Florence Propses Veterans Drive Corridor Study

FLORENCE– On Tuesday, September 21 the City of Florence Council approved a contract with Ross/Fowler P.C. to provide a study of the Veterans Drive Corridor. The project will address transportation, land use, and urban design components for the portion of the corridor beginning at the Helton Drive overpass to the intersection of Cox Creek Parkway.

The Veterans Drive corridor serves a multitude of roles including a gateway into the City, access to North Alabama Medical Center, and home to many long-time residents. The area also encompasses River Heritage Park and Patton Island Overlook both nodes of the River Heritage Trail currently under construction with a completion date of June 2022. District 3 Council Member Bill Griffin emphasized, “We have a new hospital at one end, and the Marriott of the Shoals at the other.  I am looking forward to seeing the traffic issues addressed, and a master plan that reflects the new private investments in the district.”

Florence Planning Director Melissa Bailey explained, “The Veterans Corridor Study serves to address visibility, aesthetics,

Melissa Bailey

connectivity, and neighborhood vitality. Stakeholders will be consulted in a series of public engagement to define overall goals and objectives ultimately resulting in policies, programs, and projects to create a more inviting and safe Veterans Drive.”

Background Information:

The Veterans Drive Corridor has experienced significant changes in several areas and occupies a unique position in the City. In 2002, the Patton Island Bridge – later dedicated as Singing River Bridge – opened, forming a new Tennessee River crossing approximately 1 mile west of Wilson Dam. The bridge was the first project completed as part of the Patton Island Corridor. As a result, State Route 133 shifted to this new six-lane super-structure.  The final extension of the project, from Huntsville Road to Helton Drive, opened on October 16, 2008, including the opening of an overpass and interchange at the intersection with Florence Boulevard. The highway is six lanes from the bridge north to Helton Drive at its intersection with Hermitage Drive.

The corridor and surrounding neighborhood setting require the examination of diverse yet interrelated issues such as:

• The mix of vehicular traffic volumes, anticipated future high pedestrian volumes, and excessive speed in the Veterans Drive Corridor is a problem.

• Since 2015, motor vehicle accidents have significantly increased, including a fatality in 2018. Four pedestrians have been struck by a motor vehicle in the same period. Speeding, including reckless driving, remains an issue as well.

• Major Changes in Land Use

• Proposed development along Veterans Drive
• Future hospital expansions
• Potential housing developments
• Veterans Drive frontage
• Harmony/cohesiveness to Sweetwater District

• Transportation

• Through traffic – S. Cox Creek Parkway (AL 133) and Helton Drive (AL 157)
• Local traffic – Street/driveway connections, deliveries, and other traffic generators
• Bicycle and pedestrian usage (potentials, routes, requirements, volumes)
• Connections to the River Heritage trail

• Urban Design

• Corridor visual quality – overhead utilities, signage, pedestrian focus, street trees
• Gateway to the city
• Block structure, alley system, parking

• Mixed use development focus

• Architectural control
• Historic preservation/conservation

Florence Planning Director Melissa Bailey shared, “The ultimate goal of planning is to maximize the health, safety, and economic well-being of all people living in our communities. The best method for achieving lasting value is through a systematic approach informed by data and citizen engagement to first create a vision, second set goals, third devise policies, programs, and projects, and fourth allocate resources to move the community toward fulfillment of those goals.  The Veterans Drive Corridor Study uses this approach. The question is not if growth will occur, but rather how it will occur: compact and orderly or sprawled and uncoordinated. The purpose of planning is to provide the means to manage change in the developed, undeveloped, and redeveloped environment so that communities get what they want rather than take what they get.”

Media Release/Rachel Mansell/City of Florence