Residents push back on Darden Hill West engineering contract, ask for traffic counts and alternatives

The court heard sustained public opposition to a proposed engineering contract for the Darden Hill West extension, which appears in the FY2024 road‑bond planning and would fund a 1.7‑mile, four‑lane divided roadway design. Multiple residents and local groups asked the commissioners to delay awarding the engineering contract until updated traffic counts, noise and school‑route safety analyses are published and alternatives are evaluated.

A written petition and several individual commenters argued the contract's scope precommits the county to a four‑lane solution before the public has seen the data; Matt Waters, representing a group of local signatories, wrote that "the county should not commit to a 4 lane outcome before the public sees the data and meaningful alternatives are evaluated." Residents described potential impacts to rural character, water resources and wildlife, asked for a two‑lane 'super 2' option with turn lanes, and requested additional public meetings specific to Darden Hill.

Commissioner Smith and county transportation staff defended the long history of planning for the corridor, cited earlier bond discussions and said traffic studies and outreach are forthcoming. Transportation director Aaron Jones described the contract as the start of a design process that will include environmental studies and public engagement, and said some portions of the corridor are existing roadway slated for improvement rather than entirely new construction.

The commissioners did not finalize a vote to cancel the contract at the meeting; they discussed outreach, study sequencing and the role of bond commitments and CO financing. Several commissioners asked staff to provide the specific traffic and funding analyses before the next decision point.