A better Shuttle bus system for Huntsville?

One day when I was living in south Huntsville I was thinking about riding the bus to school at UAH to try and save some gas. There was a bus stop within walking distance to my apartment, so I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to get to. However, when looking at the route map my hopes of using the bus system to get to UAH was shattered. I would have had to make two transfers, and my trip would have taken over an hour to make one way. Here it is visualized in Google Maps.

I am glad that Huntsville has decided to put their routing on Google Maps. It becomes more accessible than from the city website. There are also improvements that are planned for the Huntsville Shuttle bus system, as it is called. Huntsville Development News sums those improvements up here, along with some ideas on how to improve the bus system.

A better bus system would complement my idea on light rail in Research Park well. I would recommend that the city at least complement circular routes with linear routes that serve a particular highway (University Drive, Whitesburg Drive, Airport/Carl T Jones/Bailey Cove, etc.). Then expand on that system as needed. Look at which roads are the most heavily travelled and base the system around that. After all, if I am going from point A to point B, I don’t want to backtrack (as I would have had to do above in my trip from my apartment to UAH) nor do I want a scenic tour of the city. Of course, some of the loop services make sense to keep, but I would challenge the city of Huntsville at adding some linear bus lines that complement the loop routes that are in place. Eventually, remove the circular routes that don’t have high ridership and use those buses elsewhere.

I have not ridden the bus system in Huntsville before. So I am not in too much of a position to write about it. Well, I am going to ride some of the city shuttle buses over the next few weeks. I would like to learn more about it and see how easy it is to use right now, and then see what improvements can be made.

The $64,000 Question: How do we pay for road, transit improvements?

After listening to this report by ABC news, it makes me wonder: just how are we going to pay for new road improvements? What about transit? You hear bold plans put forth by the city of Huntsville (just take a look at their long-range transportation plan (PDF)). But how do we pay for it?

To put it simply, currently the majority of highway construction funding comes from gasoline taxes. There are national taxes as well as state taxes, county taxes, and city taxes on gasoline. The federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon. The Alabama tax on gasoline is 21 cents per gallon in addition to the federal tax, and the Tennessee tax on gasoline is 21.4 cents per gallon. Diesel fuel is also taxed, but at a different rate.

The idea is fairly straightforward. The more you drive, the more gasoline you will consume, and the more gasoline you consume, the more you will pay in gas tax. Makes sense, right? Well, there are several problems with this model that have contributed to a decrease in revenue for transportation projects.

One of these is inflation of our currency. Simply put, inflation means that one dollar can't buy as much today as it could ten years ago. Inflation has been a steady economic force on the US dollar  As an example, when the Interstate system was first built in the 1950's, the cost of building an interstate averaged around $3 million per mile. If you were to try and build the same type of interstate in 2011, not taking into account design changes required by AASHTO, it would cost you more than eight times as much; $25.2 million, to be exact.

The inflation rate per year has been positive since 1960. The percentages in the graph are a percentage increase over the previous year. Since the inflation rate is the rate of increase from the previous year, then even if the rate goes down the next year, then it would still be an increase over the previous year.

The second problem is that the gasoline tax model itself is flawed. It taxes users on each gallon of gas consumed. The problem with that is that a gallon of gas isn't always worth the same amount, as you all can probably tell. Many factors, including our friend inflation that we discussed above, have played into the higher cost of gasoline. Right now gas is sitting around $3.25 per gallon here. Ten years ago it would be more like $1.40 per gallon. However, since the tax is a tax on how many gallons are consumed, the revenue for that gallon of gas would be the same regardless of the price of that gallon.

The third problem with the gas tax is that vehicles have been getting more fuel efficient. Now we need less gasoline to make the same length of trip as we did a few years ago. Since we need less gasoline, less gasoline tax revenue is made. It is great that vehicles have been getting more fuel efficient, but for our gasoline tax model, it is not so good.

The fourth problem is that it would be political suicide to suggest raising the gasoline tax rate. For this reason, the gasoline tax has not been changed since 1993. Even then, it wasn't raised to finance construction and repairs of highways, but instead it was raised to balance the deficit. With gasoline prices higher, talk of raising the gasoline tax would be a non-starter in just about any group.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that transportation infrastructure is costing more but there is less money coming in to pay for it.  These same problems also exist for mass transit in some form. Knowing that we have little to no control over economic factors such as inflation, what can be done about this problem? What would be the most fair way to generate more revenue for transportation projects?

I seek your opinions on what can be done to fix this problem.

Where do you go when I-565 is closed?

This morning was the first morning this winter when drivers awake to potentially icy roads. The first areas to usually ice over are bridges and high elevation areas. Well, as it turns out I-565 through downtown Huntsville and, by extension, US 72 over Chapman Mountain features both types of hazards. As a result, this stretch of road is often closed when there is snow, ice, or both.

Here is a scenario for you. You live in Memphis and you are trying to get to Chattanooga. Part of your route involves taking I-565 through Huntsville to reach US 72 east. However, when you arrive in Huntsville at 6 AM in the morning, there is a portable message sign in front of the Space and Rocket Center saying that I-565 is closed ahead and all traffic must exit at Exit 17B. The elevated portion of I-565 has been closed due to icy conditions. So you exit at Exit 17B. Where you go from here?

Exit 17B is Governors Drive which used to be the main route into Huntsville before I-565 was constructed. This is the last exit that you encounter before the notorious elevated portion of I-565 begins. Once you are dumped onto Governors Drive, however, there is no signage directing you from there. You have to know where to go. A GPS won’t help you here; it doesn’t know the best way around if I-565 is closed. You either have to know your way around Huntsville, or you are lost.

If you are going west on I-565 or US 72 at Moores Mill Rd, you are dumped onto either Moores Mill Rd or Andrew Jackson Way/Oakwood Ave, depending on whether US 72 over Chapman Mountain is closed. Again, once you are dumped onto the local streets, there are no signs guiding you back to I-565 west of the elevated sections. This is the case if you are going from, let’s say, Chattanooga to Memphis.

Firstly, I am going to propose a very simple solution to this problem of lack of signage. ALDOT may already be implementing this solution (or it is a sign goof), but I would suggest placing “ALTERNATE I-565/US 72” or “DETOUR I-565/US 72”signs along suggested routes to get around the elevated sections of I-565 and US 72 over Chapman Mountain. Here is a picture of a sign I saw in Huntsville a week ago:

Figure 1: A I-565 ALTERNATE sign was posted recently in Huntsville. Is this part of an alternate routing in case I-565 is closed, or a sign error?

The signs I would post throughout the alternate routings would look just like the one above (without the US 231/431 signs), but it would also have a US 72 sign below it as well since it may also be involved in the closure.

I would erect signs such as these, along with two flashing yellow beacons at the top, to inform drivers to follow the posted route if I-565 is closed:

Figure 2: An example of a sign I would erect on US 72 westbound

I would place one before Research Park Blvd and another one in front of the Space and Rocket Center going eastbound on I-565, and then one just west of Dug Hill Rd and just east of Shields Rd on US 72 west.

Now I am sure you are asking: what alternate routing would you suggest if I-565 is closed? Here is my preferred alternative routing:

Figure 3: Alternate route for through traffic if I-565 is closed. Google Maps link.

The route going eastbound would be Exit 17B, AL 53 South/Governors Drive to US 231/431 North/Memorial Pkwy to Winchester Road east to Moores Mill Rd South to US 72 east.  This route works well since all of it is four-lanes. There are two issues with this route. One is the intersection of Moores Mill Rd and Winchester Rd. Large 18-wheelers may have difficulty making the turn from northbound Moores Mill Rd to westbound Winchester Rd.  Alternatives to this intersection would involve taking streets not designed for truck traffic. This intersection has been recently modified as a result of the widening of Winchester Rd.

The other issue arises with Memorial Pkwy. It also has elevated sections. Typically, I-565 gets closed first, but there are also cases when the overpasses along Memorial Parkway also close. This isn’t as bad as I-565 closing since traffic is simply diverted onto the frontage roads, but it can be slow-going along the frontage roads since the traffic signals don’t have an override signal phasing plan that I know if if the overpasses along the parkway are closed.  This could be alleviated by police directing traffic at these intersections or programming a separate signal phasing plan for when the overpasses are closed that would favor traffic continuing along the frontage roads.  You could also take other routes, but you may spend as much time on the other routes as you would on this main alternate routing.

Other routes that may be worth considering  may use Meridian Street, Oakwood Ave, Andrew Jackson Way, and/or California Street, in addition to the route described above.

In the distant future, however, this may not be as big of a problem if the northern bypass of Huntsville is completed to US 72 east. That would provide the best bypass of both Chapman Mountain and the elevated portions of I-565, but we still have a long way to go before that comes to fruition.

Better Guide Signage in Huntsville

For everyday commuters, guide signs are just a blur as one comes into work everyday. However, if you are a tourist or are new to the area, guide signs can be a lifesaver when trying to find your way around. These signs point out the name of the road you are on, but can also tell you what exit you are coming up on, how  many miles you are to the next destination, or what direction to go to reach a destination. Generally, any sign that is green can be classified as a guide sign.

I am goign to talk about three problems with guide signage in Huntsville: how to handle road name changes, how to sign roads that have both a number and a name, and better signage of surrounding cities

Huntsville for the most part does really well with guide signage. However, you could be driving along a road and you know you are on Airport Road. Then all of a sudden, the road name changes to Carl T. Jones Rd. Or, you are looking for Carl T. Jones Rd but you don’t know how to get to it.  Airport Rd is the most obvious example of a road where the name changes several times:

Figure 1: Name changes for “Airport Road.” From northwest to southeast: Johnson Road (Red), Airport Road (Blue), Carl T. Jones (Green), Bailey Cove Rd (Pink), Green Cove Rd (Purple)

There are other roads just in the city of Huntsville that change names like this:

-Jeff Rd/Slaughter Rd
-Sparkman Dr/Bob Wallace Ave/US 72 east
-Old US 431/Sutton Rd/Cecil Ashburn Drive/Four Mile Post Rd
-Governors Drive/US 431 South
-US 72 West/University Drive/Pratt Ave/Bankhead Pkwy
-Memorial Pkwy/US 231/431 Hwy
-Patton Rd/Jordan Lane/Highway 53

Then in Madison you have Wall Triana Hwy, which changes to Sullivan Street once you approach downtown Madison, then once you leave downtown Madison it changes back to Wall Triana Hwy.


When driving on these roads there is little to no warning when the name changes. This can get confusing if you are trying to find an address without a GPS. There are some instances where the name change is signed with a small green sign, but the sign is small and easy to miss:

Figure 2: Courtesy of Google Street View: small sign says “End James Record Rd; Begin Martin Rd” near the Huntsville International Airport

I would prefer to see a large sign that says, for example, (END Airport Rd / BEGIN Carl T. Jones Rd) every time the street name changes. It should be as large as signs on the interstates so that it is hard to miss.

Figure 3: Example of big green sign (BGS) to signify road name change

On a related topic, the state maintained routes have numbers assigned to them in addition to names, in some cases. Here is a list of roads that have overlapping numbers and names in Huntsville

• US 431 (Governors Drive)
• AL 53 (Governors Drive)
• AL 53 (Jordan Lane)
• US 72 (University Drive)
• AL 255 (Research Park Blvd)
• AL 255 (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
• US 231 (Memorial Pkwy)
• US 231/431 (Memorial Pkwy)

In a lot of cases, the name and number are used interchangeably, which can lead to confusion. I have a simple solution to this problem. Provide both the street name and route number shield (if applicable) on a guide sign if it is attached to a traffic signal installation. I like how the city of Dallas, TX handles this:

Figure 4: How Dallas, TX handles street names that also have route numbers

Underneath overpasses on interstate highways in Alabama, there are already signs that are similar to these. Here is an example from Huntsville:

Figure 4: Research Park Blvd (AL 255) overpass guide sign along I-565 in Huntsville

Here is an example of what I would do for the Huntsville signs on traffic signals:

Figure 5: An example of how to do street name signs with both route numbers and names in Huntsville, AL

Another problem I have noticed is that there is little no signs telling you what towns or cities you can reach by taking a certain road out of town. No sign tells you that Fayetteville, TN can be reached by taking US 231/431; there is little to no signs that say that US 431 south goes to Guntersville or that Highway 53 goes to Ardmore (and to Nashville) or that US 72 east goes to Chattanooga (Scottsboro is mentioned, but nothing besides that), or that US 231 south/Memorial Pkwy goes to Arab.

The solution here is simple: provide a mileage sign after every major intersection or interchange that says how far it is to the next city, town, or large destination. My preference would be:

• Distance to next town
• Distance to next sizable city
• Distance to next major city

If we use US 72 east as an example, one would arrive at a sign such as this after passing through the Shields Rd intersection:

Figure 6: Hypothetical mileage sign for US 72 east after the Shields Rd intersection

In urban areas, it is also often helpful to post distances to the next major street on these signs as well. This would be especially helpful on US 231/Memorial Pkwy. Sometimes, this is combined with the next city destination as well. Here is an example of one such sign I would place on Memorial Pkwy southbound after the Governors Drive exit:

Figure 7: Hypothetical street mileage sign immediately south of the Governors Drive exit

Even though in this case the next exit would actually be Bob Wallace Avenue, one would encounter that exit immediately after crossing over the top of Governors Drive. Therefore, I have excluded that street from the sign above.

I have other ideas for better guide signs in Huntsville, but this is enough to get to conversation going. Let me know if you have any ideas! Hopefully with better signs, people can get around more easily, and the chances of wrecks will decrease as a result.