Alameda/Coors Work Is Not Meant To Extend Left-Turn Lane

ALAMEDA/COORS PROBLEMS BIGGER THAN THIS FIX: Sofnabq voices an ongoing concern about “the left-turn problem going from westbound Alameda to southbound Coors.

“The left lane of the double left at that intersection is, during busy times, usually completely blocked by cars in the right lane and pretty much empty,” sofnabq says. “Cars in the right lane also back up into the left through lane, thus blocking the flow of traffic wanting to continue west on Alameda.”

So sofnabq had hope last month when “it looked like the city was finally going to fix this problem by extending the turn lanes to allow more cars to enter. Now that work is in progress, it’s apparent they are really only extending the left line slightly so that there is more empty space in it after being blocked by the lane next to it. I can’t imagine how many tax dollars are being spent to provide space for what looks like one more car but will, in reality, usually just be empty space.

“Please tell me it isn’t so, that they are going to put in the long double left that the intersection has needed — and that has been asked for by users of that intersection — for years.”

No can do.

Phil Gallegos, who handles information for the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s District 3 office, says “the work your reader describes is driven by and being paid for by the developer of a project on Alameda west of this location. As part of the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) submitted by the developer, we required they extend the median, which will contribute to future improvements.

“To address the through-traffic queue, the left-turn lane would have to be extended 500 feet further east. That is not the responsibility of the developer. We can only ask the developer to pay for the amount that he is contributing the intersection. A long-term solution to the intersection capacity will need to be developed, but the fix will not be cheap as right of way will be needed in all four quadrants.”

DRIVERS STILL CUTTING ACROSS COORS TO ILIFF: PM says in an email “I guess nothing is going to be done about the vehicles that dart across two lanes of traffic in order to turn east/left on Iliff after exiting westbound Interstate 40 to southbound Coors. I predict there will be an accident if it hasn’t happened yet. Whoever is in charge needs to put up those traffic diverters to make traffic flow to the next signal and then turn left/east safely. I have seen a lot of near misses because drivers don’t want to go to the next light.”

There are delineators that force southbound drivers to stay in their lane at the site already.

Gallegos says “we had really tweaked the location of delineators to the maximum, and the ability to turn east on Iliff from Coors southbound was curtailed dramatically. That being said, if some of those delineators are down, creating gaps that can be driven through, then we need to replace them. I will get with our traffic folks and take a look.”

TURNING TRAFFIC BLOCKS THROUGH TRAFFIC ON SECOND: Finally, a caller says the right-lane turners headed from Paseo del Norte and then Second onto El Pueblo are blocking the through lanes, so much so that other drivers can’t move to the left.

According to 2011 statistics from the Mid-Region Council of Governments, 19,100 vehicles go through Second/El Pueblo on an average weekday.

Gallegos says “the right lane is also a through lane with the option to turn right. During high-volume traffic, moving to the left can be an issue, but you can still proceed southbound and move left after the signal.”

Gallegos points out that closures on the other bridge crossings can put even more volume and thus more backups on Paseo and Second. “During those times patience is your friend.”

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 1 of the West Side Journal