Without notice to potentially affected residents or business owners, Mayor Martin Chávez, Councilor Michael Cadigan and Municipal Development Director Ed Adams recently stood on the Montaño Bridge and announced that the next day city crews would begin re-striping nearly all of Montaño Road between Coors and Fourth Street.
Because the city has enacted several resolutions requiring that numerous infrastructure improvements be completed before Montaño can be re-striped, a state District Court enjoined the city from proceeding, rejecting the mayor's ambitious legal argument that the earlier Montaño resolutions were merely "advisory."
The council has since passed (7-2) a resolution calling for an independent study of the Fourth and Montaño intersection. The mayor has threatened to veto this and move ahead with his own plans, including a city-directed study of Fourth Street. He will hold a public meeting on the study tonight
Following the mayor's lead, Cadigan plans to introduce a resolution that will nullify the city's prior commitments regarding Montaño.
In the best interest of our city, we call on Cadigan and the mayor to reconsider their approach.
A preliminary assessment of traffic flow impacts that would result from four lanes on Montaño, conducted by the Mid-Region Council of Governments, concluded that travel times for many commuters, particularly those in Taylor Ranch, would actually increase unless there is a prior, substantial overhaul of the Fourth Street intersection. More recently, two prominent West Side leaders publicly called for upgrades to the Fourth Street intersection prior to re-striping.
While we should not condone Cadigan's attempt to shift traffic problems from one part of the city to another, the mayor's actions are even more objectionable. Unlike Cadigan, the mayor was elected to serve the interests of the entire city. Instead, the mayor's commitment to deliver a four-lane Montaño corridor to his West Side political base has thoroughly clouded his judgment.
Further evidence of this can be seen in his repeated attempts to mischaracterize the issue as a "City vs. Village of Los Ranchos" or "West Side vs. East Side" confrontation. Such intimations are unnecessarily divisive and ignore the collaborative work that has been undertaken by hundreds of concerned Albuquerqueans on both sides of the river.
Equally troubling are comments made by Adams, who has suggested on several occasions that there is only a minimal correlation between traffic flow at Fourth and Montaño and the negative economic effects on surrounding businesses.
Before we saddle ourselves with impractical, unsustainable solutions, we need objective data only a thorough, independent analysis will provide. Such a study could be completed in months, not years. It should include the key elements of our Community Visioning Report (www.cabq.gov/council/communityvisioningreport.html) and should examine alternatives that irretrievably will be lost if the mayor's current proposals are implemented.
Together as a community we could then make intelligent, rational decisions that would benefit our city, now and in the future.
The mayor has promised to support our efforts. He should act on that promise. Chris Kenny is Vice President of the Fourth Street & Montaño Area Improvement Coalition.
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