Red Mountain Park has launched a new Web site that features park information, oral histories of miners who worked the mountain and an updated master plan for the 1,200-acre park, which stretches for 4.5 miles along the mountain’s ridge west of Interstate 65.
The new plans include a 20-acre lake, a central 46-acre meadow, a 6.8-mile paved, round-the-mountain loop trail, and a forest playground with a ropes course, a zipline and a mountain bike training zone.
However, the park won’t be open to the public for two or three years, and how much of the park plan is carried out will depend on the Red Mountain Park Commission’s ability to raise money.
Meeting Wednesday, the 15-member commission adopted an $800,000 budget for 2010 that derives most of its operating revenue from the support of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
The commission’s Finance Committee chairman, Temple Tutwiler, warned that the Community Foundation’s support is aimed at getting the park started and will decline drastically in coming years.
Revenue sought:
The park is owned by the state, but it is neither a state park nor a city or county park. It will have to generate its own revenue for operations and will depend on government, foundations and individuals to pay for improvements and attractions. The park has an additional pool of money from federal appropriations that can be applied to capital projects.
The commission is hiring a development director who will be devoted to raising the money needed to develop the park. The park has two full-time employees, Executive Director David Dionne and park ranger Eric McFerrin.
“We have to come in under budget as much as we can,” said Steve Jones, director of corporate relations at Alabama Power and the commission’s chairman. “Until we get this park open, there is no earned income.”
Estimates for the first phase of construction are being developed and engineers still are studying whether geological conditions will allow a lake.
Since taking possession of the park land from U.S. Steel, commissioners repeatedly have expressed a desire to open the park as quickly as possible. However, traffic engineers studying possible entrances to the park off Venice Road identified safety problems.
Plans now call for new parkway entrances from the north off Wenonah Road and from the south off Lakeshore Parkway. Those projects will take time, engineering and cooperation and support of government agencies.
Third Sunday hikes:
In the meantime, Dionne told commissioners, six aspiring Eagle Scouts have started projects at the park. The volunteer group Friends of Red Mountain Park is hosting hikes the third Sunday of every month through April.
According to Friends President Mike Mahon, 150 people turned out for a hike last Sunday.
The Friends group has cut trails, and that work is continuing. More historical structures have been identified and cleared, and the routes of the hikes change to offer variety. The next hike is Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
The Friends group set up the original Web site for the park, but has now turned that site over to the commission and set up its own site.
On the Net
Official site: www.redmountainpark.org
Friends site: www.friendsofredmountainpark.org. tspencer@bhamnews.com
