Public Works proposes emergency access gate for Pioneer Road; residents previously petitioned to keep road closed

KITTITAS COUNTY — County Public Works presented plans to install an emergency access gate on Pioneer Road to provide fire and emergency vehicle access, saying funds are available and the installation would cost just under $12,000.

Cameron Curtis, Public Works, said Pioneer Road appears on maps to connect Bender Road to Bowers Road but does not physically connect because removable bollards were installed after Bowers Road was extended in 2006. Those bollards were removed in 2021 over safety concerns about steel cables, replaced with permanent type-3 barricades, and earlier this year were replaced with temporary movable barricades to allow emergency access during frontage improvements on Bender Road.

Curtis told commissioners the road’s existing hammerhead turnaround is not sized correctly for fire apparatus and that a gate that can be opened by the fire department or Public Works would provide an acceptable emergency-access solution. “The cost of installation on this gate is, just under $12,000,” Curtis said. He also said staff has funds available for the installation.

Curtis acknowledged a history of petitions from Pioneer Road residents opposing through traffic and anticipated questions when work begins. One commissioner said they had met with a resident leading the petitions and did not expect substantial opposition: “I actually met with the individual who is kind of spearheading some of these… she seemed personally in favor of an emergency access gate similar to what we see in the city,” the commissioner said. Another commissioner said Pioneer Road is not sized for through traffic and expressed general support for installing the gate.

Staff framed the proposal as a planned improvement rather than a formal board action during the study session; no motion or formal vote was recorded.