Springville's longtime residents adjusting to the town's new traffic light

2 months ago 3

ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT. MURPHREE’S VALLEY ROAD AT HIGHWAY 11, CALLED MAIN STREET HERE IN SPRINGVILLE. IT’S THE BUSIEST INTERSECTION IN TOWN, BUT NOW THESE LIGHTS ARE HELPING GET DRIVERS THROUGH THE AREA QUICKER. FOR DECADES, THIS WAS A FOUR WAY STOP AND TRANSITIONING TO THIS NEW TECH HAS PROVED CHALLENGING FOR SOME. YOU’VE GOT A GREEN LIGHT AND PEOPLE STILL ARE PULLING UP AND STOPPING, AND THEN THEY THEN THEY GO ON. BUT IT’S PEOPLE THAT’S LIVED HERE, PROBABLY ALL THEIR LIFE, OLDER PEOPLE AND STUFF. THEY AIN’T FIGURED IT OUT YET. THEY’RE GETTING USED TO IT AND IT’S HARD FOR US TO GET USED TO IT. LIKE I TOLD YOU BEFORE, I WENT THROUGH IT THE OTHER DAY AND STOPPED. IT WAS A GREEN LIGHT AND I’M SO USED TO STOPPING AND THEN I REALIZED, OH, IT’S GREEN LIKE CHIEF WALTON. MANY SPRINGVILLE RESIDENTS HAVE LIVED HERE FOR MOST. IF NOT ALL THEIR LIVES. SO CHANGE TAKES SOME ADJUSTING. BUT THE COMMUNITY IS GROWING. THE POPULATION IS NOW OVER 5000. THEY’VE SEEN THEIR NUMBERS INCREASE BY 28% SINCE THE 2010 CENSUS. I THINK IT’S A GREAT SCHOOL SYSTEM. IT’S IT’S A SMALL TOWN FEEL, BUT IT’S GOT A LOT OF AMENITIES TO IT. THERE’S JUST NOT REALLY ANYTHING TO NOT LIKE ABOUT IT. THE QUAINT SMALL TOWN FEEL COMBINED WITH A LOW CRIME RATE IS ATTRACTING FOLKS FROM BIRMINGHAM AND OTHER AREAS. THE RESIDENTS HERE WELCOME THESE NEWCOMERS WHO HAVE HELPED REVIVE OLD DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES. IT IS NICE TO RIDE AROUND AT NIGHT AND IN THE EVENINGS, AND STUFF AND SEE PEOPLE WALKING ALONG HIGHWAY 11 AND GOING IN AND OUT OF THE OLD BUSINESSES. AND AND I WOULD ALMOST SAY THAT IT HAS KIND OF BROUGHT SOME LIFE BACK TO DOWNTOWN I

A big change for a small St. Clair County town.Springville has a new traffic signal in town, and longtime residents are adjusting to the change. Murphrees Valley Road at Highway 11, or Main Street as it’s called in Springville, is the busiest intersection in town. But now, traffic lights are helping get drivers through the area quicker. For decades, the intersection was a four-way stop, and transitioning to this new tech has proved challenging for some.Springville resident Derrick Winfrey said, “You've got a green light and people still are pulling up and stopping, and then they go on. But that’s people that’s lived probably all their life, older people, they ain't figured it out yet.”Springville police Chief Wayne Walton said it’s happened to him.He said, “They’re getting used to it, and it's hard for us to get used to it. Like I told you before, I went through it the other day and stopped. It was a green light. I'm so used to stopping and then I realized, oh, it's green.” Like Chief Walton, many Springville residents have lived here for most, if not all, their lives, so the change takes some adjusting. But the community is growing, the population is now over 5,000. They've seen their numbers increase by 28% since the 2010 census. Springville resident Ryan Beane believes the town has a lot going for it.He said, “I think it's a great school system. It's a small-town feel, but it's got a lot of amenities to it. There's just not really anything to not like about it.”The quaint small-town feel, combined with a low crime rate is drawing folks from Birmingham and other areas. Many residents here welcome the newcomers who have helped revive old downtown businesses.Sgt. Kevin Stewart with the Springville Police Department said, “It is nice to ride around at night and in the evenings and stuff and see people walking along Highway 11 and going in and out of the old businesses. And I would almost say that it has kind of brought some life back to downtown.”

SPRINGVILLE, Ala. —

A big change for a small St. Clair County town.

Springville has a new traffic signal in town, and longtime residents are adjusting to the change. Murphrees Valley Road at Highway 11, or Main Street as it’s called in Springville, is the busiest intersection in town. But now, traffic lights are helping get drivers through the area quicker. For decades, the intersection was a four-way stop, and transitioning to this new tech has proved challenging for some.

Springville resident Derrick Winfrey said, “You've got a green light and people still are pulling up and stopping, and then they go on. But that’s people that’s lived probably all their life, older people, they ain't figured it out yet.”

Springville police Chief Wayne Walton said it’s happened to him.

He said, “They’re getting used to it, and it's hard for us to get used to it. Like I told you before, I went through it the other day and stopped. It was a green light. I'm so used to stopping and then I realized, oh, it's green.”

Like Chief Walton, many Springville residents have lived here for most, if not all, their lives, so the change takes some adjusting. But the community is growing, the population is now over 5,000. They've seen their numbers increase by 28% since the 2010 census.

Springville resident Ryan Beane believes the town has a lot going for it.

He said, “I think it's a great school system. It's a small-town feel, but it's got a lot of amenities to it. There's just not really anything to not like about it.”

The quaint small-town feel, combined with a low crime rate is drawing folks from Birmingham and other areas. Many residents here welcome the newcomers who have helped revive old downtown businesses.

Sgt. Kevin Stewart with the Springville Police Department said, “It is nice to ride around at night and in the evenings and stuff and see people walking along Highway 11 and going in and out of the old businesses. And I would almost say that it has kind of brought some life back to downtown.”

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