Resident warns Bozeman expansion entrance may be unsafe; county staff to review turning radius and fire access

A Madison County resident told supervisors March 3 that a planned entrance for a nearby expansion off Bozeman Road will create a tight turning radius that could impede garbage trucks and fire apparatus.

Dustin Jeffords, who said he represents his neighborhood and owns an empty lot that could be used for an alternate entrance, described the posted project rendering as creating what he called a "tight squeeze" for large vehicles and said the appearance of the entrance hurt the neighborhood's looks. He said he had raised the concern with project staff and was told there was nothing that could be done immediately and that funding or environmental constraints had driven the current plan.

A project representative told the board the project team has worked with the neighborhood for years and that multiple meetings had taken place; the representative said the concerns Jeffords raised were not raised previously. Supervisors asked the county engineer or project manager to meet with Jeffords and to specifically verify that a fire truck can enter and exit the curve as designed. Supervisor Tim (first name not specified) asked staff to "hook up with him and y'all talk this out." A county staff member responded that they would confirm the turning radius is adequate for fire apparatus.

Ending: County staff agreed to follow up with the resident and the project team to confirm emergency-vehicle access and to review whether an alternate entrance on a nearby lot would be feasible; no change to the project alignment was adopted at the March 3 meeting.