A portion of Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard South is scheduled to change from a one-way street to a two-way street in early March.

Earlier this week, the City of Birmingham Department of Transportation announced its plans to make the conversion between Highland Avenue South to University Boulevard on March 7-8.

“This strategic infrastructure improvement is designed to strengthen connectivity within the district, making it easier for residents, visitors, and businesses to navigate the area.

In addition to improving traffic flow, the project will enhance safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians by creating more intuitive travel patterns and increasing overall visibility along the corridor.”
Birmingham Department of Transportation

Local Five Points South landmarks along the route include:

Birmingham’s Complete Streets policy

According to Darrell O’Quinn, City Council President and Chair of the Birmingham City Council Transportation Committee, one-way streets started in the 1950s to support motorists traveling out of the city to the suburbs.

“In recent times, both our city and cities all over the country have realized that that [one way streets] are harmful to the fabric of our community and our small businesses. What were otherwise slow-moving streets were turned into fast moving thoroughfares catering to people who were just looking to get in and out of the city.”
Darrell O’Quinn, Chair of the Birmingham City Council Transportation Committee

In 2018, Birmingham adopted a Complete Streets ordinance—a policy that redesigns city streets to accommodate not only the movement of vehicular traffic, but pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit users.

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