From the planning stage to following its completion, the rechannelization of 166th Avenue Northeast has been a point of concern for residents and commuters on Education Hill in Redmond.

Following a windstorm in November 2015 that knocked down a tree —  which in turn struck power lines and partially blocked the roadway in the 9200 block of 166th Avenue Northeast — another concern was raised when a reader contacted the Reporter questioning whether emergency response vehicles are able to maneuver up and down the hill and turn onto and from the side streets off of 166th Avenue Northeast.

The reader said her concern was regarding the islands that have been installed intermittently in the center lane and how they may not give bigger fire trucks enough space to turn when and where needed.

The woman also contacted the Redmond Fire Department (RFD) on the issue.

In response, Redmond Public Works Director Linda De Boldt said her department and RFD are looking into the issue to see if the islands are an issue for emergency response vehicles, though she added that during the planning and designing of the rechannelization project, RFD was involved and provided input on the topic.

“That’s absolutely part of the design process,” De Boldt said.

She said they don’t think the presence or absence of the islands will affect a fire truck’s ability to turn onto or from a side street along 166th Avenue Northeast.

The islands in question are located between intersections along the street and De Boldt said they were installed to help control speed up and down the hill.

“We had a problem with speeding on 166th,” De Boldt said.

Islands provide a feeling of restriction for a more controlled traveling environment, she said.

She said the islands also offer safer crossing options for pedestrians because they provide a stopping point in the middle of the road.

RFD Deputy Chief Rich Brown said any issues RFD encounters in responding to calls along Education Hill are more due to traffic and congestion rather than any configuration of the islands.

Regarding RFD’s ability to respond after the windstorm in November, he said first responders’ struggle to maneuver in this instance was due to the downed power lines, not the islands.

Brown said if RFD is responding to a call and finds themselves delayed due to traffic congestion or any other reason, they have a number of options. First, he said, they can find an alternative route to take to the location. Second, first responders will drive down the opposite lanes, if they need to — that is what the lights and sirens are for, Brown said. Another option, he said, is to put out a call to the next nearest fire company and ask them to respond to the call.

Brown noted that these issues are not unique to Education Hill or even Redmond. They just come with working in emergency response.

“We’ve adjusted,” he said.

He added that if the area is expecting some extreme weather, RFD battalion chiefs can up staff, meaning calling in more people to work in preparation of what may come. Brown said they do this only if they know an extreme weather system is being predicted as they are cognizant of taxpayers’ dollars.

“We don’t up staff for a whim,” Brown said.

De Boldt said they do the same thing in her department if they anticipate more staff needed to address issues such as tree removal or fixing light signals.

De Boldt added that the two departments recently coordinated together on an emergency response exercise. She said from the drill, they found what really worked well was utilizing public works’ traffic cameras to find the quickest routes first responders can take to their destinations.

De Boldt said the traffic information can be relayed to dispatchers, who can then direct first responders.