Residents oppose emergency exit; aldermen ask Cochran for narrower easement survey

Westlake subdivision residents told the Board of Aldermen on Sept. 2 they oppose a proposed emergency exit and the engineering work tied to it, saying the opening would bring nonemergency traffic and large trucks through neighborhood streets. The concerns culminated at the meeting with aldermen rejecting a proposal that had included survey and easement-preparation language tied to the Westlake connection and directing the city’s public works office to ask Cochran Engineering for a narrower proposal addressing only the turning radius up to Hawthorne Drive. Neighbors voiced safety and property-value concerns in a string of public comments. “We don't want additional traffic. We don't want trucks,” said Sandy Frazier of 1696 Westlake Circle, who said she and others had collected signatures opposing the exit. Kelsey Sheldon of 1625 Lake Mead Drive…