Resident raises evacuation and access concerns for west-side Bend during public comment

A member of the public used the Bend MPO’s Jan. 24 public-comment period to raise concerns about evacuation capacity and emergency access on Bend’s west side. The speaker — not identified by name in the transcript — said the city’s current road and emergency-service configuration concentrates emergency stations and major access routes on the east side and warned that in a major disaster residents on parts of the west side could face constrained egress.

Among the points the resident raised: “There’s 60,000 people on the West Side of the river. There's 60,000 on the East side of the river in Bend,” and, the speaker said, “There’s 6 Bridal crossings and there's not 1 Fort Lane Road on the West Side,” characterizing limited crossing and roadway options as a risk for evacuation. The commenter also referenced recent regional disasters as examples of large population movements and urged attention to “a way out” as growth continues.

A city representative acknowledged the concern and said emergency- and disaster-preparedness planning and reexamination of plans are active topics at the city-council level; the staff speaker offered to connect the commenter with more resources by email.

Why it matters: emergency access and evacuation capacity are transportation and public-safety issues; the comment linked infrastructure planning to disaster resilience and local growth patterns.

Background and next steps: the comment was entered during the MPO’s public comment period; staff offered to follow up and provide additional resources on preparedness and planning to the commenter.