Our September Letter to Editor: Now is the time for us to look at evacuation needs

Dear Editor, 

We have all experienced the challenges of driving our local roads. They can be narrow, winding and, in some cases, one lane. Imagine how much worse those challenges would be in a fire or flood. You have the opportunity to express your concerns to the Calaveras Council of Governments, the Regional Transportation Planning Agency.

COG is seeking public input on its Evacuation and Access Needs Assessment and Preparedness Plan. No one can assess your community and individual needs like you! Help make Calaveras a safer place by filling out some online forms.

This weekend take a drive from your house to the County line along one or more of the routes you would take to evacuate in a fire or flood emergency. If you encounter a rickety bridge, a narrow or hazardous road, no shoulders, or traffic bottlenecks, have your passenger make a note of the location and the conditions.

There is even space at the end of the survey to provide your thoughts on how to make your community safer in an emergency. For a quick link to the survey or to see what others have suggested, go to www.calaverascap.com.

This new plan could begin to address some of the failures of the County’s 2019 General Plan in dealing with fire safety and emergency evacuation. Those failures led the Calaveras Planning Coalition to file a legal challenge to that general plan.

So, take a drive and report your findings. Who knows, the life you save may be your own.

Austen Thibault

Outreach Coordinator, Community Action Project & Calaveras Planning Coalition

San Andreas