Mountain Brook, Alabama

prevent some of the congestion is a roundabout. The engineering and design are underway and we’re looking forward to starting that project in another two years.” Meanwhile, Gaston reports that Mountain Brook is also intent on tying its various neighborhoods and village centers together as much as possible, while also providing the types of amenities that keep residents out on the streets and out of their cars, altogether. “We started putting together a Master Sidewalk plan in ’93-94, and we have 45 miles of sidewalks and walking trails, linking all of our churches, schools, parks, and commercial areas,” he states. “And we’ve got two or three other sidewalk projects that we hope to do. Plus, in our commercial areas, about 20 years ago, we added decorative street lights, new sidewalks, streetscape furniture, potted flowers, and light pole banners.” The city also recently built a pedestrian bridge on the part of the Jemison Park Nature Trail that traverses Shades Creek. In a bid to keep the community as green and sustainable as possible, all the decorative street lights that Gaston mentioned have been converted to LED. “Also, we usually have the highest recycling participation rate in the state at over 70 percent,” he adds. “We have leaf pickup during the fall – the leaves are picked up by Waste Management and taken out to our old public works facility where they are made into compost. We sell some to contractors and if you’re a Mountain Brook resident, you can get a load for free.” Hazen says that the city has tried to make sure that its zoning and stormwater ordinances are promoting sustainable practices, as well. “Our ordinances take into account stormwater and runoff; primarily in residential, where we don’t allow you to cover the lot with impervious surfaces,” she maintains. “We have a certain percentage that you can make impervious depending on the zoning district; the biggest one allows 40 percent impervious area for residents. We have other zoning districts that MOUNTA IN BROOK , ALABAMA