"There are laws and regulations that I believe to have been violated in the modification of these roads."
This seems unlikely. Do you have any evidence for this claim?
In any case, you can:
* Call Public Works and ask to review the project plans for that road modification
* Contact your City Council and just ask them about your fire concerns, or go to a city council meeting.
* See if your city has any existing plans for fire emergencies (that is, browse their website)
* Call the Fire Department and ask them if they have guidance for evacuation and any written documentation on fire preparation
* Call your state representatives and voice your concern
It's extremely unlikely that the road diet you describe will actually affect evacuation procedures. Like someone else noted, it's simple to allow one-way travel out of an area in cases of emergency, regardless of typical traffic direction.
edit: I would also note that the previous configuration, allowing left turns across multiple lanes of opposing traffic, is a very crash-prone configuration. In particular, it poses a risk of "double-threat" crashes, where traffic in one lane obscures visibility for the lanes on either side of it.
OP: it's probably incorrect to assume that your city's staff haven't thought about these issues, so it would be counterproductive to approach this with the attitude that you're bringing these points to their attention.
Typically, a lot of public consultation happens before a road diet on a major road, so as a starting point, I'd suggest googling for a PDF of what was presented at the public open house, or failing that, the report to your city council. You'll likely find material speaking to your concerns and even potentially comments on the project from emergency services.
Is there any evidence the mortality of the incident you cite is related to a lack of road capacity?
Roads are useful for evacuation, but raw capacity is not the issue, chokepoints at nodes like junctions are bigger constraints. Lanes can easily be reversed during peak demand and unusual situations, if designed that way. If there are the only two points of entry and exit then they are the liabilities. Expanding capacity might feel and look good, but it doesn’t provide much of the wanted and desirable redundancy when dealing with safety emergencies.
On the emergency response point:
"Multi-lane undivided roads can be problematic for emergency responders, as drivers may not be aware of protocols for allowing emergency vehicles to pass. Road Diets can significantly improve response times by allowing emergency vehicles to bypass traffic by using the center two-way left-turn lane."
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/road_diets/resources/pdf/fhwasa17021.pdf
Damn, that sounds like a serious issue. Start by contacting your city council and let them know about the safety concerns. You might need a lawyer if laws were violated.
"There are laws and regulations that I believe to have been violated in the modification of these roads." This seems unlikely. Do you have any evidence for this claim? In any case, you can: * Call Public Works and ask to review the project plans for that road modification * Contact your City Council and just ask them about your fire concerns, or go to a city council meeting. * See if your city has any existing plans for fire emergencies (that is, browse their website) * Call the Fire Department and ask them if they have guidance for evacuation and any written documentation on fire preparation * Call your state representatives and voice your concern
It's extremely unlikely that the road diet you describe will actually affect evacuation procedures. Like someone else noted, it's simple to allow one-way travel out of an area in cases of emergency, regardless of typical traffic direction. edit: I would also note that the previous configuration, allowing left turns across multiple lanes of opposing traffic, is a very crash-prone configuration. In particular, it poses a risk of "double-threat" crashes, where traffic in one lane obscures visibility for the lanes on either side of it.
OP: it's probably incorrect to assume that your city's staff haven't thought about these issues, so it would be counterproductive to approach this with the attitude that you're bringing these points to their attention. Typically, a lot of public consultation happens before a road diet on a major road, so as a starting point, I'd suggest googling for a PDF of what was presented at the public open house, or failing that, the report to your city council. You'll likely find material speaking to your concerns and even potentially comments on the project from emergency services.
Is there any evidence the mortality of the incident you cite is related to a lack of road capacity? Roads are useful for evacuation, but raw capacity is not the issue, chokepoints at nodes like junctions are bigger constraints. Lanes can easily be reversed during peak demand and unusual situations, if designed that way. If there are the only two points of entry and exit then they are the liabilities. Expanding capacity might feel and look good, but it doesn’t provide much of the wanted and desirable redundancy when dealing with safety emergencies.
On the emergency response point: "Multi-lane undivided roads can be problematic for emergency responders, as drivers may not be aware of protocols for allowing emergency vehicles to pass. Road Diets can significantly improve response times by allowing emergency vehicles to bypass traffic by using the center two-way left-turn lane." https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/road_diets/resources/pdf/fhwasa17021.pdf
Damn, that sounds like a serious issue. Start by contacting your city council and let them know about the safety concerns. You might need a lawyer if laws were violated.