Dadeville Council considers dedicated roadway for first responders

Longview News-Journal
By William Marlow Multimedia Reporter
November 12, 2022

During emergencies, time is often the biggest factor. However, in Dadeville, it’s also a matter of how first responders arrive at a scene. 

The Dadeville City Council discussed just that during Tuesday’s regularly called meeting as elected leaders considered creating a dedicated road for area first responders.

During the Nov. 8 meeting, council members provided updates from various city departments and boards, which prompted Councilwoman Brownie Caldwell to raise an issue surrounding public safety. 

Caldwell explained that the city’s current street layout is impeding emergency response times, specifically when emergency medical services traverse roadways that branch off U.S. Highway 280 and through East Lafayette Street. 

“When they leave the hospital, they have to go all the way past the high school, turn right next to the cemetery and then to the four-way stop,” Caldwell said. 

Caldwell continued, adding that first responders then must travel along East Lafayette Street and through residential neighborhoods before reaching U.S. Highway 280. Due to the path’s zigzagging nature, Caldwell recommended that the city carve a liner roadway toward Lake Martin Community Hospital.  

“They can’t drive fast through there because it is a residential area, and coming back that way isn’t an issue, but the difference in a one or two minute response-time is the difference between life and death,” she said. 

Caldwell suggested creating possible roadways near either East South Street or closer to the hospital, but ultimately urged fellow Dadeville leaders to join her in searching for a suitable route.

“If we could maybe cut a road someplace where the hospital's driveway is now or maybe someone could come in and do aerial shots and tell us this is point A and point B and this is where it needs to go,” Caldwell said. 

Dadeville City Attorney Chad Harrison advised city leaders to consider an easement, especially if the roadway crossed between private property.  

“I could probably make that happen, and I think it is a great idea. But that’s a lot of money,” Harrison said. 

Harrsion also noted county and state officials would likely need to approve any new city infrastructure such as a roadway.

Despite much discussion, no resolution was proposed regarding the issue during Tuesday's meeting.