Wildfire evacuation route scoping (Green Valley Parkway extension)
Summary
A paperwork fix keeps the ADOT agreement on track for scoping roughly 3,900 feet of evacuation route road through the Tonto National Forest, funded by $300,000 in congressional discretionary dollars, with preliminary scoping and design expected by May.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 6
- Last 30 days
- 1
Discussed at 2 meetings in the last 60 days; most recently Nov 10, 2026.
Impact analysis
No new cost — town's share was already funded per the original cost estimate.
Everyone who may need to evacuate during a wildfire, plus the Payson Event Center area.
Some nearby residents worry about traffic near cultural ruins and question spending on a project with no construction funding yet.
Mentions & discussions (6)
Payson Town Council - Regular - Nov 10, 2026
A paperwork fix keeps the ADOT agreement on track for scoping roughly 3,900 feet of evacuation route road through the Tonto National Forest, funded by $300,000 in congressional discretionary dollars, with preliminary scoping and design expected by May.
Payson Town Council - Regular - Sep 23, 2026
Rim Wildfire Awareness Team's Robert Decker pressed the council on enforcing the firewise ordinance and evacuation planning, inviting residents to Red Cross training September 30 at the library.
Payson Town Council - Regular - Aug 12, 2026
RIM Wildfire Awareness Team's Bob Decker urged the council to fund firewise education and revisit the fire-hardening building ordinance that previous councils denied, noting wildfire season is now year-round in Arizona.
Payson Town Council - Regular - Jul 8, 2026
The town must execute the ADOT IGA by September or lose $300,000 in federal money for scoping a wildfire evacuation route. Residents raised concerns about ancient ruins, traffic, and whether the project is realistic given the town's budget.
Payson Town Council - Regular - Apr 8, 2026
Fire officials expect an average to worse-than-average fire season with elevated risk by June. Residents should sign up for ReadyGila alerts, plan two ways out of their neighborhood, and be ready to be gone a week or more if evacuated.
Payson Town Council - Regular - Mar 25, 2026
A Rim Wildfire Awareness speaker says the town still has no public evacuation plan and has repeatedly declined to fund Firewise ordinance enforcement as fire season ramps up.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
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