Several Birmingham City Council members used the April 15 meeting to press the mayor and staff for action on three infrastructure concerns: missing speed cushions on a neighborhood street, delayed street striping after repaving, and storm-drain inlet covers that are missing or not seated properly.

Councilor Valerie Abbott asked Mayor Randall L. Woodson to expedite installation of speed cushions on 29th Street North near a community center in Collegeville, saying children cross that street frequently and motorists are speeding. “I would hate for a kid to actually experience that and then we react,” Abbott said.

Mayor Woodson said he would follow up with the appropriate departments and referenced discussions with the Department of Transportation and Capital Projects staff. The mayor told councilors that correspondence from the contractor and subcontractor exists and that staff would circulate the notes to the council: “What I can tell you is that, from the conversations with our team, Department of Transportation, Capital Projects along with the actual contractor, there is more, intentional tone from us collectively, holding the subcontractor accountable and and doing everything they can to speed up and catch up because they are behind,” the mayor said.

Councilors also raised delays in repainting crosswalks, center lines and parking stripes after repaving. Councilor Abbott recounted that the city learned the striping subcontractor was behind and said she expects the city to press the contractor to finish. The mayor and staff said they will share written correspondence with the council about the contractor’s timeline and actions taken to hold the subcontractor accountable.

A longer, recurring issue discussed by multiple councilors was missing or improperly seated storm-drain inlet covers. Councilor Abbott and Councilor Williams said residents have reported many inlet covers that are broken, displaced or missing; Williams urged the council to direct a crew to inspect and re-seat or replace covers and to clean clogged inlets on a regular schedule. “We really need to have a crew that specifically goes around and cleans out the inlets in the city,” Williams said.

Councilor Woods said redesigning the inlet installation to make covers flush with concrete could reduce damage from vehicles, but noted that covers are not designed to withstand repeated vehicle impacts. Council members suggested the issue be addressed in a future Committee of the Whole to determine procurement and maintenance solutions.

No formal policy or budget vote was taken at the meeting on these items; councilors asked staff to provide correspondence, timelines and options for follow-up work.