GULF SHORES — After residents surrounding Meyer Park voiced their concerns at a previous city council meeting on safety in the Gulf Pines neighborhood after a detour was created to avoid construction of the Gulf Shores pedestrian bridge, the City of Gulf Shores made an announcement last week on safety measures now being implemented in the area.

As previously reported by GCM, traffic changes were put into effect on March 10 when access to East 2nd Street from Canal Road, or State Highway 180, was permanently closed. Detours were created along East 24th Avenue and East 23rd Avenue, which has brought traffic down East 3rd Street to Canal Road, right next to Meyer Park. Residents attended and addressed city council on traffic safety concerns with the detour at the March 24 meeting.

The city's announcement was made by Jon Walker, Gulf Shores' city administrator, at the April 7 council meeting. The city posted the same announcement on its official Facebook page the next day, which sparked comments from Gulf Shores residents.

The Facebook post lists the safety measures implemented and planned including enhanced police presence, signal adjustments at East 2nd Street and East 22nd Avenue, safety modifications at Canal Road and East 3rd Street, directional signage for the East 3rd Street detour, traffic control measures at East 2nd Street and East 24th Avenue, "Local Traffic Only" signs, wayfinding signs "within Waterway Village," parking adjustments on West 22nd Avenue, traffic counters in "critical locations," and a traffic calming study with Jacobs Engineering.

Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said there was a "question" brought up in a previous council meeting concerning resident safety and that "this is a response to that."

Walker said at the meeting, "The city has been closely monitoring the traffic patterns in that area. We have conducted traffic count and analyses in multiple locations."

He mentioned "preliminary findings" on a traffic study of Canal Road between 3rd and 4th streets reveal that about 4,700 fewer cars have been reported driving on that stretch of road since the "removal of the toll at the toll bridge."

Walker continued the announcement, saying despite the speed limit on that section of Canal Road being 45 mph, the "average speed recorded" post-detour was 35 mph.

A new stop sign, which begins the detour, is located at the intersection of Canal Road and East 3rd Street. To slow drivers and alert them of the upcoming stop, grooves have been added previously to Canal Road just ahead of the stop sign.

These traffic findings do not specifically focus on traffic going through the Gulf Pines neighborhood, rather the main highway located next to the community. Outside of 3rd and 4th streets there are four other access points along Canal Road that lead to the detour at East 22nd Avenue.

As previously reported by GCM, residents of the Meyer Park community spoke to Gulf Coast Media on their safety concerns saying drivers are trying to avoid the traffic that has accumulated at the new detour at 3rd Street by cutting through other streets further into the Meyer Park community such as 10th Street, one of the "critical locations" for a traffic counter, and 9th Street.

Walker said at the council meeting, "We have recently conducted traffic counts on East 10th Street and those indicate typical neighborhood traffic volumes, with a 97% compliance rate among drivers adhering to posted speed limits."

A comment on the city's Facebook post reads, "As a resident on E 22nd, I can assure you that vehicles on my stretch do not adhere to the 25 mph speed 9limit. And why would you put a monitoring device on 10th Street a mere 50 ft. from the end of the road? That stretch is NOT where speeding occurs."

Another comment on the post reads, "As a resident on E 22nd Avenue the speeding traffic is going to become a tragedy sooner rather than later. … The new sign on 10th is pretty worthless as the road has gotten nature made speed bumps to keep traffic slower."

Other comments on Facebook ask if a permanent detour "cutting through the Gulf State Park" will be put in place or if the "temporary route" along the Gulf Pines neighborhood is permanent.

"Everyone needs to flood the mayor with letters to encourage the city to move this detour as quickly as possible," another comment reads. "At best, we are looking at 2 to 3 years. If no action is taken, the current detour could remain for 5 to 10 years, or indefinitely."

More comments on Facebook call the detour "shameful" and call for a Gulf Shores "building moratorium ASAP." Another states the detour will be "so fun when June hits." One comment reads, "it's time for Robert Craft to go."

Someone said, "You people need to cool down and think things over. If the state decides we need a third lane over the bridge, which we do, the city cannot stop them. So, blame the state for making these decisions."

Another commenter asks those who are complaining in the comments why they do not attend council meetings to voice their opinions directly.

No comments appear to have been addressed by city staff, but the Facebook post reads, "Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Public Works Department for assistance at 251-968-1962. Together, we can ensure a safer, more accessible community for all."