Rio Grande Roundabout Plan Stirs Debate

North Valley residents agree that Rio Grande Boulevard poses safety issues and traffic concerns, but whether those concerns justify installing a $1.5 million roundabout at the Candelaria intersection is a contentious and different question.

About 250 residents packed into a conference room at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center recently to discuss the project, which city officials have said will slow down cars and reduce the risk to walkers and bicyclists.

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

The crowd appeared to be evenly divided in favor and against the roundabout, and about 40 people stood up to speak to City Councilor Debbie O’ Malley, who represents the area, project engineers and city officials.

Thomas told residents at the meeting the intersection has an accident rate triple that of other city intersections, and that drivers speed down Rio Grande on average at 45 mph, 10 mph over the posted limit. Drivers would roll through the roundabout between 15 and 25 mph, Thomas said.

However, residents criticized the roundabout as a waste of money and said O’Malley has not been receptive to their concerns.

“This is the type of narrow, single-minded thinking that is refreshing in a politician,” joked North Valley resident Kevin Kirby at the meeting. “Got a problem? Go around it.”

O’Malley said the city considered alternatives, including additional traffic signals and police enforcement, but she’s convinced the roundabout is the best and most economical way to address safety concerns.

A study by the American Journal of Public Health found that roundabouts reduce the number of “fatal and incapacitating injuries” by 90 percent. The study looked at 24 roundabouts in eight states that were installed between 1992 and 1997.

Those opposed to the roundabout said law enforcement should patrol the intersection more regularly rather than slow down all traffic. Thomas’ presentation said the roundabout would slow drivers’ commutes by about a minute.

But those in favor of the 100-foot roundabout, which would be funded through a federal grant, shared stories of almost getting hit at the intersection and said user safety far outweighs commute inconvenience.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal