Public Hearing Meetings
ALDOT will host two public hearings for the Mobile River Bridge project. Officials will be on site to answer questions about the proposed bridge and Bayway widening and solicit comments and concerns from the public. It is very important for as many proponents of a bicycle path to go to these meetings and make their voices heard.
You must sign in to speak (2 min) and all comments must be on ALDOT’s comment form. There will be a court reporter as well.
Public Meetings:
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 – 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Alabama Cruise Terminal
201 S. Water Street Mobile, AL 36602
http://www.shipmobile.com/
Monday, September 29, 2014 – 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Five Rivers Delta Resource Center
30945 Five Rivers Blvd,
Spanish Fort, AL 36527
http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/
For your opinion to count, it must be made in person or via an official comment form (These will be available on http://www.mobileriverbridge.com after the first meeting)
PDF I-10 Bridge Handout
Please use the following PDF as a resource as you sign up to speak.
bridge handout (PDF)
Petition
EIS Full Text
You can review the full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on ALDOT’s project website: http://www.mobileriverbridge.com/documents.html
Common Questions about the Bicycle/Pedestrian path being requested
What are we requesting?: The BPAC petition simply expresses a desire and need for area residents to have a means to cross the Mobile River and requests that ALDOT & the Federal Highway Administration CONSIDER / STUDY including those facilities. The feasibility of such a project in terms of COST or SAFETY would have to be studied by those entities and if deemed infeasible then hopefully alternatives or mitigation would be considered. Dozens of bicycle and pedestrian paths exist on federal highway & interstate bridges (see list below) – safety standards are already developed and this is not a novel concept.
Why should we request it?: The federal government is building the bridge in Mobile to make it easier for people to get through Mobile quickly. The bridge will have some negative effects in Mobile. The bike/ped path is an amenity that they are required by federal law to provide us. If the federal government is going to build this massive structure in Mobile that will last for hundreds of years and be used by our descendants then we need to make sure it is done right and not miss this opportunity.
What benefits will it have?: The path has the potential to provide us the health and economic benefits outlined in the petition, as have happened with the similar Cooper River Bridge in Charleston where 66% of residents say they got more exercise because of the path. Additionally – biking infrastructure has been named the most sought after amenity for educated young people – which our economy needs – when deciding where to move.
What will it be like?: Engineering has yet to be done but it will likely be a concrete barrier SEPARATED bike-pedestrian path. Again – these exist on numerous interstate bridges and have been proven to be safe. ALDOT has said that it will have a 4% grade – equal or less that the Charleston or Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridges. The assertion that only “world class” bikers will be able to use it is easily refuted by talking to an average area biker – not to mention the fact that most people could easily walk it.
Will it delay the bridge? ALDOT has stated in MPO meeting that including the path at this point will not delay the bridge. In fact, NOT including the path will lead to a potential delay – as bridges built with federal funds are required to include consideration of bike-pedestrian facilities (see statute below). Not including them will likely lead to a lawsuit which will only mean more delays. Plus, its inclusion may help to mitigate some of the other potential concerns that would otherwise delay it.
How will it be funded? Funding for the bridge as a whole is yet to be determined, but the bridge is a federal project and will be funded primarily with federal dollars, with a smaller match by ALDOT. There is dedicated federal bike/ped funding for projects like these that can be utilized. If this path is not built then those dollars will simply go to another city. We will NOT get a tax rebate check, unfortunately. Since we are ranked #49 in the nation in bike infrastructure it will likely go to a city that already has better facilities than we do. Mobile has received relatively very little bicycle-pedestrian infrastructure dollars in the past and is already significantly behind most cities.
Change.org petition:
To:
Alabama Department of Transportation
Alabama Department of Transportation
We, the undersigned, ask that bicycle and pedestrian facilities be included in the proposed I-10 bridge over the Mobile River.The Need
• Alabama is ranked 49th in the nation in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, indicating severe deficiencies. Within Alabama, Mobile is has fewer facilities than other cities, with only one on-road bike lane.
• Mobile is ranked 4th in the country in obesity, with a 33.7% rate. Mobile ranks in the bottom of many measures of health and quality-of-life nationally.The Opportunity
• Health and Quality-of-life: The Mobile Bay bikeway could be connected to the planned Three-Mile Creek linear park and Eastern Shore Trail – allowing people from West Mobile to Point Clear a safe avenue to exercise by biking or walking. As an example, 66% of Charleston’s Cooper River Bridge users say they are getting more exercise because of the bridge’s bikeway, and 85% of African American users say they are more active because of the bridge. Over 300,000 people per year now use the bikeway on that bridge.
• Tourism: The bikeway would be challenging enough that it would attract enthusiasts, as well as the offering the general population a spectacular view of the bay.
• Economic Development: Young entrepreneurs and professionals desire amenities such as this in the communities in which they choose to live. Also, bike paths have been shown to increase volume in small businesses along their route – which would be downtown Mobile, the Causeway, and Eastern Shore in this case – as cyclists and pedestrians are more likely to stop and patronize them.Logistics
• Bike paths on Interstate highways or bridges are NOT prohibited by law. In March 2010 the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a policy statement that encourages state DOTs to include biking and walking accommodations on all bridge projects.
• Title 23 United States Code section §217 requires that bridges being built or replaced with federal funds include safe accommodation for bicyclists as long as it does not represent an “excessively disproportionate cost” which FHWA considers “exceeding twenty percent of the cost of the larger transportation project. ”
• There are dozens of examples of interstate or other major bridges with bicycle accommodations: the Woodrow Wilson (I‐95 at the Potomac River), the George Washington Bridge (I‐95 over the Hudson River); I‐90 floating bridge across Lake Washington in Seattle; the Golden Gate Bridge (US 101) in San Francisco; and the Cooper River Bridge (US 17) in Charleston, SC.
• Alabama is ranked 49th in the nation in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, indicating severe deficiencies. Within Alabama, Mobile is has fewer facilities than other cities, with only one on-road bike lane.
• Mobile is ranked 4th in the country in obesity, with a 33.7% rate. Mobile ranks in the bottom of many measures of health and quality-of-life nationally.The Opportunity
• Health and Quality-of-life: The Mobile Bay bikeway could be connected to the planned Three-Mile Creek linear park and Eastern Shore Trail – allowing people from West Mobile to Point Clear a safe avenue to exercise by biking or walking. As an example, 66% of Charleston’s Cooper River Bridge users say they are getting more exercise because of the bridge’s bikeway, and 85% of African American users say they are more active because of the bridge. Over 300,000 people per year now use the bikeway on that bridge.
• Tourism: The bikeway would be challenging enough that it would attract enthusiasts, as well as the offering the general population a spectacular view of the bay.
• Economic Development: Young entrepreneurs and professionals desire amenities such as this in the communities in which they choose to live. Also, bike paths have been shown to increase volume in small businesses along their route – which would be downtown Mobile, the Causeway, and Eastern Shore in this case – as cyclists and pedestrians are more likely to stop and patronize them.Logistics
• Bike paths on Interstate highways or bridges are NOT prohibited by law. In March 2010 the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a policy statement that encourages state DOTs to include biking and walking accommodations on all bridge projects.
• Title 23 United States Code section §217 requires that bridges being built or replaced with federal funds include safe accommodation for bicyclists as long as it does not represent an “excessively disproportionate cost” which FHWA considers “exceeding twenty percent of the cost of the larger transportation project. ”
• There are dozens of examples of interstate or other major bridges with bicycle accommodations: the Woodrow Wilson (I‐95 at the Potomac River), the George Washington Bridge (I‐95 over the Hudson River); I‐90 floating bridge across Lake Washington in Seattle; the Golden Gate Bridge (US 101) in San Francisco; and the Cooper River Bridge (US 17) in Charleston, SC.
Signed:
Adventure Cycling Association
Alabama Bicycle Coalition
Alabama Coast United
Alliance for Biking and Walking
Baldwin County Trailblazers
Lagniappe Editorial Board
League of American Bicyclists
Medical Society of Mobile County
Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Mobile Bay Sierra Club
Mobile Baykeeper
Mobile United
Mobilians on Bikes
National Center for Biking and Walking
Press-Register/al.com Editorial Board
Providence Hospital
SmartCoast
Springhill Medical Center
Team Share the Road
Sincerely,
[Your name]
1 Comment on this Post
Stacey Evans
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I’ve heard many comments about how this bridge is exactly what ‘the young professionals we want to relocate to our area’ would find attractive. Don’t leave out the retirement segment! Retirees seek affordable living in a mild (warm) climate and they expect to have a number of walking and biking venues to utilize. These folks have expendable income beyond a thirty-something year old couple with two children.