Huntingdon’s Future
If you’re a Midtown resident, you very probably are intimately familiar with the blocks of East Fairview between South Court Street and Narrow Lane Road. After all, that 16-block stretch contains some of the area’s most beautiful and stately old homes, the beloved Cloverdale Five Points entertainment district, the entrance to the Montgomery Country Club and not only the gateway to Huntingdon College’s main campus, but also its “Cloverdale annex” and the Charles Lee football facility.
And if you’ve been here in recent weeks, you may have wondered just what’s up with the football field. Seems they’ve dug it all up. Well, I learned at a recent meeting that the field had significant drainage problems they’re now addressing, and they’re adding artificial turf (“prescription turf,” President West called it) to ensure future games are not played in the mud.
Improving the playing surface, it turns out, is like the “tip of the iceberg.” One day in the not-too-distant future, the facility will be expanded to include an IAAF/NCAA-regulation track. It’s a plan so extensive that the field will actually have to be expanded slightly out into Fairview Ave. Those of us at the meeting welcomed that news as we know anything that causes folks to slow down on Fairview is a good thing.
Work on Lee Field is one of a number of great things Huntingdon has planned over the next seven years, and they’re eager to share all the details with you and all Midtown residents. To that end, they invite you to attend a special meeting:
Huntingdon Tomorrow Presentation
Thurday, June 23, 2011
7:00 PM
Ligon Chapel in Flowers Hall
And while we’re on the subject of slowing traffic on Fairview, just in case you’ve missed it: The 4-way red-yellow-green traffic light at the intersection of Fairview and Boultier was converted (on Friday, June 3) to a flashing red light, plus an all-way stop sign. This was done with the knowledge and support of both the neighborhood associations and the merchants along Fairview. It will (and already has) slow traffic significantly, making it possible for pedestrians — particularly the slower elderly and the parents-with-kids-in-tow — to more safely cross the street.
My office window overlooks that intersection. It has been very interesting to observe the change in driver behavior since the changeover. Late on the first day, MPD wrote over 60 warnings to folks — probably driving on autopilot (I do that, don’t you?) — who flew through the flashing red and stop sign. With each passing day, more drivers “get it” and come slowly to a full stop.
And a word to the wise: This week MPD has again been working the intersection late every afternoon. Only now they’re issuing real tickets, not just warnings. So slow down … and stop!
Sandra Nickel has been listing and selling residential real estate for over 29 years, most with an intense focus on Montgomery’s Midtown neighborhoods. Sandra serves on the Mid-Alabama Coalition for the Homeless, the Cloverdale Business Coalition, Historic Southview, the Volunteer and Information Center, Landmarks Foundation and her own neighborhood Garden District Preservation Association.
Thanks for the explanation, Sandra. Let’s see if this works.
Another problem is at the “T” intersection at the entrance to the college. A traffic light shoult be there. Sight lines are difficult, especially when cars are parked on Fairview.
I love my wife, but not enough to let her collect my life insurance for a while!