This column is a guest opinion piece.
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Eric Thomas is the guest columnist for today.
It has been in my ears for years.
If only there were a river in Birmingham.
Without water, Birmingham could never be a popular tourist destination.
After years of contemplation, I began my investigation on this topic.
After reading guest columnist Eva Dillard’s piece, “Birmingham could have had a river walk,” I was astounded to learn that a similar idea had previously been put forth.
The designs would definitely need to be changed given the way Birmingham and its suburbs have evolved over time, but I believe that revitalizing Village Creek and making it cleaner and more accessible to today’s metro area residents would be fantastic for our area.
However, it’s not a bad idea to imagine a body of water energizing the area. As Mrs. Dillard’s piece points out, research has actually demonstrated that it is a fantastic concept. For both Texans and their numerous visitors, the San Antonio Riverwalk is undoubtedly a popular destination.
Birmingham’s city center is distinctive because it lacks a river in the conventional sense, but rather has a river in the form of multiple train tracks that run east and west across the town, dividing the Northside from the Southside. This has resulted in a large space that is occasionally difficult to look at due to its lack of aesthetic appeal.
Near the end of the Hugh Kaul trail that goes down 1st Ave S is the ideal location to begin a man-made canal. At 38th Street S, the canal would start at the end of the paved path heading east. It would continue into the middle of the road until it reached 41st Street in Avondale. After that, the canal would make a right turn and go to Avondale Park along the middle of the roadway.
The distance would be just under a mile. All the way to 41st St., 2nd Ave. S. would need to be blocked off to traffic and anything larger than a golf cart. For 5th Ave. S (near the park) and 3rd Ave. S (Highway 78), viaducts would need to be constructed across two streets on 41st St.
King Spring, which flowed this precise course from Avondale Park north towards the Railroad before being blocked off and paved over in the 1930s, may be reconnected to the canal, which would have a built-in reservoir in the form of the lake at Avondale Park.
In 2011, as Avondale Park was being renovated, the spring was discovered. A short distance from the slope to the park’s lake, visitors may now observe the water flowing. This initiative has the potential to elevate the region to a level comparable to Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Canal.
Avondale is already regarded as a hip, trendy area with a diverse range of establishments, eateries, breweries, and exciting entertainment venues. With careful planning and the correct mix of businesses, this project might become one of the most popular destinations in the South. Bourbon Street is in New Orleans, and Beale Street is in Memphis. Atlanta has a million variants of Peachtree Street in addition to everything else.
Birmingham would have a Spring Street again. On the first day of spring, we may have the Spring Street Festival. Or the Broil of Spring Street Crawfish. City Stages has been revitalized. There are countless options for organizing regional events.
What would the price of something like this be? How are we going to pay for it? How long would it take to complete? Who would manage and keep it up?
The cost would be about $37.5 million if the Spring Street Canal were to be built, using the Bricktown Canal in Oklahoma City as an example, which is nearly identical. corresponding to the $23 million that was spent in 1999 to bring the Bricktown Canal to reality.
We might finance it through a private-public partnership that incorporates federal, state, and local funds. The new Pinhook Creek skybridge project in Huntsville has been awarded $47.3 million in federal financing. That project, which will cost $65 million in total, will undoubtedly change the game for Huntsville and its residents.
After all the funding is obtained, the property and right of way are acquired, the engineering is completed, and the drawings are created, it may be constructed in less than two years. The Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board, another fantastic addition to our expanding lists of excellent parks and venues in the area, would be in charge of its upkeep.
For the benefit of this city, this region, and ourselves, let’s take a bold and unconventional approach.
The effects of the canal on Oklahoma City are demonstrated on the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce website:
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The total market value of properties nearly doubled between 2009 and 2017 a gain of $1.88 billion which exceeds the $1.8 million expended by the City on all MAPS programs to date
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Population in downtown grew by 20.8 percent, adding 2,200 new residents
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The rate of population growth is twice the average for the county, and three-times the average for the state
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More than 9,000 jobs were added, and growth far surpassed levels in the county, metro and state
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Visitation/participation in the downtown area has increased from nearly 6.5 million in 2003 to more than 11 million annually in 2017
Over the past 15 years, we’ve enjoyed some incredible victories:
Regions Field, Uptown, Railroad Park, The Rotary Trail, etc. The renaissance shouldn’t be stopped.
Let’s continue, promoting development and vitality for our area for many years to come.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Eric Thomas attended the city’s public school system. He resides in Adamsville, is married, and has two children. He is a certified run coach who works in telecommunications and likes to spend his free time traveling to races.
ComebackTown was founded and is published by David Sher. He formerly served as Chairman of the City Action Partnership (CAP), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA).
Ask David to come to your organization and give a free talk about how we can make metro Birmingham more successful. Comebacktown.com/dsher.
