Heat map shows rapid growth trends in Baldwin County
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — It’s one of the fastest-growing counties in Alabama with cities like Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope seeing new development at nearly every turn.
“We see development moving to the more undeveloped regions,” Eastern Shore MPO chairman Jack Burrell said. “It’s getting dense. There’s just been thousands and thousands and thousands of new residences that are being planned for right now.”
That’s why the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization is looking ahead at future growth and how to properly manage what’s expected over the next few years. A new heat map highlights the areas they’re monitoring most based on data collected from 2018-2023.
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“The map does help us and tell us this is exactly where the highest density is going to go, so if we need to focus our funds there, then that’s what we will try to do,” he explained.
Most of the development is still concentrated along Highway 181, but just east of Spanish Fort city limits is an area that’s growing rapidly. The map is a good reference when deciding where to alleviate traffic problems and how to handle what’s on the way, he said.
“As an MPO we have to look at what are we going to do for roads, what are we going to do for sidewalks and we only get a couple million dollars a year, so we can’t do it all, but we try to partner with the county and the state and the municipalities to make our dollar go further and to meet the needs of the explosive growth that we have in Baldwin County,” Burrell said.
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