Better Pass on Trying To Pass on Paseo

WHY IS THERE NO PASSING ON PASEO? That question comes from Art Woods in regards to the stretch of Paseo del Norte west of Ventana Ranch heading to/from Double Eagle Airport.

He emails that “Paseo is a no-passing road all the way past the airport. There are a couple of stretches that seem like they could be designated passing lanes. Changing this would at least let those that now blow by at 60-plus mph – the speed limit is 50 – not to break two laws at the same time. And there are a few times when gravel or concrete trucks are trundling up the road at about 20 mph causing either a long back up in traffic, or more commonly, drivers again ignoring the double yellow and passing anyway.”

Art says, “I know the road passes through a couple of different jurisdictions, so this might be a difficult change to make, but could we at least try?! There is a lot of traffic using this shortcut to I-40, and just seems like a bad accident waiting to happen.”

Mark Motsko, who handles information for the city of Albuquerque’s Department of Municipal Development, says “according to Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: ‘In general, on two-way roads where center line markings are installed, no passing zones are established at vertical and horizontal curves where the passing sight distance is less than the minimum permissible distance, depending on the posted speed limit or the speed at which 85 percent of the vehicles are traveling at or below. The greater the speed, the greater the required sight distance in order to establish a passing zone.’”

Motsko says this federal guideline “means on a 50 mph road there would have to be an minimum 800 feet of clear line of sight on both any hills and any curves. I’m not sure if Paseo del Norte meets these requirements from Universe west to where it turns into Atrisco Vista Way south of Double Eagle II Airport. Also, while the city maintains this section of road, Paseo does go through multiple jurisdictions, and we’d have to work with our partners on any future traffic engineering studies to see if this stretch meets the federal criteria.”

In the meantime, he points out “obviously, it is illegal to cross a solid double yellow line to pass, and it is not recommended.”

NIGHT WHISPER/SUMMER RIDGE NEEDS A SIGNAL ONTO UNSER NOW: Lynn Layton emails that “it has been announced in the newspaper that the traffic engineer does not think it necessary for a traffic signal to be put in at this intersection at this time. There isn’t a need for it.

“It would be very nice if this wise traffic person would come here between 4:30 and 7 p.m. and try to make a left turn either south or north onto Unser. It is almost impossible. My daughter waited for over 10 minutes, made a U-turn and headed over to the Walgreen’s exit to get onto Unser on her way to Paseo and the freeway.

“Now that it is well known that Unser goes through to Paseo and onto Interstate 40, we have a lot more traffic, especially at rush hours. It would be appreciated if the traffic department would reconsider their stance on the need for a signal here.”

Motsko says “we did traffic counts a year ago, and they did not meet warrants for a new traffic signal. Right now we’re in construction (widening) Unser between McMahon and Black Arroyo. Once the construction project is complete, and traffic settles into a new pattern, Traffic Engineering will go in and conduct a new traffic warrant analysis. Because we’re installing the ‘backbone’ of a new traffic signal during the road construction, the city has taken a proactive approach to this intersection as we know there will be a new signal warranted in the very near future.”

That signal will cost around $200,000, Motsko says. “In any and all cases of someone calling the city and saying ‘We need a traffic signal at this intersection,’ we have to conduct an engineering study. This ‘warrant analysis’ considers traffic conditions, pedestrian characteristics and physical characteristics of the intersection in question. Other considerations include vehicle hours of stopped time – vehicles waiting to enter the intersection – gaps in traffic on the main street, vicinity to other traffic signals, school zones and railroad crossings. The history of crash data is also examined. Some of the data obtained from the study includes the number of vehicles entering the intersection from each approach, vehicular volumes for each traffic movement from each approach, traffic classification by vehicle type, pedestrian volume counts and whether the pedestrians are young or elderly.

“To satisfy the warrants,” he explains, “tables of vehicle volumes on both the major and minor streets as well as pedestrians are utilized. If the numbers equal or exceed the value in the tables, it may be justification for a new signal. These warrants are part of the (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices), where the federal government has defined guidelines for local municipalities to follow. The engineers are very thorough in examining the data because installing a traffic signal prevents traffic from moving freely.”

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