APD CRACKS DOWN ON SPEEDERS:
An update posted Thursday on metro area Nextdoor websites from the Albuquerque Police Department’s Haley R. provides some heartening news for motorists sick of dodging speeders and residents sick of listening to racing engines and loud mufflers.
“In the (first) two weekends (of December), officers issued 73 citations for speeding, 12 for racing and 10 for modified exhaust, better known as loud mufflers. Additionally, there were two citations for careless driving, one for reckless driving and one arrest for driving on a revoked license related to a previous DWI.”
It’s all part of APD’s continuing enforcement blitz, in which the Police Department’s “Motors and DWI Units have significantly expanded enforcement to improve safety and quality of life for Albuquerque citizens. Officers are specifically looking for speeders, drag racers and drivers with loud mufflers. In the (aforementioned) weekends, officers focused enforcement along the Montgomery corridor and in the Central and Unser area.”
But the blitz didn’t start during the holiday season. “Since Oct. 9, officers have issued a total of 728 citations for speeding and 1,563 citations for moving violations. The Montgomery corridor is where officers are seeing the majority of speeders, and it’s where all of the speeding citations were issued (the Dec. 11-13) weekend.”
The post received 130-and-counting heart and smiley-face emojis.
ABQ BIKE RATING GOES FROM BRONZE TO SILVER: The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Albuquerque as a silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community, up from bronze, for “its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit its residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging healthier and more sustainable transportation choices.” (The levels are diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze.)
Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, said in a news release from the city that “it’s so important that communities like Albuquerque have laid the groundwork over several years to make biking a safe, accessible option for people when we all need as much health and happiness as possible.”
The award process considers bike infrastructure, efforts around adult and youth bike education, encouragement through events like Bike to Work Day, evaluation mechanisms and enforcement. Local bicyclists and transportation advocates provide input as well. Communities have to renew their status every four years and show they not only maintain existing efforts but also keep up with changing technology, national safety standards and community-driven best practices, according to the news release.
EMISSIONS CHECKS AUTOMATICALLY GO TO MVD: As New Mexico motorists take advantage of the ability to renew their vehicle registrations online at mvd.newmexico.gov (click on “online services” and then “renew vehicle registration”), Bernalillo County residents have been asking what to do about the emissions certificate that’s required in their county alone.
And reader Mick McMahan shares this answer: “I looked on the MVD site, and one paragraph at the bottom of one section of the posting said that email certificates did not have to be sent to NMMVD because the certificates are electronically linked to MVD.”
ROUNDABOUT LANDSCAPING DONE: An update from CWA Strategic Communications says a small amount of paving remains and all the landscaping is essentially complete at the new, and controversial, roundabout at Rio Grande and Candelaria NW.
“The project is expected to be completed in early to mid-January 2021,” a news release says. In addition to paving through Dec. 23 and some additional construction after that, the landscaping contractor “will install a water meter in January 2021 and complete a final walk-thru for the project.”
“We apologize for the inconvenience, but are working to get more of this area paved so we can open it up before Christmas. … Thank you everyone for your patience during construction!”
Editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, N.M., 87109.
