Going in Circles on Roundabout Plan

The two sides of the roughly 250 boisterous and opinionated Albuquerque residents who packed into a conference room Thursday evening to discuss a proposed North Valley roundabout couldn’t agree on much, except that they’re facing real safety issues and that traffic is a problem.

Whether those issues justify building a 100-foot-wide, $1.5 million roundabout at Rio Grande Boulevard and Candelaria Road was the subject of sometimes heated discussion during a three-hour public meeting at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. City officials and project engineers also went into detail about how the project will affect neighbors and drivers.

“You have the ability to have less potential severe accidents with a roundabout than (a traditional) intersection,” project engineer Albert Thomas told the residents. “The roundabout is safer for both the pedestrians and the vehicles.”

Thomas said drivers heading down Rio Grande travel at 45 mph on average, 10 mph above the speed limit. Installing a roundabout will slow them down, he said.

Residents who are against the roundabout are concerned that the project, paid for through a federal grant, is a waste of money and will clog a major traffic artery unnecessarily, and they said there are other ways of dealing with the traffic and safety concerns.

“If the speed at Rio Grande is supposed to be 35 mph, then let’s enforce it,” said JT Michelson , who also collected 175 signatures against the roundabout and handed them to City Councilor Debbie O’Malley, who represents the area. “Inform the public and enforce the law.”

Those who support the roundabout shared stories of almost being hit by cars at the busy intersection and said the safety concerns justify the price tag.

“It is a very dangerous intersection, and something has to be done,” said resident Alice Lorenz . “Right now people are going down Rio Grande so fast. When they go through a yellow light, what they will do is speed up. We need to put a stop to that.”

Councilor O’Malley said after the meeting that the project will move forward despite the opposition, and she doesn’t expect there to be another public meeting except to get feedback on the “final design.”

“This is an engineering solution to a very serious safety issue,” O’Malley said. “… I support this project.”
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal