Driver Seeks Explanation for Menaul/Indian School Roundabout

WHAT’S WITH THE MENAUL/INDIAN SCHOOL ROUNDABOUT? That question comes from Jerry Burns, who emails “I have two questions about the traffic circle being built on Menaul/Indian School.

“First, why is (it) taking as long as it took to redo the Big I, and, more importantly, why is it necessary to have this roundabout a block from a traffic signal? If it is about the curve and blind spots from the business entrances, wouldn’t a speed bump (have) been millions of dollars cheaper? I travel this road often and have never seen an accident there.”

Mark Motsko, who handles information for the city’s Department of Municipal Development, got with Engineering Division manager Melissa Lozoya, who says the roundabout is part of a bigger development picture.

“The roundabout is being constructed as part of a larger development plan involving the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the planned Indian School property development,” she says. “The basis for the project is contained in a 2005 study, which was commissioned by City Council and adopted as an ordinance. The development of this plan and the resulting roundabout project were conducted in coordination with the community, including the Near North Valley Neighborhood Association.”

And the plan includes a lot more than a roundabout.

“The roundabout intersection creates both traffic calming and pedestrian enhancements that were requested by the community and are included in the plan,” Lozoya says. “These include: the addition of bicycle lanes; wider sidewalks for pedestrians; reduced speed; reduced conflict points for pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles; and landscaping and streetscape features.”

But Jerry is correct that the intersection has some safety challenges. Lozoya says “the specific intersection of Indian School and Menaul does have sight distance, speed and alignment issues. (But) Indian School Road (and) Menaul are major collectors, and speed bumps/humps are not appropriate traffic calming measures on these facilities.”

And while speed humps aren’t used on collector streets, they are cheaper than roundabouts. A look at previous city projects shows a speed hump is in the $2,500 to $3,000 neighborhood while a roundabout costs somewhere around $1.5 million.

As for the project timeline, Lozoya says “the contractor started construction on Feb. 27 and is scheduled to finish in the next few weeks.” One reason for the length of the project is “construction included the lowering of approximately 300 feet of gas line and several hundred feet of water line, both of which were too shallow.”

CITY SHOULDN’T ABANDON CARE OF ITS MEDIANS: Barbara emails that “a few weeks ago someone commented about the weeds growing in the various landscaped medians. The reply from the city was that they did not have the staff necessary to keep the weeds under control.

“Has the city considered letting organizations ‘adopt’ a median to care for and have a plaque placed on it saying they are caring for it, similar to highway areas where certain organizations pick up trash?”

Right now, the city is testing a pilot project that puts median maintenance out to bid.

A news release from the Mayor’s Office says the project will include 16 of the city’s 542 acres of medians and “is expected to help the city compare the cost of contracting the work out to a private companies vs. internally covering the costs of median maintenance, (and) financially bolster the winning company.”

The news release explains the city “began the median improvement program in 2004; since then an inventory of the medians and landscaping efforts started created drastic changes for the slivers of land between roadways. In recent years those additional landscaping needs put pressure on Park Management’s ability to maintain this investment.”

The release says if the pilot program saves money and is more efficient, “it could be expanded to additional medians throughout the city.”

WHEN WILL SAN ANTONIO/WYOMING BE CONSTRUCTION-FREE? Jerry Vaughn asks “how much longer the construction at San Antonio and Wyoming will be going on?”

Motsko says “we’re expected to be out of Wyoming/San Antonio/Harper intersection in … late August. The contractor is working extended hours and on Saturdays to get this work done as quickly and safely as possible. For the whole project, we’re looking at the end of the year.”

That work is part of the $3.7 million Wyoming widening Phase 2. Phase 1 was from Academy to San Antonio/Harper. Phase 2 is adding a travel lane and bike lane from San Antonio/Harper to just south of Paseo del Norte.

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, NM 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal