ALDOT to present proposals for traffic light changes

The City of Hartselle will have a public input meeting in January to review three proposals to improve the traffic flow in downtown.

Mayor Don Hall said the meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20 with an inclement weather date for Jan. 22. Hall said he plans to present the three proposals to the community.

Hall said these plans were developed from the traffic study performed earlier this year.

While he didn’t want to discuss specifically what the options are at this time, he did indicate that all three options will include pedestrian crossing signals.

“Technically, we have four options,” Hall said. “We have these three proposals. The fourth option is to do nothing, and that’s not really an option. We need to do something.”

The changes will affect the two traffic signals on Alabama 36 and would include an override to alter the traffic pattern when the railroad crossing is active. Department of Development Director Jeff Johnson said previously that he hoped that ALDOT would include tying in traffic signals on Sparkman Street at Hickory and Chestnut streets.

However, Hall said the Alabama Department of Transportation will not fund traffic signal improvements at those intersections.

“If we wanted to include them, the city would have to fund that part of it,” Hall said. “However, the ultimate solution would be to complete the Highway 36 bypass, but that will take years to be completed.”