Hoover officials propose upgrades for Star Lake; public feedback meeting set
The city of Hoover is considering upgrades to Star Lake in the Green Valley community and on Thursday is holding a meeting to get public feedback.
Potential upgrades including widening of the sidewalk around the lake, adding more parking spaces, making the road around the lake a one-way street and adding new gathering or observation points around the lake, City Engineer Rodney Long said.
The 4-acre lake is right next to the Hoover Country Club golf course and includes a picnic area and pier. The lake is frequented by geese and ducks.
There currently are not enough parking spaces to handle visitors, as evidenced by people parking along the street, Long said. City officials are considering expanding the number of parking spaces from 12 to about 38, using part of the existing two-way road, he said.
The new parking spaces would be on the side of the road nearest the lake and would help separate pedestrians who run and walk around the lake from vehicular traffic, Long said.
The lake recently has started attracting food trucks, and city officials hope to find a way to better accommodate the food trucks, he said.
City officials want to get feedback on the ideas and see if the public has alternate ideas for upgrades at the lake, Long said. Thursday’s public feedback session will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Green Valley Baptist Church at 1815 Patton Chapel Road.
There will not be a specific time for a public presentation, but plans will be on display, and people will have an opportunity to ask questions and submit comments. Kelly Landscape Architects, the company hired to work on the project, will have representatives there to answer questions, Long said.
A budget for the project will be developed once the concept is complete, but “if they do everything, it’ll be a pretty expensive project,” he said.
Josephine Tortorici, a Hoover resident who sometimes walks at Star Lake, said more parking sounds like a good idea.
“A lot of times when I have come, I have to park on the street,” she said. “It gets packed.”
Vivian Mora, who lives directly across the street from the lake, said she loves the idea of upgrading the lake site. It should attract more people, and she loves to see all the people out enjoying themselves, she said.
She and her husband chose to live there because of the lake and the feeling of community it engenders, she said. People who don’t like that might should have chosen a more private place to live, she said.
Widening the sidewalk and creating a one-way street around the lake also should help improve safety, although most people who drive through there usually drive slowly and carefully, she said.
City officials encourage anyone who can’t attend Thursday’s public feedback meeting but would like information or like to share a comment to email the city’s chief operations officer, Tim Westhoven, at westhovent@ci.hoover.al.us.