There’s Still Time To Chime in on What E-Boards Should Say

THERE’S STILL TIME TO VOTE! Not only in the general election, but for what you want to see to make your commute easier on the electronic message boards, your smart phone, on nmroads.com and on the 511 roads phone line.

This is Journal readers’ chance to weigh in — for the 337,800 drivers who squeeze through the Big I each weekday, the 154,200 who idle behind backups at the Paseo/Interstate 25 interchange, and the 151,650 stacked up at Coors and Interstate 40 who have hit their steering wheels in frustration because nobody is listening to how bad it is out there.

The Oct. 22 Road Warrior column includes on online survey at ABQjournal.com with a series of options on the kind of information that you can get about your commute — from wrecks to weather to delays on river crossings. Rank each of the 13 categories in order of your priorities — and include your own ideas, too — and then pick from the list of delivery options to show how you want to get it.

Please click through and take the survey online, or email me your priorities. The decidedly unscientific results will be part of a discussion Nov. 15 with traffic experts, planners and first responders on what information should be made available to drivers and how the Metro area’s Intelligent Transportation System should grow.

N.M. 313 GETS NEW PAVEMENT STARTING MONDAY: Crews will start the $1.1 million, monthlong mill and inlay project — where they grind up the top layer of pavement, heat it up and add emulsifiers and then lay it back down — next week.

The project will run from just north of Sandia Pueblo to the U.S. 550 intersection, according to Phil Gallegos, who handles information for the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s District 3 Office. Crews will be on site from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week through early December.

During the work, Gallegos says, one lane will be open in each direction, various on-street parking will be restricted and ingress and egress to local business will be limited for short periods.

STRUGGLING WITH THE NEW MEADOWLARK STRIPING: SClement emails there’s been “a traffic-pattern change which has made life hazardous for those who are trying to follow it. In July, Meadowlark going west across N.M. 528 had a change from two left-turn lanes (and) two through lanes with the option of a right-turn on far right lane. Now we have two left-turn lanes, one through lane and one — supposedly — dedicated right-turn lane.

“However, many, many drivers who are planning to go to Walgreens or one of the banks directly on the other side of 528 simply ignore the signs and striping. I see at least one car break the law every time I cross that intersection — they simply keep going straight so that they can make a quick right turn. You must be on your toes to check the driver next to you to see if he/she is going to attempt an illegal cross of 528 from the far right lane.”

SClement is concerned that “someone is going to be seriously hurt at that intersection before long. The city had a ‘Notice of Traffic Pattern Change’ posted at that intersection for only part of one day — not enough learning curve for some people out here! Maybe the city could re-post the traffic-pattern change notice and leave it up for awhile, or it could fill its coffers with fees from traffic tickets they could hand out in droves.”

The city says there are adequate signs warning drivers of the new pattern, and police are on the lookout for scofflaws.

Peter Wells, communications officer for the city of Rio Rancho, explains “the intersection was reconfigured the week of July 30. The ‘changed traffic pattern ahead’ sign was posted for approximately one week.”

In addition, “the lane designation is appropriately signed and striped more than 400 feet in advance of the intersection, and the driver’s natural path takes them into the through lane.

“Because the new configuration has been in place for nearly three months,” Wells says, “traffic engineers believe it is safe to presume that motorists that frequent this area are aware of what the lane designation is. The police department does regular enforcement of red-light running at this intersection, and monitoring for those choosing to break the law via improper lane use is something they look for as well.”

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.