Huntsville updates

[DavidH74]

I don't think a pedestrian mall is too far-fetched. Charlottesville, VA is "famed" for their downtown pedestrian-only mall.
That's not a terrible city/situation to compare Huntsville to.

[chris21718]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

It's funny how that guy hijacked that news story to get in a plug for his totally unrelated idea.

Yeah, I found that very odd. I was interested in knowing more about the shooting itself. At least the article had the name of the person who got shot, which the original article on al.com did not. I find it hard to believe that someone shot someone in Crossroads and was not seen or caught. People want to know the motive and who did the shooting. Wouldn't the person who got shot, Kerrick Carson, know the person who shot him if he was arguing with him? Wouldn't anyone else in Crossroads have known about the situation? Are the local media trying to downplay the incident as much as possible by not following up on the story?

I've been to numerous shows at Crossroads and would really appreciate more information about the incident. It may determine whether I go back or not.

Research needs to be done on the "pedestrian downtown" idea and see if it has worked for other cities. Albertville and Boaz blocked off their main streets and one of them (I forget which) converted back to allowing cars a few years back. I wonder how many larger cities have tried it and how it's worked.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

On the flip side, Joe Davis has some positives, the view is nice, the trees are
now mature and look good around the stadium. Plenty of parking but this also hurts it because it is in a sea of gravel and asphalt, pretty good access but still dangerous exiting to the Parkway frontage roads. If a new stadium is built on this site it will still need to be piece of a bigger creative development, as if it were downtown.
Prentice was against doing anymore improvements, they are short term and really won't solve the problems. It sounds like some serious proposals and plans will be brought to the table over the next year.

I know the owner says he wants a new stadium where the current one is but that's only as a friendly gesture to save the city a few million to relocate. However, if a third part gets involved or the Brewers offer to finance a portion of it with guarantees to play some exhibition games here then it very well could be built downtown. IMO, the only logistical and ideal place would be where coca cola and the searcy projects are located across from the VBC. It would be walking distance to the VBC, the Big Spring park, and Constellation. It would generate a lot of revenue being in downtown for the city and much, much mroe than where the current stadium is located. And IMO I think this is what Battle will want in the end, even if it costs a few million extra to do.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Bids taken this week by the city for the Buffalo Soldiers monument to be
erected at Cavalry Hills. The statue was done by Mobile artist Casey Downing
I think, and features a soldier on a large bronze horse. Should be nice.
Actually it seems the statue is complete, this will be for the large base and surrounding landscape work to mount the statue on.

Buffalo Soldier was the name American Indians gave to the black cavalry soldiers they encountered during the Indian wars in the Old West.

Thousands of soldiers, including many Buffalo Soldiers, camped here from fall 1898 until early 1899 at the former Cavalry Hill School site, now the Academy for Academics and Arts magnet school.

Reeves General Contractors last week was awarded an $86,479 contract to build a polished black granite base for a Buffalo Soldier statue tucked away inside the Academy for Academics and Arts magnet school.

The statue will be moved to a spot on the school's lawn, where thousands of Buffalo Soldiers returning from the Spanish-American War camped in 1898-99.

Also at last Thursday's City Council meeting, the council agreed to continue leasing the old Councill High School on St. Clair Avenue to the school's alumni association.

Graduates of the city's first public school for black students, which closed in 1966, hope to restore the decaying building into a community center with an auditorium, restaurant, music instruction areas and classrooms.
(This school is downtown tucked in beside the the main library, it's in pretty bad shape)

It's been a long road for the Buffalo Soldier statue.

City leaders approved the project in the late 1990s and paid Mobile artist Casey Downing about $46,000 to create a bronze likeness of a soldier riding a horse. The statue sat in storage until early 2005, when it was moved to a glass display case inside the Academy for Academics and Arts on Poplar Avenue.

By this fall, the statue will get a more visible home atop a 10-foot-tall granite base. Markers will tell the story of the Buffalo Soldiers who camped on Huntsville's Cavalry Hill while recuperating from wounds and illness.
HSV Times

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by DavidH74

I don't think a pedestrian mall is too far-fetched. Charlottesville, VA is "famed" for their downtown pedestrian-only mall.
That's not a terrible city/situation to compare Huntsville to.

I know we are pinning a lot of hopes on Constellation here but I think it is supposed to have a pedestrian mall feel that connects up to a green way on one end and could possibly connect to a new ballpark area on the other.

Other than that, I have a hard time thinking of good candidate streets to make pedestrian only.

I miss the Whitesburgh Drive-In. Denver has a drive-in that I enjoyed. Maybe the city could build one and then lease it to one of the local theaters...

[HSVTiger]

ALDOT reverts to it's old ways, kill any economic stimulus, hold cities hostage and dispute projects with the threat of major delay in construction.
You can probably bet this project won't happen

By Keith Clines
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Blake Bottom work should be on city's tab, agency insists

The Alabama Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the coding in the state transportation plan that shows the state paying for a Blake Bottom Road overpass at Research Park Boulevard is wrong. ALDOT said the coding should be changed to show the City of Huntsville as the source to pay for the overpass.

ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris on Tuesday said that agency Director Joe McInnes sent a letter to Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong earlier this month explaining that the designation of state money to pay for the overpass is a mistake.
Strong argues that the city had no authority to reach an oral agreement with the state to move the Blake Bottom overpass money to the extension project because none of the Blake Bottom intersection is in the city.

The area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a group of local leaders who adopt long-range transportation plans, included the Blake Bottom overpass in the transportation improvement plan, but incorrectly designated the money to come from the state instead of from Huntsville, McInnes said in the July 8 letter.

McInnes wrote that "as you know, funding for this overpass is Huntsville's responsibility" and that the "MPO should change this designation."

The state plans to extend the limited-access portion of Research Park Boulevard past Alabama 53 and build an overpass over Alabama 53. But the project does not include a Blake Bottom overpass.

McInnes said the Blake Bottom overpass would add $8 million to the cost. State officials have also said that adding the overpass would mean a delay of at least a year for the design plans to be redrawn.
The state could begin building the limited-access extension of Research Park Boulevard this year if the county agrees to contribute $750,000 to the cost over two years. The city has agreed to supply $750,000, and ALDOT will supply $1.5 million.

McInnes said in his letter that if the county doesn't approve the $750,000 by Sept. 1, the state will reschedule the $24 million project.

ALDOT said earlier this year that it was moving the project from 2012 to June 2009.

[jmanhsv]

^I really don't see the need for a Blake Bottom overpass, especially if it's going to delay construction of the 53 interchange (which it already has; as noted in the article, it was supposed to be bid on last month, now probably delayed until late 2010, thanks to the Madison County Commission). I know it's an unsafe intersection, but are the traffic counts there high enough to warrant one, instead of just making everyone turn right on the service road and U-turn at the next exit? Like most road projects in this state, it sounds politically motivated rather than demand-motivated. I bet Dale Strong has some land around the Blake Bottom intersection he wants to develop.

In other news, Huntsville has ranked #1 again, but you won't see this one on a billboard. We had the highest domestic airfares out of the 100 largest airports in the country in the first quarter of 2009, beating Cincinatti, which had been #1 for over 2 years.

[HSVTiger]

You are probably right about the land, the county should let this one slide and
get the construction going now. Better something than nothing and it would keep goodwill between Aldot and the county/city. Sometimes you have to weigh the cost versus the benefit. Just do something!!

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by jmanhsv

In other news, Huntsville has ranked #1 again, but you won't see this one on a billboard. We had the highest domestic airfares out of the 100 largest airports in the country in the first quarter of 2009, beating Cincinatti, which had been #1 for over 2 years.

If it was expanded beyond the top 100 largest airports, I have no doubt MGM would hold this dubious honor...

[David1502]

Originally Posted by jmanhsv;4380892
In other news, Huntsville has ranked #1 again, but you won't see this one on a billboard. We had the [URL="http://www.bts.gov/programs/economics_and_finance/air_travel_price_index/html/table_12.html"

highest domestic airfares[/URL] out of the 100 largest airports in the country in the first quarter of 2009, beating Cincinatti, which had been #1 for over 2 years.

This shows more reason than ever for the Airport Authority to pull out all the stops and secure a deal with AirTran. The previous low fare airlines they recruited, Independence Air (which had service only to their Washington Dulles hub) and Allegiant Air (which provided three day a week service to Orlando/Sanford Airport) were not attractive to business travelers who need low fare service to both East and West Coast destinations. Who wants to fly north and east to Washington to make a connection to fly south and west to L.A.?

AirTran's Atlanta hub can provide low fare connecitons to practically all of the business destinations and there is a good chance they would provide direct nonstop service to Washington and Orlando from HSV. Without AirTran there is little hope for lower fares at HSV.

[HSVTiger]

It's hard to figure out why AirTran doe not serve Huntsville..yet.A strong economic community with an excellent airport, the second busiest in the state,
(over 1 million passengers last year)
Wedged between two Southwest destinations, it could compete strongly against them without actually being in those cities. The Airport Authority is constantly working at improving service and AirTran is and has been high on the list. Right now every airport in the country is facing cutbacks in flights
and or reduced number of seats due to using smaller aircraft. Independence quit because the whole airline went out of business and Allegiant had customer service issues but they now seem to have gotten better. They too should add HSV back on their list. AirTran recently started service to Knoxville and Asheville. They also use ITC Deltacom a Huntsville based company.
According to the multi-year agreement, ITC DeltaCom will provide toll free and outbound services for AirTran Airways's three Georgia-based reservation centers and its corporate headquarters. In the meantime people that fly can usually get cheaper Huntsville flights if they are flexible in schedule and long lead time. These two sites help and they will alert you to good fares. New nonstops to Chicago begin in September on United.

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/

http://www.huntsvillehotticket.com/

[eno312]

Originally Posted by OCA REP

If it was expanded beyond the top 100 largest airports, I have no doubt MGM would hold this dubious honor...

Does anyone know where there is a list of the 100 largest airports? I tried googling it but I couldn't find a list.

[jmanhsv]

Originally Posted by eno312

Does anyone know where there is a list of the 100 largest airports? I tried googling it but I couldn't find a list.

This FAA site has rankings for both passenger enplanements and cargo (landed weight). FYI, Huntsville is 108th on the former, 67th on the latter.

http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I find it odd how the FAA lists things, and the rest of the federal government for that matter. Pryor Field is listed in Mooresville... of course, that's just me being the proud Decaturite

[eno312]

Originally Posted by jmanhsv

This FAA site has rankings for both passenger enplanements and cargo (landed weight). FYI, Huntsville is 108th on the former, 67th on the latter.

http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/

Thanks for the link. I don't know why I didn't think of the FAA myself.http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/images/icons/icon11.gif
I was really surprised at the huge gap between Huntsville and Mobile and Montgomery. I think Huntsville could close the gap with Birmingham a little bit if AirTran or another low cost airline were to start service here.

[ThatGuy]

Any news on new buildings for Providence?

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

Any news on new buildings for Providence?

Don't have any news but would like to see them expand it. It's too small for a such an upscale development.

[HSVTiger]

Light Rail news, the idea is good but will be a hard sell. Since road improvements are decade long projects I would hope this idea would be approved for a "study". The plan has flaws, like if I drive 20 minutes
to get on the train for the last 10 minutes doesn't make much sense.
I would much rather see stations in Hazel Green, Chase, and Decatur.
Then you drive 5 minutes to the train and ride the remaining 30 or so.
A link downtown would be a major catalyst for new development there, especially residences. Bridge Street as in this plan would be the main transfer station. In the meantime these 1960's era roadways will be just fine

By Yvonne Betowt
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Plan to link cities, county, Arsenal would cut traffic

MADISON - Doug Gooch just wants everyone to get on board - literally and figuratively.

Gooch, a native of Madison County and longtime resident of Madison, has been working for three years to get local officials to approve a study of a light rail system that would connect parts of Huntsville and eventually Madison and places in Madison County to Redstone Arsenal.

He knows he needs all three public entities - Huntsville, Madison and Madison County - to agree to support it, along with Redstone Arsenal officials.

He went before the Madison City Council to enlist its support for a feasibility study for a light rail system that he says will take thousands of cars off the roads leading to Redstone Arsenal.

"For it to be effective, it will involve all of us," Gooch said. "If Redstone will commit to a percentage of their folks using it, we can get folks to build it."

The study and design, he said, will be funded through the federal stimulus bill under the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) at 100 percent, and the construction will receive 50 percent funding. He expects to have private businesses pick up the other 50 percent, eliminating the cost for any of the three public entities.

"It will show less dependence on the cars, and we won't have to build and maintain as many roads," Gooch told the council members. "We have the catalyst and economic engine to take 600 people every 12 minutes to and from the Arsenal as compared to one car every 30 to 45 minutes. The rail corridors are already in place."

Gooch said one in five vehicles comes from outside Madison County and many people "cut through" Madison en route to the Arsenal. He said a light rail system would help alleviate some of the traffic congestion along the incoming roads such as County Line and Wall-Triana Highway.

[HSVTiger]

Approx 52,000 students are back in school in the three Madison County systems.

Across the city, about 23,000 students started class Monday. About 9,000 started in Madison, and another 20,000 in Madison County went back to school.

[HSVTiger]

Airport news, many don't realize that AirTran used to fly to Huntsville years ago.

Recently cited for having the costliest air fares of any airport in the country, the board that runs Huntsville International Airport voted today to apply for a grant to recruit a low-fare carrier.
In some good news, the Huntsville Madison County Airport Authority heard that the 11-month streak of declining airline passengers at the airport stopped in July.
The airport has had three low-fare carriers over the years, but the longest any of them operated here was about 16 months.
Airlines control fares, primarily, based on what the market will bear, he said. Huntsville's economy is doing better than the country's as a whole, and the airlines don't have to cut prices as much here as elsewhere, Executive Director Rick Tucker said.

Allegiant Air ended service here in May 2008 after less than a year, Independence Air operated here from October 2004 to January 2006, and AirTran was here from October 1994 to May 1995.

In other business, Tucker reported that commercial airline passenger traffic in July increased 1.4 percent over July 2008. The passenger count in July was 115,460, up from 113,896 the previous July.
HSV Times