More From Councilman Fought on Road Closure

"Closing Roads (the opposite of Connectivity)

When the City decides to build a road, or to insist that a Developer provide a road within a project, that road ought to serve a well-defined and understood purpose. When the City contemplates closing a road, there ought to be similar well-defined and understood purposes.

In my opinion, and given our recent experience with West Majestic Oak Lane, any proposal to close a road ought to be accompanied by at least the following:

1. Evidence that the connection which is proposed to be closed does not meet established safety standards;
2. Evidence that a reasonable range of alternatives, other than closing the road, have been explored to resolve the safety issue(s);
3. Analysis to support the contention that closure will resolve the safety issue(s);
4. Proof that the proposed road closure will not generate safety issues in other areas;
5. An analysis of the initial and long term costs of closure;
6. Comments from residents and businesses in the areas which might be affected by a closure;
7. An analysis of the impact on public safety (e.g., Police,Fire, and EMS) if the connection were closed;
8. An estimate of the impact of using the conditions in the proposed closure as a precedent for future closures;

When the City Council was recently asked to consider closing the connection between Woodland Park and Sun City at West Majestic Oak Lane, the City did not have a policy in place to evaluate the various factors being debated. The Council directed the Staff to develop a draft policy on road closures and to have that draft available not later than the Council Meeting on 10 July, 2018. I believe these 8 requirements should be part of a new road closure policy and I will argue in favor of including them."