Sonoma Valley Road Summit Set for Oct. 9

Sonoma County's roads were among the worst in the nine-county Bay Area in 2011, according to the the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s annual ranking of pavement conditions. So with the MTC set to release its report later this month on 2012 road conditions, an event is looking to tackle the subject of how to improve county and local roads.

An Oct. 9 forum, "Sonoma Valley Road Summit," will feature a panel discussion with Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works Director Susan Klassen.

In the MTC report using its pavement condition index (PCI), Sonoma County's 2,713 miles of roads received a score of 45 out of 100, just one point higher than the lowest Bay Area scores of 44 for St. Helena and Larkspur.

The city of Sonoma ranked much higher at 74, good enough for inclusion in the "Good" category between 70 and 79 and the highest rank on Sonoma County. 

Rohnert Park scored a 68, and Cotati a 61, hovering barely above “the 60-point threshold at which deterioration accelerates rapidly and the need for major rehabilitation becomes much more likely,” according to the report. Petaluma barely eclipsed Sonoma County with a score of 52.

The 411: The "Sonoma Valley Road Summit" will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at Ramekins, 450 West Spain St. in Sonoma. It will be broadcast live on SVTV, cable channel 27.