Birmingham closes streets in East Lake to reduce crime, but can it save lives?

By Alaina Bookman | [email protected]

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For weeks, cars have been trying to enter Birmingham's East Lake neighborhood, but have been stopped by road closure signs and bright yellow concrete barriers.

The Safe Streets project is a four-month pilot program by the City of Birmingham that aims to make the neighborhood and the city safer by controlling and limiting access points to the neighborhood. Officials hope to prevent speeding, shootings, theft, prostitution and violent crime. City officials are also identifying abandoned properties and illegal dumping sites to clean up and revitalize them. The city has installed barriers at 18 entrances and alleys in the neighborhood.

Since the initiative was launched in July, the barriers have been a hot topic for many East Lake residents. For some residents, the barriers are a nuisance and a punishment. For others, they are a symbol of safety and hope.

Marquis Tucker has lived in East Lake for 23 years and was one of the artists who painted the barriers with black and red abstract shapes, green peace lilies and children. He said the barriers represent the future of his two-year-old son.

“Painting the children on these barriers not only reminds us of the losses we have suffered due to violent crime, but also shows us that there is still a future in these communities that deserves to experience the future,” Tucker said.

“I think it's definitely great to have these barriers. Something needed to be done and things have improved a lot.”

Birmingham is on track to record the highest number of homicides in a single year in living memory. So far in 2024, 108 people have been killed, including 8 people who warranted the death penalty and eight children who were killed. The most recent victim was 5-year-old Landon Brooks, who died from a gunshot wound.

The other seven children were Markell Sanders, 15; Aston Starky, 13; Jonathan O'Dell Thomas Jr., 18; Jaylin Lee Jenkins, 16; Jaquavius ​​James Weston, 18; Cornelia Rose Lathan, 15; and Prentice Lovell Little, 15.

East Lake has seen several violent crimes and deaths in recent months; in May, before the barriers were put in place, a 10-year-old boy was shot while walking in East Lake Park.

In June, 30-year-old Kameron Connell was shot and killed in an East Lake parking lot near a craps game.

Later that month, a shooting occurred on First Avenue North in front of East Lake Park, killing 19-year-old Martavius ​​Williams and seriously wounding two other people. Shot Spotter recorded more than 50 shots fired.

The increase in the city's murder rate comes at a time when many cities across the United States are reporting a decline in violent crime.

Measuring success

Since implementing the Safe Streets initiative, the city has sent more than 292 tons of garbage to the landfill, made more than 45 arrests, designated more than 35 buildings for expropriation, cleared more than 120 overgrown properties and issued more than 100 traffic violations in the East Lake area alone, according to city officials.

“We are seeing some impact,” said Alicia Lumpkin, director of process improvement for the city of Birmingham.

Mayor Randall Woodfin told AL.com in July that the city will track and evaluate the effectiveness of the East Lake program at the end of the pilot phase to decide whether to continue the initiative or reopen the streets.

The city will track information from the police's Shot Spotter program, emergency calls and cases of illegal dumping and compare them with previous years to determine if the barriers have made a significant difference.

In addition, city officials will regularly visit residents to gather their opinions.

Residents’ responses

Before the barriers were put in place, Birmingham city officials surveyed residents of the East Lake neighborhood and held neighborhood meetings to gather residents' opinions and gain their support for the initiative.

Warren Seay, who has lived in East Lake for 21 years, said Woodfin came to his home in June to talk to him. He told the mayor he did not want the barriers.

“Everyone on this block told him we don't like this, and he did it anyway,” Seay said. “I'm disabled and I have to travel all over the world just to get out of my own neighborhood. I have to make a big detour just to get home.”

Lumpkin said city officials have received overwhelming support, which is why workers put up the barriers in early July.

“We decided to try a pilot program to see if we could curb some of these problems in the community. The goal is to stop as many people from just walking through the community, committing crimes and then leaving,” Lumpkin said.

Virginia Morgan and Mary Buchanan said they had never heard of the city before the barriers were built. One day they left their homes and found they were barred from entering their own neighborhood.

“To me, it feels like I'm being punished just for living there. And I feel less safe… It prevents people who live here from driving in and out of our neighborhood. I feel trapped,” Morgan said.

“I feel like I’m in a prison camp,” Seay agreed.

Buchanan, who has lived in East Lake for 25 years, said she thinks the barricades are “ridiculous” because she doesn't think there is much crime on her side of the neighborhood.

Morgan, Buchanan and Seay said they were concerned that they would not be able to get out of the neighborhood quickly in an emergency or that the barriers would take police and firefighters too long to get to a resident in distress.

“Because of the barricades, I had to turn around five times to get to my destination,” Buchanan said.

At a town hall meeting in early August, a resident said the barriers were “completely confusing.”

However, other residents said the barriers had made a positive difference for them.

Felisa Woods, a resident of East Lake, was in a car accident that totaled her vehicle after a reckless driver missed a stop sign on Division Avenue.

“By closing these roads, we have been able to significantly reduce speeding and stop sign failures,” said Woods.

As part of the Safe Streets initiative, the city has installed stop signs, barriers and speed bumps on all four sides of Division Avenue.

“My kids feel a lot safer playing outside because the roadblock is there. I see more police patrolling the neighborhood. I see less trash. I've seen a lot of positive things,” Woods said.

Next Steps

The Safe Streets initiative is similar to one launched by the Birmingham County Housing Authority in 2023 that blocked streets with concrete barriers to restrict access to high-crime areas.

“Since these barriers were installed, crime rates have dropped significantly. Children can play outside safely. Residents are safer. The initiative has proven to be very effective in reducing crime,” said Ken Foreman, director of public safety for the housing authority.

Studies have shown that perpetrators are less likely to commit crimes in unfamiliar and hard-to-reach areas. Drive-by shootings can be prevented because cars cannot easily enter a closed road.

Birmingham is not the first city to introduce roadblocks to deter crime. Other cities have had mixed results with their own initiatives over the years.

In 1992, a neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, implemented a street closure initiative and saw a 40% decrease in violent crime within a year.

In 2000, Charlotte, North Carolina, launched a similar initiative with just two barricades on the neighborhood's busiest streets. Within a year, the neighborhood saw a 54% drop in violent crime.

Despite the success of the initiative, the project was abandoned due to pressure from local residents who felt that the barriers were not a substitute for police intervention.

In 2022, Jackson, Mississippi, was forced to make changes to its Ticket Arrest Tow initiative after a class-action lawsuit alleged that the roadblocks violated the rights of black residents, according to a report by the Mississippi Free Press.

The East Lake Safe Streets pilot project ends in October. While some residents will be happy to see the barriers go, others want them to stay.

Alaina Bookman's violence prevention reporting on AL.com is supported by grants and individual donations.