It’s reached the point that even mundane events at Lakeside Park are stretching city resources.

City Manager Brian Muenger said nearly every special event that’s held at the Pell City Civic Center, Lakeside Park or the Sports Complex now requires the Pell City Police Department to be on-site to direct traffic. Recently, Muenger said officers were called out simply to empty the Sports Complex when a slate of tournament games was rained out during peak traffic times.

In front of the City Council, he called it a “nightmare.”

So, with the Splash Pad slated to open in 2016, the City is taking the position that it’s time to get serious about traffic on Alabama Highway 34, Stemley Bridge Road and Cropwell Drive. At Muenger’s recommendation on July 13, Council members authorized $23,000 to conduct a study of the area. It’s purpose, he said, is to prepare for the inevitable – that this is an issue that will require attention in the short term.

The City will employ Neel-Schaffer, Inc. to conduct the study, which will use the data it collects to provide evaluations and recommendations for what to do at the site. Muenger said the report would look into the cost, feasibility and effectiveness of traffic control measures like signals and roundabouts, as well as other means of organizing traffic flow.

“It’s not $20,000 to find a solution,” Muenger said. “It’s $20,000 to figure out exactly what the problem is and where we’re going in correcting it.”

Muenger estimated the root of the problem is that traffic passing in front of the Civic Center has reached unmanageable numbers under the current control measures. He provided 2013 traffic counts that show the stretch of Stemley Bridge Road in front of the Civic Center has nearly the same volume of nearby US 231 – 10,650 to 11,430 respectively.

In addition, Pell City is increasing its frequency of special events and each one seems to be bringing more people to the Park. For the Fourth of July celebration alone, Muenger said City traffic counters more than 1,000 people entering just the Park – not including the Civic Center or Sports Complex.

Completing the study is vital, as the process of making adjustments to Highway 34 involves bringing multiple parties to the table. The road is maintained by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), and the city and state would need to work together to find and implement solutions.

“[Commissioning this study] shows [ALDOT] we’re serious about this,” Muenger said.

In addition to adjustments to the roadway, the City will also use the study to determine its options for its own properties. Muenger said the multiple access points to city properties would be evaluated. He said he would like to see the impact of creating a single access to the Center, Complex and Park that provided drivers with good visibility from an elevated vantage point.