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Newscast: The Road to Confusion — How Mismatched Signs Endanger Emergency Response in Covelo

A shot of a country road in Covelo featuring a road sign for county road 337
The county road signs in Covelo are at odds with the names that locals use

In an emergency, would first responders be able to find you? This is a critical question in Covelo, where the local name for a road may well be different from the official one on the street sign… that is, if the street has a sign at all.

At the Round Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting on December 4th, MAC members and 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak discussed the challenges faced as Round Valley MAC and Mendocino County try to work together to implement thorough and accurate road signage throughout Round Valley. MAC members Kathy Britton and Patricia Sobrero discussed the current obstacles and issues with the accuracy of the signs that have been recently installed by Mendocino County, as well as concerns that the county has halted the installation of already fabricated road signs due to concerns of theft.

Patricia Sobrero remarked that she has been personally monitoring the recently installed road signs in Round Valley, and while a few are missing, widespread theft of the new signs does not seem to be occurring. Third District supervisor John Haschak responded to the concerns that the installation process had been paused and offered to facilitate a meeting between a member of the MAC and Mendocino County government to clarify any confusion around disputed road names.

Lourance Hall then recounted her harrowing experience involving a medical emergency with a 1 year old child on one of the disputed roads. The emergency took place on Charlie Hurt Road, or “337-D” as Mendocino County calls it. In that incident, the ambulance was already headed in the wrong direction due to the discrepancy between the local name for the road and the official county name. Due to intervention by Hall, the ambulance was able to find the correct location in time. Thankfully, the child recovered, but the incident underscores the need for clarity between local and official road names, as well as thorough signage, in our rural communities.

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