Hoover to fund new traffic study after residents urge removal of Inverness Center Drive curb cut

Hoover officials said the city will order and pay for a new traffic study after residents of Inverness told the City Council and staff they want a proposed access point from Inverness Center Drive removed from plans for a large commercial development.

The study, city staff said, will include new traffic counts (expected in late August–early September per staff comments) and a review of how eliminating the curb cut would affect Inverness Center Drive and nearby Valleydale Road (County Road 17). Blake, a city transportation staff member, told residents: "We are prepared to order this traffic study, pay for this traffic study." The study will be shared with Shelby County because Valleydale is maintained by the county.

Why it matters: neighbors — including two largely age-restricted communities — said a new access point will bring more vehicles and delivery trucks past walking paths and blind spots, raising safety concerns for older residents who use the sidewalk network. Gary Kitchen, who identified himself as a Danbury Cottages resident, said the retirement communities are "average over 80" and asked, "If your parents were…