Mobile City Council advances downtown street-optimization contract amid parking, access concerns

At a June pre-meeting of the Mobile City Council, members discussed implementation details and community concerns for a downtown street-optimization plan and authorized a contract to begin construction work.

The plan, developed after public workshops led by outside consultants, would convert several one-way streets to two-way traffic, add dedicated on-street parking and alter striping and signal layouts. Councilmember (unnamed) said, “there’s been quite a few phone calls about the street optimization plan” from residents and businesses worried about parking and deliveries.

The Downtown Alliance representative (unnamed) and city staff said the concept grew from a study led by urban planner…