Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – As the new Coastal Gateway Park enters the design phase, close attention will be paid to how the roadway through the park will affect neighbors to the east of the proposed route.

“The work that we will now do between construction and the design will be to make sure that appropriate buffering is in place to make sure that the vegetative buffer, hill, or berm to be able to block to the best of our ability,” Gulf Shores Spokesman Grant Brown said. “We understand the sensitivity and the residents who live to the east and we’ll do everything that we can to make sure it’s a good buffer.”

Mayor Robert Craft said in meetings with the public the issue of that road on the west boundary of Craft Farms was one of concern to those residents.

“We recognize the issue but we also but we also recognize the opportunity and we’ve just got to be judicious in how we set the plan and design the road,” Craft said. “It was a big point of conversation by several people.”

The road in the park will start at Coastal Gateway and directly across from a spur going north the city is developing between Raley Farms and Stonegate Estates.

“It’s around a $13 million road that will line up with the current construction occurring between Raley Farms and Stonegate Estates on the north side of Coastal Gateway Boulevard.,” Brown said. “That project they’ve started construction. The concept is to have a signalized intersection at that particular location. That location will also be the exit from the fire station which will be placed to the west of the road that’s coming across Coastal Gateway.”

The road budget is separate from the overall park budget, Brown said.

After going down the eastern boundary of the 127-acre property, the road will then move west near the back of the park and eventually turn south and connect with County Road 6 or Oak Road East.

“We will in phase one get that connector road to hook with Oak Road East,” Brown said. “That is the plan. It will be another way for the zoo to be able to access their gates. They’ll have signage on Coastal Gateway to be able to direct people to the zoo from that direction.”

On the north side of Coastal Gateway the new road there will only go in as far as the northern edge of Raley Farms, Brown said.

“But eventually that road will have the ability to go all the way to the northern boundary of the city of Gulf Shores and meet with Foley and ultimately the road by OWA, James Road,” Brown said. “These two roads could actually connect someday.”

The current work planned for the spur is about a $1.2 million project.