By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Alabaster “is at a crossroads” in determining how it will manage development and handle transportation in the future, as the city is expected to grow to nearly 50,000 residents in the next few decades, a Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham representative told the City Council during a recent work session.

Planning Commission representative Lindsay Puckett said the city likely will continue to see steady growth in the future, and said decisions made in the city now will determine how the growth will play out.

“You’ve got all this demand and potential growth. How are you going to control that growth?” West said. “About 25 percent of Alabaster residents actually work here, and there is a 30.4-minute average commute for those residents who work outside the city. Do you want to be a bedroom community, or do you want to have a good balance of people who live here and work here?”

West’s comments came as she presented a summary of the city’s draft comprehensive plan, which likely will come to a City Council vote in mid-December. The Planning Commission has been working with city leaders and Alabaster residents over the last several months to gather input while developing the comprehensive plan.

The draft plan proposes neighborhood commercial areas near the intersections of Butler Road and Shelby County 17, First Avenue West and Shelby County 17, Industrial Road and Shelby County 95 and off Simmsville Road, which will be within a 10-minute walk of major residential areas.

The plan also encourages the city to consider adding more zoning categories in the residential, mixed-use, commercial and industrial categories to encourage more types of development – particularly in the old Siluria mill community and Medical Mile district on U.S. 31.

The draft plan also made several recommendations for transportation improvements in the city, and proposed possible grants to help fund the projects. The plan recommends road upgrades on Alabama 119, Fulton Springs Road, Kent Dairy Road, Thompson Road and U.S. 31.

The plan also recommends new sidewalks and possibly bike lanes on Kent Dairy Road, Alabama 119, Thompson Road, Fulton Springs Road, U.S. 31 and Simmsville Road, among others.

Park-and-ride lots at the Propst Promenade and Siluria mill areas were also proposed, as was a shuttle service traveling along U.S. 31 and Alabama 119.