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City emergency planners present AI evacuation model showing long peak‑day egress time; council asks for scenario modeling
Summary
City emergency planners presented an evacuation model (Ladrus) that estimated an evacuation time of more than 15 hours under peak summer conditions using existing network assumptions; council asked staff to model alternate designs if the council directs additional resources because model runs so far have focused on existing conditions with responder input.
City emergency planning staff briefed the council on an evacuation model developed with an AI tool called Ladrus. The planner said the model used localized population data and real‑time traffic inputs and that under a peak summer day the model produced an evacuation time estimate of over 15 hours for existing conditions. The presentation included proposed emergency access strategies, such as using two lanes outbound across Castle Creek and using the inbound lane of Power Plant Road as an emergency access route.
Council members asked whether the evacuation tool had been run for the preferred alternative or for other new configurations; staff said the tool had not yet been modeled for future options and that doing so would require direction and additional resources. Staff emphasized that incident commanders would make operational decisions during a real event and that law enforcement and fire partners may adopt extreme traffic control tactics (for example, using both sides of the roundabout to flow down‑valley traffic) depending on conditions.
Why this matters: the Ladrus output was repeatedly cited by commenters and councilmembers as evidence of an urgent need to address bridge capacity and evacuation capacity. Staff offered to run scenario analyses comparing alternatives (preferred alternative, 3‑lane options, split shot) if council provides scope/budget direction to expand modeling.
