Residents Weigh in on 10-Block Downtown Attraction
The open space under I-20/59 in downtown Birmingham will cover 10 blocks once the massive bridge replacement project is completed. Designers and Alabama Department of Transportation officials are getting public input today at the Boutwell Auditorium. Other feedback sessions are set for July 24.
Ben Donsky, who works with the New York-based planning and programming group for CityWalk Birmingham, says there’s an opportunity to do things not tried elsewhere. “We’re open to all types of innovative ideas. I was just discussing with a gentleman new technology that would even allow us to grow plants underneath the highway.”
Some people at the morning session said they want to see more parking to accommodate the BJCC and the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Peggy Balliet is a museum supporter. She says she welcomes more green space and amenities, but she wants more museum parking.
Balliet says the parking underneath the interstate in the back of the museum has been blocked off for quite some time. She says it creates a problem because too often the museum’s lot cannot accommodate all of the visitors.
Wendy Chou of Fultondale is a skater and wants a skate park underneath the bridge.
“There’s no space around here for us,” she says. “They can take this and do several things, not just one big thing, and it will bring in businesses and people.”
Paul Godbey of Southside doesn’t want a park built under the bridge. He says the space should be used for parking to accommodate the new stadium and expansion at the BJCC.
“The people who live in Fountain Heights and Druid Hills have parks they want to see repaired,” Godbey says.
DeJarvis Leonard of ALDOT says federal and state funds are available for CityWalk. He says it will be completed by Spring 2021 before the start of the World Games in Birmingham.
Leni Riefenstahl made movies for Hitler. A new documentary digs through her archives
Adolf Hitler commissioned filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl to make propaganda about Nazi Germany. She lived to be 101 years old and denied knowing about the Holocaust.
Shooting attack at Jerusalem bus stop kills at least 5
Paramedics said at least five people were killed in a shooting attack in Jerusalem after two attackers opened fire at a bus stop at a busy intersection in north Jerusalem.
World Cup ticket sales are about to begin. Scoring them may not be easy — or cheap
FIFA is set to launch the first window of regular ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday. Brace yourself: because they may not be easy to get — or cheap.
20 years ago, New Orleans fired its teachers. It’s been rebuilding ever since
When New Orleans schools reopened after Katrina, most of the city's educators didn't get their jobs back. Instead, they were often replaced with young people who were new to town — and new to teaching.
How brightly colored do we want our food? For brands, it’s a hill to dye on
Sam's Club is among the food makers removing artificial dyes from products, yet hoping shoppers don't notice a difference in color. But why?
Alone in a foreign country, a young woman is saved by two strangers
In 1980, Elaine Batchelor was attacked on a night train while backpacking alone in Europe. Two strangers stepped in and stayed by her side for the rest of the 12-hour ride.
