Beach Walking District Improvements

The Beach Walking District is one of the City’s five action items in our Vision 2025 Strategic Plan and was envisioned “as a walkable, energetic beachfront district that will attract tourism, stimulate local businesses and encourage business and residential relocation”. Some of the Beach Walking District’s key goals of our Vision 2025 Strategic Plan that will be achieved through this project are:

Quant, Landscaped Boulevards…
Construct a Beachfront that is pedestrian and bike friendly with access to beachfront dinning, shopping and entertainment…
Rejuvenate the face of our community by enriching the experience to live, work, play…
Take advantage of the Gulf Place Public Beach…

Multi-Faceted Improvements

Public Stormwater System

Improve drainage, water quality, and reduce runoff pollutants permits redevelopment in the desired form.

Vehicular Circulation

Extension of West 2nd Avenue to West 2nd street to Improve Street Grid
Turn lanes and traffic signal at 2nd Avenue and HWY 59
Narrower travel lanes with new paving and striping

Pedestrian Circulation

New, wider sidewalks to connect people to businesses, neighborhoods, and public spaces
Pedestrian bulbouts and crosswalks at intersections to decrease crossing distances
Pedestrian signal upgrades at 2^nd Avenue and HWY 59

Landscaping and Streetscaping

Street Trees and landscaping throughout
Decorative paving
Pedestrian amenities such as benches, wayfinding signage, bike racks, and pedestrian-scaled lighting

On-street Parking

Provides direct access to businesses
Serves as traffic calming, buffering pedestrians from vehicular travel lanes

Timeline

October 2020 through December 2022.

Budget

Total Cost: $8.5MM
Grant & Other Funding: $2.3MM
City Match: $6.2MM

City Contact

Mark Acreman, City Engineer
(251) 968-6583
macreman@gulshoresal.gov