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Residents urge pause on O'Brien Pass widening over school crossing and safety concerns
Summary
A resident and property-owners group told the CAB that the O'Brien Pass widening—moved up from 2031 and scheduled for design now—would add four lanes and bike lanes next to Newark Valley High School and Sun Valley Community Park, creating new crossing risks for 2,650 students and prompting calls to halt or redesign the project.
During public comment, Laurie Rodriguez (S3) and members of a property-owners group described concern about the O'Brien Pass widening and other RTC projects moving forward faster than expected. Rodriguez said the O'Brien Pass project (from 7th Street and Sun Valley Boulevard west to Estates and Golden Valley) is planned to widen the road to four lanes with bike lanes; she told the CAB the project was not supposed to enter design until 2031 but that design has already started and construction is set to begin in summer 2028 on other connecting projects. "This is set for construction to begin this summer of 2028," Rodriguez said.
Speakers emphasized the proximity of the expansion to Newark Valley High School (which Rodriguez said has about 2,650 students) and Sun Valley Community Park, noting that children and parents would need to cross four lanes. Residents asked the CAB to support efforts to stop or rework the project and to coordinate with the school district; Rodriguez said the property-owners wrote letters and met with county engineers and RTC representatives, and she provided copies to the board.
The CAB acknowledged the concerns and encouraged residents to submit formal comments to RTC and to use the county's development portal and upcoming development meetings to follow and influence design decisions.
