I don’t know if Hillcrest would be the most ideal situation at certain points, but that’s just what we’ve got going on right now. University Boulevard could certainly hold some potential.”

Gregory and Hudson both agreed that it’d be great to see a comprehensive study done in order to get a better idea of the scope of work that’s actually doable.

“There’s certainly a lot of support for this idea in District 6,” Hudson said. “That and recycling.”

Subdivision entrances and areas around local parks would be a great starting point, Hudson noted.

“Subdivisions, especially those with longer entrances, would be a feasible place to start in my opinion. I know I’ve had people in Inverness express interest,” Hudson said. “It also might be feasible around the entrances to Medal of Honor Park or more residential streets like Knollwood.”

The concept of “complete” streets might seem to fit more easily within the infrastructure plans for less densely populated areas like Districts 6 and 7, which have more workable land, but Mayor Sam Jones says he can also see the idea taking off with some success closer to downtown.

“Dauphin Street east of Broad certainly won’t work because you’re talking about narrowing a street that’s mostly one lane to begin with. So, when garbage trucks go down the street, you’re talking about closing it completely,” Jones said. “That’s going to cause some serious traffic issues. But we’re looking at the possibilities of what we can do and how we can do it safely.”

South Washington Avenue might have some potential, Jones said.

“We’re looking to do (South) Washington Avenue next. That might be a good candidate,” Jones said. “But then you also have to consider the tanker contract, and if we get that, you certainly don’t want to lose that lane.”

Jones also noted the potential to use the concept on St. Louis Street sometime in the near future, but also noted the cost of making the changes.

“You’re talking about new signals. That’s expensive. Redoing St. Francis Street cost about $300,000 alone,” he said.

Allen said her group isn’t looking for anything more than the consideration of city officials at this point. She plans to meet and further explain her concept, which has been adopted in nearby areas like Chickasaw and Fairhope, with city officials in the coming weeks.

“This is something that will have to be done step by step,” Hudson and Gregory agreed.