Downtown Foley Pedestrian Enhancements Moving Forward with Decorative Bollards, Lighting

FOLEY – Improvements to make walking through downtown Foley more attractive will include bollards to keep cars out of pedestrian areas and decorative lighting over city streets.

The Foley City Council approved the purchase of bollards that can be used as barriers to restrict vehicles from parking or driving on pedestrian areas. The city will also seek bids on decorative lighting on West Jessamine Avenue.

Jeff Phillips, Foley construction project manager, said cars have been blocking some downtown pedestrian areas.

“On our Cat Alley project, for example, we have vehicles that are parking where people walk on sidewalks,” Phillips said. “So while these bollards are decorative, they can also block traffic from parking on sidewalks.”
The new bollards can also be customized to fit uses in different areas of Foley.

“The ones we're using around Cat Alley are going to have a cat logo on them. But you can also have city of Foley logos on these too,” Phillips said. “These are also cheaper than the concrete-filled ones, so we can expand these to use throughout downtown.”

The new bollards will be similar in appearance to barriers placed at the recently completed eastern entrance to Heritage Park. The Heritage Park bollards have a round top, while the new barriers will have a flat top where emblems can be placed.

The council also approved plans to go out for bids on decorative lights that will be placed over West Jessamine Avenue between Alabama 59 and North Alston Street near the north entrance to Cat Alley.
The strings of cafe-style lighting will be extended over the street.

Phillips said officials have been working on the plans for about two years in order to determine details, such as the correct height to allow trucks to use the street.

“We've been trying to find the right poles,” Philips said. “You have to have the correct canopy for garbage trucks and all to pass underneath. We’ve finally got it and we're ready to go to bid.”