Roundabout Criticized as ‘Overreach’

The city of Albuquerque’s plan to make the Rio Grande and Candelaria intersection safer by building a roundabout is being called “a vast overreach in ambition and scope” by a coalition opposing the project.

The Rio Grande Boulevard Preservation Coalition delivered its “alternative report” to city officials this week, including to the office of area representative City Councilor Debbie O’Malley, a main proponent of the project.

The multi-page report said the city’s plan to transform Rio Grande Boulevard into a shopping destination “is totally unrealistic” and ignores the area’s historic rural and semi-rural character.

The group contended that an analysis of a study done by the project consultants showed that most accidents at the intersection are caused by driver inattention.

It added that it’s unproven that the problem of inattentive drivers will be eliminated by a roundabout.

O’Malley, in an email response, disputed a coalition description of roundabouts as “fads,” saying that an analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Federal Highway Administration concluded that roundabouts are safer than signalized intersections.

The citizens group, in its report, presented five alternatives to the city’s plan: installing radar signs to record speeds and time of day, hiring off-duty police officers to monitor drivers “during periods of maximum speeding and careless driving,” installing rumble strips on Rio Grande to slow traffic, installing “no right turn on red signs” on Candelaria, and adding left-turn light signals to the intersection.

O’Malley in her response said the city did consider other alternatives, including the ones proposed by the coalition, but she added that they only provided “partial solutions.”

To the suggestion of using off-duty officers two hours a day to enforce speeding laws, the Albuquerque Police Department has said that to effectively enforce laws at the intersection, it would require “an almost continuous presence by two officers, which would be prohibitively expensive,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley also said she recognizes that not everyone supports the roundabout proposal, but added, “I continue to believe it is the best alternative for improving safety at that intersection and reducing speeding.”

Funding to design and build the $1.6 million roundabout has been made available through the state Department of Transportation using Federal Safety funds and matching money from the city.