By Eric Thomas
What if you could land at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, step outside, and hop on a tram that carried you straight into the heart of the city — through Uptown, the Civil Rights District, the Parkside, UAB, Five Points, Lakeview, and back again?
No rideshare surge pricing. No parking deck. No white-knuckling it through construction on I-20. Just Birmingham, unfolding outside your window, stop by stop.
It sounds like something you’d experience in Portland, Denver, or Atlanta. But this isn’t a fantasy borrowed from another city. This is the Magic City Loop — a 13.2-mile light rail loop that could become Birmingham’s most transformative investment since Railroad Park opened its gates in 2010.
Remember what people said about that park? Twenty-five million dollars for a green space downtown? And yet, according to Bham Wiki, that “gamble” catalyzed more than $2.5 billion in surrounding investment, turning a neglected rail yard into Birmingham’s front lawn and proving, once and for all, that bold civic vision pays off.
The Magic City Loop Is the Next Bold Vision
Think about what Birmingham has quietly built and updated over the last two decades. Uptown. The Parkside District. BJCC, Railroad Park. Rotary Trail, Coca Cola Amphitheatre, Regions Field. The Civil Rights District. Lakeview. Five Points South. UAB’s expanding medical corridor. Pepper Place.
These aren’t isolated pockets of activity anymore — they are a constellation of thriving districts, each one an engine of tourism, commerce, culture, and residential growth. What they lack is a thread connecting them. A living, moving spine that ties the city together and invites people — residents, visitors, students, conventioneers — to experience all of it, effortlessly.
That thread is the Magic City Loop.
To understand what it could mean for Birmingham, take the ride with me.
Use your imagination with me for a moment. As the journey begins, we will see the vision a little more clearly in what can be a business/growth accelerator for the region for the next 50 years.
Exiting the airport and making a beeline straight to the MCL; we examine some of the major stops. This is all preliminary and fluid, exact stops to be determined if/when the project moves forward.
First stop: the corner of 40th St and 10th Ave. N. (2.5 miles from first getting on the tram) Birmingham Coca Cola’s New Corporate Office and Museum– tours and museum showing the long history and humble beginning of Coca Cola in Birmingham.
Second stop: the corner of 24th St. N. Uptown/BJCC District: Here we find Protective Stadium, Legacy Arena, Coca Cola Amphitheater, TopGolf, CityWalk, hotels, shopping and restaurants.
Third stop: Boutwell Auditorium (5.06 miles traveled): The municipal district which includes The Birmingham Museum of Art, Boutwell Auditorium, Jefferson County Jail, City Hall, Jefferson County Commission, Linn Park, the Downtown Public Library and other businesses.
Fourth stop: The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute– The historic 16th St. Baptist Church, the BCRI, Kelly Ingram Park and other attractions which make up the Civil Rights District (5.4 miles traveled).
Fifth stop: Parkside District (6.35 miles traveled). Here we have Railroad Park, Regions Field, Red Mountain Theatre, Midtown plus many more entertainment venues and living spaces nearby.
Sixth stop: Hospital/medical District– Located along 6th Ave S.: JCDPH, UAB- the hospital and campus, Cooper Green Mercy, Children’s Hospital, Bartow Arena, etc.
Seventh stop: 5 Points S. A continuation of the UAB medical area before heading into the 5 Points entertainment district, which includes numerous hotels, restaurants, shopping and retail.
Eighth stop: St. Vincent’s/Lakeview district. Here we find numerous bars for drinks and entertainment; Various residential, including a gorgeous new mid-rise condo that sits right across highway 280 from St. Vincent’s Hospital, fronting University Blvd (7.7 miles traveled).
Ninth stop: Clairmont district. 32nd St. S. and 6th Ave S. The Pepper Place Market is a short walk from here. Clairmont Ave and the Highland Golf course are close by with historic neighborhoods within walking distance. (8.3 miles traveled).
The circulator continues its loop (2 more stops) through Avondale entertainment district and Woodlawn, ending at the airport where it started: View this map
Think about that vision for a second
It almost became a reality. The year was 1998. Former Alabama Senator Richard Shelby had 87.5 million set aside for a 13.5-mile light rail line connecting downtown to the airport.
Birmingham needed to come up with 20% in matching funds to secure the grant. We wanted a more grandiose plan to pursue light rail back then. Due to the timing not being right, and the plan’s approach, I think we made the right choice in not pursuing.
What’s different now? There’s a realization of a better approach. Before the plan was about moving people throughout a metro area that is too spread out and too heavily dependent on the vehicle.
Now the approach is better suited for a circulator that targets all our amazing districts: business, entertainment, living, and tourist that have grown organically and cohesively over the last 15-20 years.
With the Star at Uptown and the new SouthTown developments coming on-line soon there will be even more people in the city center. The people are here. Let’s continue to give them a great reason to stay and move downtown.
Propelling growth along the proposed transit corridor and increasing urban density in a smart way is good for Birmingham. It would also spur Birmingham’s continued tourism and business growth in the region for decades to come.
Now we need our elected officials from the city, county, state and federal level to support us and to make this happen. The Birmingham region has been working together for a while now. It’s something that was held against us in the past but should no longer be the case.
Please elected officials, we beg you to put a plan together and show that you want to see Birmingham win, the way Senator Shelby did. When Birmingham wins, the state wins.
Another column you might enjoy by Eric Thomas:
Eric Thomas is a native of Birmingham and a product of the Birmingham public school system. He is married with 2 kids and lives in Adamsville. He works in telecommunications and is a certified run coach who enjoys traveling to races in his spare time.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
If you care about Birmingham’s future, subscribe to ComebackTown newsletter
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
This is a nice dream, but that’s all it is – a dream that will never come to fruition.
A quick list of cities that have smaller metro areas, but airports with more passenger traffic than Birmingham Shuttlesworth:
Tulsa
Fort Myers
Charleston
Knoxville
Albuquerque
Spokane
Boise
Omaha
Salt Lake City
Reno
El Paso
Grand Rapids
My point being that BHM is considered a tiny airport by any objective measure and certainly by the airlines themselves. Birmingham as a city has a smaller annual budget than suburbs of Phoenix, Denver and Dallas.
The time to propose light rail, pro sports, high speed trains and other grand projects was 50 years ago. We are just doing good to keep the lights on in this day and age.
Why are you so negative? I am also a rationalist and pragmatic but never so negative. Great things can only be done with intentional positive thinking and determiantion. I believe Mr. Thomas shows that exactly.
I have actual experience helping me know exactly what I am saying in my post. If you would like to know more about that experience I would be happy to tell. You need only ask.
I display my name. Why is yours not told? Hiding from something? You do not have to tell, but I am just wondering.
Please rethink and learn. Your undertanding of airports of different places is clear and tells me about your ability to find information and learn.
Negative thinking will harm not help. It stops creative imagination, determination and implementation. all of which are needed to go far. So let’s go farther together joining in the process of accomplishment, the reward being that, the sccomplishment. Joy
Mr. Realist, thank you for taking the time to read the article and comment. I believe discussion is good. Differing viewpoints are also good. It allows for better understanding of what is being proposed. Which brings me to my main point. This project is not solely being built to rely on the business of the BHM airp, which I quite clearly outlined in the article. That is one of the benefits of it being a loop, it runs through the airport but is called a connector. Whether 3.5 million air travelers a year through the BHM airport is a lot or a little is not the point here, although some might think it is. The goal here is to plan smartly for future growth, business wise and with smart urban density planning; that is what smart leaders are doing today and not sitting on their hands. I can assure you that is what smart leaders are doing right now in all those “smaller” cities you mentioned.
This times 100
This is a completely fantastic and for me very timely. This very morning I was thinking through such a transportation plan for Birmingham while I was riding the magnificent public transit system. I was riding the skytrain from Richmond BC south of the city near the Airport. There is a branch to the airport. From there I went to an express double bus in the center city and rode to Horsehoe Bay, a ferry terminal where I boarded for a 10 minute ride to Bowen Island where you can instantly meet a small bus and be driven to a spot within walking distance of the place where I am staying for six weeks. I designed and built this new house just a few years ago replacing a small cottage that burned. Insurance allowed for a new one more than double the size on the waterfront. Throughout the Vancouver expansive region, their public transit can take you from any small neighborhood to literally anywhere in the world. Yes, YVR Airport is huge and the city has too many people. The region has half the population of the whole State of Alabama. That tells us there are limits within which we begin. It is important to plan for the future as well. Birmingham need not want or expect enlarge so much, but be prepared as our country is not shrinking.
What I see in your post is absolutely brilliant thinking, planning what can become a broader plan and more expansive trasit system. What Birmingham should do is boost your plan and do it. Then the City should work with counties, suburbs, and towns together to create a future plan deciding what comes right after your plan is implemented and begin the expansion immediately. Waiting has too often been a serious Birmingham problem so has the multi- disunited city complex. This can help move past that too.
YOU ARE BRILLIANT! THANK YOU!
Thank you Mr. Knight for taking the time to read the article and give your opinion. I do think it takes vision to believe in a project like this and how transformational it can be. Like I said in the article, there were denouncers and experts on why Railroad Park, Regions Field, Uptown, etc. was a bad idea before they came to fruition and here we are. Sometimes you just have to see through people’s words and realize what their real intentions are; that is all I will say for that. Again I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Elon Musk is presently leaving his mark on Nashville with his own Music City Loop. I wish it was like the design you propose for Birmingham. It’s not an overhead light rail system stopping at several locations for the benefit of both citizens and visitors. It’s a $300 million 9-mile tunnel funded by him and currently being dug through the Tennessee limestone by his Boring Company. It’s designed primarily for the millions of visitors who arrive here by air, in hopes it will help relieve the severe traffic congestion between the airport and downtown. The Loop will be a two-way tunnel, in which the only vehicles allowed will be Tesla automobiles driven by Boring Co. drivers. In other words, underground taxis. A similar shorter system is in operation in Las Vegas. I frankly don’t know how it will make money or significantly reduce congestion.
Music City Loop runs below Murfreesboro Pike (U.S. Hwy 41) between the airport and downtown. There are plans to soon add a second tunnel along West End Avenue (U.S. Hwy 70) from downtown toward Vanderbilt University. I cite the highway designations, because by tunneling under state-controlled roads rather than city streets, he was able to bypass Metro Nashville government. He also didn’t have to pay for the land—and in fact will sell the stone from the tunnel. While I won’t add to the naysayers about your idea for Birmingham, I will point out that acquiring the land, and securing the approval of local government(s) and neighborhoods, will present the first and most daunting challenges for your plan. As an alternative you might invite Mr. Musk to visit Birmingham and suggest he start digging.
Bob, thanks for commenting. Wow, I did not know about Nashville’s Music City Loop. I think you’re right though, at grade, above ground construction would be better, allowing more people to use the service. Not to mention it would be a lot cheaper. 300 million for 9 miles is nothing to sneeze at!! I have seen studies showing that at grade, above ground tram can be done from 2-10 million per mile, which would be a lot more feasible. Also the great thing about the Magic City Loop is that it would be entirely contained in the city limits and most of the downtown/Midtown/Southside corridors. It would also run along City streets, hopefully missing all state, county roads, and federal interstates.
I do love your idea of a light rail system from the airport to key locations around Birmingham. I think it does somewhat include the people mover concept that Richard Shelby had in mind. I would prefer that it starts inside the airport entry ways and end in the airport. When I travel to Atlanta, I like being able to be right inside the airport with luggage and be able to get on Marta system.
While we are dreaming, I which we would get low price affordable direct flights to major cities. There are plenty of folks traveling to Atlanta only and choosing to drive versus a quick flight solely due to the high cost of the flight. While that shuttle is an affordable option, most people would prefer a short flight instead.
Let’s make something happens positively for Birmingham.
A Magic City Loop sounds like a good idea. I doubt many folks could argue otherwise. The design, implementation, and cost of a loop could vary widely. The cost, time, and difficulty of implementation increases accordingly with the following modes of transportation: bus, trolley, light rail, gondola, and subterranean rail.
Now the question comes to cost and how much are taxpayers willing to shell out.
All projects cost $$$. Some looked at Railroad park and thought it was not worth the investment. The park has proven to be a great investment that draws private construction investment.
So…is the juice worth the squeeze?
The historic neighborhoods mentioned in the Ninth Stop in the Clairmont Siatrict are not historic. Nothing of historical importance happened there.
I love this plan. Birmingham’s metro is still one of the economic hubs of the state but we are losing ground to Huntsville and Mobile.
I could see this also being used as a proof of concept to perhaps pull in the suburbs with extensions to their entertainment districts.
Michael Rowe, I was thinking the same thing! After initially getting the MCL loop fully built out, extensions could be planned and built out according to need and regional participation. This would enhance our regional public transit, ultimately making it one of the best systems in the nation over time.
Eric, I have enjoyed reading about your vision for our city. I would love to see this one become a reality.
Thank you John. I certainly would as well. I would definitely use it to get from one place to the other. I think it would be good for downtown employees, city dwellers, residents, and tourists alike to move throughout he city on the regular, but that’s just me.
I think an Airport to the multi-nodal line is probably a better bet, tying all the mass transit ways to access the city together (and makes calls to trains to Tuscaloosa/Talladega easier to call for). Then double down on the Birmingham Xpress line and the Magic City Connector bus lines as the primary transit lines for the city and guaranteeing timeliness. They’re already the nicest buses, but it would need to be to reiterated regardless.
Unfortunately, the area around the airport isn’t great and probably the reason why the Xpress line doesn’t go to the airport already. A separated line by some sort of rail is probably necessary to connect it if trying to avoid making the Xpress line connect competing turf war areas (reasonable enough for going to work, but annoying enough to prevent using it as a getaway).
Overall it lowers “must hit” spots on the line, giving a bit of leeway on the costs while also giving the area experience in understanding how to potentially have a loop in the future. It also allows for more seasonal/event based routes since the “downgrade” in transit prestige to buses is already built in compared to expecting everything to be on the rail.