They say that “special things happen whenever there is a blue moon.” That adage was proven to be true in late March when the very same night as the largest blue moon in over 20 years occurred, the Daphne City Council voted to award the largest amount of road repair funds in recent memory to Lake Forest. To top it off, the bulk of the funds —  close to $3 million — will be utilized to repair the road sub-surface and surface area for the city-maintained thoroughfare of Ridgewood and Bayview drives.    

A crowd of concerned Lake Forest citizens and leaders attended the City Hall meeting to witness the historic occasion. Several times during the meeting our council members’ comments were met with resounding applause from the crowd. The $3 million will come from the $11 million city reserve funds.  No borrowed funds or bond-issue money will be utilized. The city will still maintain a Double AA Bond Rating based on the amount of funds the city will still have in reserve through 2011.  

Led by Derek Boulware and Gus Palumbo, a motion was made to waive the rules to allow the motion to award Lake Forest infrastructure project funds without delay and without waiting another two weeks for a second read. Council President Cathy Barnette allowed the motion, which was supported unanimously by all seven of our city council members. This action cleared the way to award the initial funds immediately to the winning contractor Hoseo O. Weaver and Sons, which will enable a mobilization fast start in May and possible avoidance of conflicts with school traffic. Weekly updates of the road project will be available on the city website.

Since Lake Forest annexed into Daphne in the late 1980s, there has never been a project of this size or scale attempted. The council’s decision to invest in the neighborhood road and drainage system will help to sustain and stabilize the vital Daphne neighborhood for years to come. The bold decision to move the project forward will set the standard for future infrastructure projects that will be accomplished across the city. This is the city’s way of “helping us help them.”

The study of recommendations for what type of repairs to accomplish along the city-owned street corridors in Lake Forest will incorporate some but not every element of “Complete Streets Construction.” Complete Streets infrastructure repairs and retro-fits have projects accessed for the streets’ complete use to include road width, vehicular speed limit, traffic usage and stacking patterns, drainage and watershed control, and pedestrian and biker safety to name a few.

The Lake Forest Road Project for 2011-Phase 1 will improve pedestrian safety by improvements to pavement road stripping; will address vehicular safety by repairing road surface; will improve traffic stacking that occurs often at the intersection of County Rd 13 and Lawson Road; and will improve velocity control of rain water through repairs to medians and other drainage improvements. 

Not every element of Complete Streets will be incorporated.  Currently, there are no plans for improved walkability or trails for pedestrians. This is an area that will require further study to come up with practical workable solutions that will take into account available rights of way and our difficult terrain.  There are not any plans in place to include a bike path solution.

The Bayview- Ridgewood loops were selected due to their thoroughfare nature and due to the daily amount of vehicular traffic and large demographics. Some of the Phase 1 general project specifications and cost include replacing approximately 15 percent of road sub-surface base material, milling and paving for 2.42 miles of road surface. Valley Curb and gutter along these areas will also be added. 

Road repair sections will include .5 miles in the north and south directions along Ridgewood Drive at the Lawson Road East entrance intersection and 1.42 miles of Ridgewood and Bayview starting from the north entrance.  The medians along these sections will be repaired to prevent soil from leaching into the watershed by re-grading and hydro seeding with drought-tolerant hybrid zoysia grass. A new turn lane will be added at the Lawson Road-County Road 13 intersection to offset traffic stacking.  Rivera Utilities is being asked to relocate two power poles that conflict with the Lawson Road egress.  Also considered was a possible roundabout for the Lawson and Ridgewood intersection but there was not enough available right of way to support installation.         

One might ask themselves, “How did the city of Daphne just decide to improve the public infrastructure within Lake Forest?”  Well, it did not happen by accident. The key group of Lake Forest supporters over the years included Tomasina and Peter Warner, George and Kelly Lieb, Henry and Joyce Lawson, Kay and Don Weiman, Jim and Edna Moss, Rebecca Trosclair, Elaine Maxime and me. Over five years ago, with input from the LF Improvement Committee, a presentation that incorporated a Complete Streets solution for Lake Forest was drafted. 

The infrastructure presentation was the initial catalyst for change and investment requests and was adjusted many times throughout the five-year process. The recommendations and perseverance by LFIC team helped to inform city leaders and won over the support of the Lake Forest Property Owners Association, Smart Coast Group and the Baldwin County Trailblazers. After each presentation of our Complete Street Plan, the LFIC team never waivered.  LFIC continued to work toward the goals of a comprehensive infrastructure solution, support from our city leaders and a positive result.    

Much appreciation should also go to our new Public Works Director Richard Johnson and Derek Boulware, District 6 city councilman and Finance Committee leader. Johnson recommended an alternative for Phase 1 Lake Forest repairs to the council that will allow egress to improve at the north and east entrances. Boulware, since coming to office in the 2008 Daphne election, made the Lake Forest infrastructure project one his most important funding agenda items.  Going forward, creative future funding solutions for other phases for the secondary finger roads may have to be worked out. While there will still be more to do, this project will be a great start. 

Hopefully, it will not take another 20 years for the project to be complete.

Victoria Phelps is a Daphne Planning Commission member.