UNA’s Pine Street bridge to get safety upgrades

FLORENCE – The City of Florence plans safety upgrades to the bridge on Pine Street, one of the roads that runs through the University of North Alabama campus.

One plan will add fencing around the sidewalks on both sides of the bridge. These improvements come after two UNA students were struck by vehicles over the past two years on Pine Street on campus. Both students were transported to a medical facility for treatment and were later released. 

“We have been working with officials from the City of Florence to prioritize pedestrian safety issues on the municipal roadways that cross our campus,” said UNA President Dr. Kenneth Kitts.

At its March meeting, Kitts said, the UNA Board of Trustees “adopted a resolution on this issue that is complementary to similar statements of concern and calls for action by constituency groups in the university’s shared governance system. We have now provided all of those documents to municipal officials. Mayor Andy Betterton and City Council members share our concerns and have indicated a willingness to partner with us to resolve these issues.  

“As a case in point, the city recently requested and received a $250,000 grant from the Rebuild Alabama program to help jumpstart work on structural repairs and safety upgrades (that include two-sided fencing) on the Pine Street Bridge that extends over Circular Road between Flowers Hall and the Burford Science Building.”

The Town & Gown Task Force, a collaboration between the university and the city, has been working toward Pine Street improvements for some time. Now it appears those ideas are coming to fruition. 

Michelle Eubanks, a Town and Gown member, said in addition to fencing around the sidewalk, the city may also consider potential alterations to the way Pine Street is used in that area, drawing on information from a 2018 traffic study conducted by Croy, a Huntsville-based engineering firm.

The city is seeking bids for the bridge project. Work is expected to begin this year.

Another recent roadway safety upgrade at UNA included adding a crosswalk and flashing lights on North Wood Avenue to alert drivers to students crossing from the Appleby residence halls and university tennis court parking lots to campus near Wesleyan Hall.