ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The City of Orange Beach

wants to make Canal Road a homey place to walk and shop and is

asking citizens for ideas to help make that happen.

On Monday at 3 p.m. the Department of

Community Development will be holding the first of several meetings

inviting public comment on an overlay district for city’s northern

east-west thoroughfare. The meeting will be at the Adult Activity

Center.

“The first meeting is a rollout, kind of a

kick off meeting because we want this entire project to be

community driven,” Kit Alexander, Engineering and Environmental

Director said. “We can introduce the community, businesses and

residents, to New Urbanism design and Complete Streets designs, but

we want them to give us on Monday feedback as to how they envision

Canal Road to look. A shopping district, what is important to them,

what kind of aesthetics.”

Using a $30,000 grant from the Mobile Bay

Estuary Program and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the city will study

what changes are needed in zoning laws to allow changes to give

Canal a downtown look.

“Really Monday is entirely the city getting

with the community to get input as to how they would like Canal

Road to ultimately look and what they are hoping to accomplish with

us facilitating,” Alexander said. “We’re looking at establishing an

overlay district which will change the setbacks and parking

criteria along Canal Road to allow for pedestrian friendly

development where you have storefronts that are up closer to the

street, reduce side setbacks so that you have minimal side yard,

parking in the back.”

State plans had called for a widening of Canal

Road to five lanes. But the recent announcement of a cross-island

parkway, essentially an extension of the Foley Beach Express to the

beach road through Gulf State Park, alleviates the need for Canal

Road work.

The State Department of Transportation must

approve any plans along Canal Road, Alexander said, because they

control the right of way along the state road

“They have been invited and they are aware of

the project,” Alexander said. "It’s a study and the actual

establishment of what we want this to be. What we want the Canal

Road overlay district to be. It will be a change to our zoning

ordinance."

These plans envision a concept the Mayor Tony

Kennon calls the “Disney World effect” that wows visitors as soon

as they enter Orange Beach.

“We’re looking at street beautification, which

is the landscaping of the rights of way, possible median placement,

placement of sidewalks,” Alexander said. “It’s in line with the

Complete Streets design standards.”

According to completestreets.org, the group

advocates

"color: #333333; background: white;">“instituting

a complete streets

policy (that) ensures that

transportation planners and engineers consistently design and

operate the entire roadway with all users in

mind - including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and

riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.”