Email
UNSER TRAIL USERS CROSS AT THEIR OWN RISK: David Delgado emails “I live near a bike crossing on Unser just north of Wexford. There is a bike trail on Unser and one that goes west on Wexford. The trail is marked for both bicyclist and pedestrians. There is a marked crossing that goes across Unser.”
And while “there are nice clearly marked signs prior to getting to the crossing, … the street markings are poorly maintained by the city.” Davis says “my question and concern is traffic on Unser is always speeding and no one slows down as they approach the crossing. Is the traffic required to stop for bikes in the bike crossing? Is the traffic required to stop for pedestrians in the crossing? If not, what purpose does the crossing and signage serve? It is extremely dangerous trying to cross Unser at this crossing. I have complained to the Rio Rancho traffic engineer, but nothing has been done to improve the safety of the crossing. Maybe a flashing light would help.
“Also, in the other areas of the bike trail there are not marking(s) on the streets where the bike trail crosses at intersections on Wexford and up on to Southern. There does not seem to be uniformity on the markings. Are there any standards a city should follow in order to protect both bicyclist and pedestrians?
That’s a lot of questions, and all the answers boil down to David’s first point on the crossing being poorly maintained.
Because it’s more than that.
It is not maintained at all. By design. For safety.
Peter Wells, communications officer for the city of Rio Rancho, says “the Public Works Department does not maintain the crosswalk at the multi-use trail crossing on Unser Boulevard between Spring Road and Wexford Road because past research conducted by the Federal Highway Administration indicates that marking a crosswalk at this type of crossing will result in more pedestrian injuries due to the crosswalk imparting a false sense of security to the pedestrian.”
But that might not always be the case.
Wells says “department traffic engineers are planning in the future to conduct a gap study to further assess if pedestrians have adequate time between vehicles to reach the median refuge.”
ALAMEDA PAVING ON HOLD FOR WARMER WEATHER: The New Mexico Department of Transportation has put the N.M. 528 paving project between San Pedro and Edith on hold this week.
Phil Gallegos, NMDOT’s District 3 public information officer, says the project “is only lacking the final striping, and they are waiting for temperatures to be warmer to place it on the roadway.”
The usual guideline is 60 degrees and rising.
Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103; or go to abqjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal
