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Commissioners press for long‑term road grid and evacuation planning for 5‑Mile Hill amid rebuild talks
Summary
Long‑serving commissioners raised safety concerns about limited ingress/egress on 5‑Mile Hill and urged the county to mark long‑term transportation corridors; staff said planners are mapping a potential grid but funding and topography make near‑term fixes difficult.
Several commissioners and public members urged the planning commission to treat emergency egress and arterial connectivity as a higher priority in light of recent fires. One commissioner who said he has served on the planning commission for decades warned that residents took up to three hours to evacuate in a recent fire and argued the county should not issue new building permits until ingress and egress are addressed.
Scott Chesky said transportation planners are developing recommended urban‑grid lines and identifying big corridors—work intended to place lines on a map now so future funding and right‑of‑way acquisition can proceed over decades. Chesky acknowledged steep topography, rail corridors and rivers will complicate building those connections and that arterial funding is largely state or federal and not immediately available.
The commission did not change policy at the meeting but discussed recommending transportation grid priorities to the county board as a long‑term public‑policy item.
