Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Weninger won the approval of the district’s commissioners to pursue talks with Kitsap County commissioners about re-evaluating their view on the Lone Maple Lane NW extension project.

At a meeting this week, Weninger told the commissioners that the county was now ranking that street project as 34th of 35 projects. While the project made the cut to still be in consideration for funding in the county’s six-year Transportation Improvement Programs, the district is worried that it won’t get done anytime soon.

“Without that street being completed, our response times are significantly affected,” Weninger said. “Decreased response times result in fire loss, as well as decreased emergency medical service survivability rates. Minutes are crucial to the outcome during emergencies.”

Weninger said for several years, the district has been requesting that the county complete the road that is in the area of Station 42 in the Island Lake area at 14061 Central Valley Road NE.

They want to see it extended from Silverdale Way to Central Valley Road NW, so that fire and emergency vehicles better and quicker access to residential  neighborhoods in the area.

As a matter of public safety, it needs to happen, Weninger told the commission.

Cost of completing the road is estimated at $2.5 million.

Fire commissioners said they will send a letter to Josh Brown, county commissioner from the Central Kitsap area, and will request that the road be moved up on the county’s priority list.

Brown said he doubts it will be moved up.

“It won’t be moved up this year because there are more critical priorities,” he said, referring to way the county scores and ranks projects (see www.kitsapgov.com/pw/pdf/Tier_2_Project_Ranking.)

“According to our scoring from last year, there are $51 million worth of projects rated as higher priorities,” he said.