The Next Atlanta (Birmingham, Hoover, Southside: neighborhood, school districts, gated community)

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by PortCity

^^^ This could be a factor but it is an ignorant one.It was the 60`s come on !!!!

People still assume that Pittsburgh is some ****hole with carcinogens in the air even though David L. Lawrence was elected mayor on his "Smoke Must Go!" platform back in 1948. I'll repeat that: 1948. Or, if that's not their assumption, then they just assume that everybody in Pittsburgh is collecting unemployment; never mind that unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh MSA has been below the national average for 50 consecutive months now, 1% or more below the national average for 29 of the last 30 months, and hasn't been 1% or more above the national average since 1988. So depending on the individual ignoramus's perspective, his or her perception of Pittsburgh either predates rock and roll or predates the internet. Ignorance is bliss.

[PortCity]

^^^ Very true.

[brent6969]

Originally Posted by blue_haze

It's so sad Birmingham is one of the only major southern sunbelt cities to b losing population.

That was I was saying, it is very similar to a rust belt town.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by blue_haze

It's so sad Birmingham is one of the only major southern sunbelt cities to b losing population.

Take a look at the numbers. Birmingham proper has lost 12% of its population, while the metro area as a whole grew a meager 7%. So where did that 12% go?. I would wager that over half only moved to the burbs, while the rest elsewhere. If that is true, the 7% metro growth could of only came from Inner-metro migration, not from people moving in from other areas of the state and country.

Even with higher gas prices, etc, people are still flocking to the suburbs. Also people's attitude play a large part in this. People still for some sick reason see Birmingham as a crime ridden dump, with the majority of the population on government assistance, and other media driven images. Meanwhile their next door neighbor in (fill in the blank) subdivision might be on food stamps, or on the next block someone might be selling cocaine, meth, etc, etc which in turn will lead to more crime.

Point is no matter how far you go, you cant run from the ills of our society, and to lump it all in one place is out right ridiculous.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

So what kind of infrastructure needs would you rather the money and time be focused on?. Light rail and HSR dont have the support area wide, but spending the money on existing infrastructure would be a great idea, but what can you do with the 4.3 billion dollars you would of spent with the Northern Beltline. The reconstruction of malfunction junction would obviously be the highest priority in my opinion.

The reasoning behind the Northern Beltline in the first place is to route commercial traffic around the city. This also could be a toll road project, it would be completed in half the time or less.

Aren't we trying to make Birmingham a distribution center? Why do we want trucks to go around it, except to improve communting time for people to drive from farther away from the city to their jobs?
I would rather we save the 4.3 billion. There's a budget war going on, and that's quite a bit.
If I had some imaginary 4.3 billion for infrastructure, a very broad term, I could spend it on a million things, but that wouldn't happen. If you're talking about transportation infrastructure, which I agree in this state means roads, first and foremost would be to repair existing infrastructure. People forget that costs keep incurring after you've built it.
Other "infrastructure" needs are abundant. Education and energy production and distribution probably being the most important (and far more important than building more roads in today's economy). We've built our roads to prosperity in the past, but intercity and rural auto access isn't much of an issue for most places any more.

[bluebeard]

Toll roads are interesting, IF and only IF the company pays and finances all construction and future upkeep of the road.

Also, I believe the road is largely being financed from a pot of money available to many regions, and we are fighting for it. Maybe they have better projects?

[NorthDeKalb]

Not to sound like negative Nelly, but why would Birmingham need a northern beltline? The bulk of the population, shopping, best schools, best neighborhoods etc is south- hence the 459 corridor. It just seems wasteful IMO. That money should be used to gentrify some of the inner city ghetto's that continue to rot away unattended.

They really need to focus on projects that will enhance Birmingham's core because as it stands, there's no draw- nothing to keep residents from moving to the southern burbs.

[frank90]

I heard Birmingham was exploding with growth. After all the city is the third largest financial center.
I also here skyscrapers are being built.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by ATL_Aficionado

Not to sound like negative Nelly, but why would Birmingham need a northern beltline? The bulk of the population, shopping, best schools, best neighborhoods etc is south- hence the 459 corridor. It just seems wasteful IMO. That money should be used to gentrify some of the inner city ghetto's that continue to rot away unattended.

They really need to focus on projects that will enhance Birmingham's core because as it stands, there's no draw- nothing to keep residents from moving to the southern burbs.

Because people want to recreate the southern suburbs on the northern side and continue to empty the city. Since I like to live and work in the same town rather than waste my life commuting, sounds pretty awesome to me.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

Aren't we trying to make Birmingham a distribution center? Why do we want trucks to go around it, except to improve communting time for people to drive from farther away from the city to their jobs?
I would rather we save the 4.3 billion. There's a budget war going on, and that's quite a bit.
If I had some imaginary 4.3 billion for infrastructure, a very broad term, I could spend it on a million things, but that wouldn't happen. If you're talking about transportation infrastructure, which I agree in this state means roads, first and foremost would be to repair existing infrastructure. People forget that costs keep incurring after you've built it.
Other "infrastructure" needs are abundant. Education and energy production and distribution probably being the most important (and far more important than building more roads in today's economy). We've built our roads to prosperity in the past, but intercity and rural auto access isn't much of an issue for most places any more.

Birmingham can be a distribution center and have a full bypass around the city (example: Atlanta, and eventually Charlotte). Like it or not the burbs in the Western and Northern part of the county want to have the opportunity to have successful growth like Hoover for example. Until the central city can turn itself around, people are going to flee to the suburbs. So why not have the infrastructure in place to accommodate possible future growth.

Birmingham proper already has the infrastructure in place to handle a large population increase. For that to happen, things like better leadership, better public/private relationships, and massive education reform are good places to start to attract newcomers and those who fled to the burbs.