This map outlines the proposed one-way sections of Sparkman and Sycamore streets.| Special to the Enquirer

If the Hartselle City Council votes tonight as the discussion went Monday night at the work session, people traveling through and around downtown Hartselle are in for changes.

The Hartselle City Council will vote tonight at 7 p.m. on proposed changes to downtown streets. The major impact will change traffic flow on two streets in the downtown area from two-way to one-way, changing access to Main Street.

The Alabama Department of Transportation funded a study recently seeking ways to address the problem of traffic congestion in downtown Hartselle with the intent to help with both auto and pedestrian traffic. Sain Engineering Associates conducted the field study and came back with recommendations for the council, which Mayor Don Hall presented at Monday’s work session for the council’s final review.

Option One consists of resetting timers on the traffic lights at the intersection of Main and Sparkman streets, as well as the traffic signal at the intersection of Main and Sycamore. The traffic lights would be radio controlled to keep traffic signals from East and West held on red when a train is passing through and held on green from North and South. This would allow north and southbound traffic at both intersections to continue flowing during the time traffic is stopped for the train. East and westbound Main Street traffic would be held by the signal until the train has passed.

Option Two includes the same changes as Option One with added changes to traffic flow on Sparkman and Sycamore Streets. Sparkman Street would become one-way headed North from Hickory Street to Chestnut Street, and Sycamore Street would become one-way headed South from Chestnut Street and East where it loops back around to Sparkman Street.

Southbound traffic on Sparkman would be no longer travel past Chestnut to reach Main. The traffic would instead be routed East on Chestnut and then would be able to turn south onto Sycamore and could then enter Main in either direction or follow Sycamore beside E.A.R.T.H. Park to what is now the traffic light at the intersection of Sparkman and Hickory.

The traffic lights at the intersections of Sparkman and Chestnut streets and Sparkman and Hickory streets will be removed with the intersections becoming a four-way stop and either a three-way stop or a two-way stop, respectively.

Main Street would continue to stay two-way in both options.

The current signals at both locations are out of date and would cost more than $200,000 each to replace. The study shows it is not needed at either crossing.

ALDOT recommended the more extensive option be implemented.

Council president Bill Smelser said that he had not talked with anyone who wanted one-way streets and thought the council should stick with option one and remove the outdated traffic signals. He suggested the council not change traffic flow to one-way on the two streets.

Councilmen Tom Chappell felt they should follow the study’s guidelines.

“We asked for help, and the state paid for the study by professional engineers,” Chappell said. “We should go with what the study calls for and implement the complete plan.”

Councilman Ken Doss agreed with Chappell. He said the engineers were the experts, and the council should go with the recommendation and implement the one-way street options as well. Councilman Kenny Thompson also thought the council should go with the experts. Hall said he approved the engineers’ recommendation as well.

Owner of Adventures Unlimited in downtown Hartselle Fred Smith said Tuesday morning that he greatly opposed the one-way streets.

“I have been a merchant here for 40 years, and the one-way streets would kill business in downtown,” Smith said. “The best traffic movement is when power is out and we have four-way stops. The council is trying to get traffic out of town, and the merchants want to keep the traffic in town.

“Bridge Street in Huntsville has an eight-lane four-way stop that also has pedestrian crossing, and they have no problems, so we should be fine with our four lanes,” Smith said.

By the end of the discussion, the council had generally shown they would vote in favor of implementing the suggested options Tuesday evening at their meeting.