Pismo Beach fire officials met with opposition last week when they told some local residents their street is too narrow and must either be turned into a one-way road or have street parking eliminated.
The street in question is Shaffer Lane, a narrow, two-way road located between Baxter and Bay streets in the Pismo Heights area, northeast of Highway 101.
Shaffer Lane's width varies from 12 feet to 22 feet, which doesn't meet the city fire code minimum width requirement of 24 feet for a two-way street with no on-street parking, according to fire department officials. An additional eight feet is needed on each side for parking for a two-way street.
It took a city fire engine seven minutes to navigate Shaffer Lane during a test run in late January -- far more than the department's goal to respond to an emergency within five minutes.
"Seven minutes is a long time when it's my house," said Paul Jones, who has lived on Shaffer Lane for 16 years and supports making it a one-way road.
Pismo Beach Battalion Chief Mike Harkness said the department has a legal responsibility to enforce the city's fire code, which local officials adopted nearly two years ago and is based on the 2001 California Fire Code.
"Any time you have a hindrance in terms of access ... our ability to do our job is blocked," he said.
The fire department brought the problem to two city traffic safety committees, which then recommended that fire officials bring the item to the City Council. The committees include personnel from the fire, police, public works and community development departments.
But the two solutions proposed -- to cut street parking, or turn it into a one-way road -- were not well received by some residents, who say they'd rather run the risk of living on a substandard street.
If the street were changed to a one-way road, drivers would have to travel up Wadsworth Avenue and turn left up Hanford Street to come down Shaffer Lane, toward Bay Street.
"We like it the way it is," said Shaffer Lane resident Jeff Williams. "Changing it to a one-way street will alter traffic flow in a negative way you (the council) might not have considered," including the affects more traffic might have on Hanford Street.
Several others pointed out that many of Pismo Beach's streets are substandard. There is no city study comparing streets to the municipal fire code to determine how many are not in compliance, said City Manager Kevin Rice.
But Harkness stressed the fire department is not going to start driving around town searching for substandard streets.
"Are we going to go out and measure every single street in Pismo Beach? No," he said. "The fire department's policy on streets is at this time if we identify a clear, imminent threat to public safety then we're going to take it to council.
"... This (Shaffer Lane) is the worst of the worst in Pismo Beach."
A committee will be created to address the issue and will come back to the council mid-November with more options.
Some ideas may include making an exception for the street, selecting an option already discussed, or widening the street, Harkness said.
