Baldwin County:
Land of milk and honey ...
and all these damn people
By Chip Drago
Mobile Bay Times
Baldwin County was nearly perfect until ... all these people with cars and boats and bikes and trucks and RVs and motorcycles realized it and now, well ...
Asked to identify the big county's biggest problem that could be corrected with relative ease, MBT's sage Baldwin County correspondents responded:
"In my opinion, the biggest problem facing Baldwin County is the population explosion which has created tremendous commuter congestion on the Causeway and the I-10 bay way. People that live in Baldwin County and work in Mobile risk their lives each and every day simply getting to and from work. The transport trucks should be forced to use alternative routes. The old people that find it necessary to drive during prime commute hours should have their licenses revoked and the idiot that rides the zebra-striped moped to work should be admitted to Searcy. And last but not least, the tourists that drive RV's with an extra vehicle in tow should be forced to use the truck route or stay in Missouri."
-- Kim Robertson,
Spanish Fort
"The Baldwin County Planning Commission, with a few notable exceptions, is made up of retired transplants who more closely echo the philosophy of Eugene, Oregon than anywhere in the Deep South. (They are probably starting a petition drive for Boeing as we speak --build it anywhere except here!).
The appointing authorities should look more closely at the appointees for this position and not chose someone who mainly has a lot of free time on his/her hands and no other source of power or entertainment. David Bronner said that Baldwin County is the most oppressive and unduly burdensome place in the entire country to try to develop anything. It's a bad situation and will only continue on its downhill course until the appointments to this Board are taken more seriously."
-- Mary Beth Mantiply,
Montrose
"Traffic flow is where the focus needs to be. We need to help traffic flow by installing the Highway 13 access to the interstate. This is already planned and will help relieve the congestion on 98 and 104. We could also be looking at traffic backed up on the interstate from the U.S. 98 exit if we do not install the Hwy. 13 interchange soon.
The other large issue is going to be the ... new interstate bridge (over Mobile River). This is a large undertaking, but it needs to begin ASAP because as the container port comes on line and the other growth takes place in Mobile and Baldwin, the interstate will become a logjam at the tunnels as it already does at times. If we do not get this corrected, then we could be looking at the short drive from Spanish Fort to downtown M taking a hour or more. This would be a major setback for Baldwin County and Mobile.
As you can see traffic flow is at the top of my list of priorities."
-- John White-Spunner,
Montrose
"The biggest problem -- rapid growth -- is a blessing if properly handled. Establish a long term vision by hiring a professional to match facts with goals. Similar to the project underway at Springhill and the City of Mobile."
-- Pete Burns,
Ono Island
"You know, it is easy to snipe, but I think Baldwin County is doing about as well as it reasonably can."
-- David Bagwell,
Point Clear
"Lack of coordination between the many municipalities so that their could be cohesive planning. If the mayors and/or chairmen of the planning commissions would get together on a regular basis they could coordinate efforts."
-- Pauline Anders,
Fairhope
"I anticipate the traffic problem will only get worse with the new EADS' employees moving over the bay. We need to improve the traffic flow especially between Baldwin County and Mobile. If that means a new bridge so be it."
-- Frank Fowlkes,
Montrose
"Imagine downtown Mobile without Bienville Square, New York City without Central Park, Fairhope without its public vistas over Mobile Bay, or Daphne's Village Point Park and other bay front treats.
Mobile currently faces the choice of leaving a huge area of green where the old courthouse once stood, or selling out to developers. A hundred years from now, it is unlikely that another building on that spot will create memories for a lifetime. The park will.
Savannah is a very cool city because its city planners, a zillion years ago, required that parks be part of almost every city block.
In Baldwin County, steroidal growth is the problem in the land
of milk and honey.
Like the smiley face or not, the Fairhope folks lost the WalMart battle because of lack of zoning.
There are modern, model zoning codes already written, which should be enacted by the various governmental bodies in the county to preserve and set-side green space and to require sidewalks to facilitate healthy lifestyles (and impose less of a carbon footprint)."
-- Max Cassady,
Fairhope
"The need for more good roads in the county. The county is addressing this with the Co. Road 13, State Hwy 181, and Co. Road 83 projects and by submitting a list of roads to the voters in June with the "Pay as You Go" Plan. A few additional judges to tackle a growing caseload here wouldn't hurt as well."
-- Jody Bishop,
Fairhope
"Sewer."
-- Randy Davis,
Daphne
"With a change in weather, the bass and bream fishing will start
aggressively hitting top water flies. However, I would think a regional
Blue Ribbon planning committee may be required in the coming weeks for a full study of this matter. Rest assured that some of us are devoted to top water flies and intend to blaze the trail regardless of a broad political or full community action plan."
-- Greg Saad,
Loxley
"(Sorry for the delay) I have been busy staring at my phone, waiting for it to ring. It seems a sign of the times that no one problem is to blame and none of the many problems have easy answers. Good work by those that pick on traffic. I agree with all of their assessments. However, if you want to see traffic, go to any other city of the size we are about to be."
-- Larry Chason,
Daphne
