WRECK TOOK OUT ALAMEDA SYNCHRONIZATION: Jeff Yingling has an issue with the signals on Alameda Boulevard between Loretta Drive NW and Jefferson Street NE. Specifically, “the traffic lights along this stretch of highway turn red when no vehicles are waiting at a cross street.”
Yingling emails, “one example of this issue may be found at the intersection of Rio Grande/Thomas Lane and Alameda. Frequently, the light turns red on Alameda when no vehicles are waiting in the cross streets. When the lights turn red controlling the cross streets, the turning arrows change to green on Alameda but there are no vehicles in the Alameda turning lanes.”
He adds, “this situation impedes the flow of traffic. It is an inconvenience. Also, it wastes gas while vehicles on Alameda are waiting for the lights. … Any help you can offer will be appreciated by other drivers and me.”
Help comes from Antonio E. Jaramillo, director of operations and maintenance for Bernalillo County Public Works. He says, “Bernalillo County is responsible for the maintenance of the signals along Alameda from Second west to Loretta. Along this stretch of road we have a signal adaptive system that allows traffic on the main line, Alameda, to have priority to help with traffic congestion during peak hours. Because of this, at times the side streets do have minimal extended period of delay to help with this progression. We did have a crash at the intersection of Rio Grande and Alameda that took out one of our control cabinets, which is the brain of the intersection.
“This (has) forced the remainder of the intersections to run undependably or what we call ‘recall’ until we can replace the equipment. Because it was specialized, it did take some time to procure. Because of some connectivity issues at the intersection, they are still running independently. Recently we have been working with our vendor and our county IT staff to reestablish connectivity and are hopeful to get this system up and running again here shortly. We have gone out to many of the intersections and adjusted our timings to allow for additional time for the side streets and increase green times for some of the heavier movements. We do appreciate the understanding of the traveling public as we try and get this system back up and running.”
NEW PUPPY TRACKS NEEDED AT I-40/CARLISLE: Siegfried G. Montano Jr. writes, “Albuquerque needs badly to have turning lanes painted to avoid accidents when turning. An example: Interstate 40 ramp eastbound turning south onto Carlisle. There are three lanes and no painted lines – very dangerous.”
Kimberly Gallegos, District 3 public information officer for the N.M. Department of Transportation, “spoke with our traffic section and there is a purchase order in place to retrace puppy tracks (dotted lines) on various locations, and Carlisle is one of the locations on our list. The work should start when weather warms up around May.”
CLEANUP ON AISLE TRAMWAY: GS shares, “I am a cyclist who rides Tramway three to five days a week. I don’t know who is responsible for cleaning debris from the shoulders and intersections on Tramway (but) there has been the same debris at intersections from accidents and on the shoulders of Tramway for the last four to six months.
“In places the glass completely covers the shoulder and the only way I can avoid the glass is to ride out into traffic. There are parts of vehicles, tree limbs, cardboard and other debris scattered up and down Tramway that have been there forever. … I was a police officer for 29 years in another state, and we never left debris in the roadway from an accident. The tow truck driver was responsible for the clean up, and if he could not handle it, maintenance was called to clean up the debris.”
Gallegos says, “it is normal protocol for the towing company to remove any debris from an accident, and in cases where they cannot, our maintenance crews do assist – though if the maintenance crews are not informed about the accident or leftover debris, they do not realize it until they perform routine road patrol operations. I have relayed the writer’s concern to the appropriate maintenance patrol to ensure they look at this area and remove any remaining debris.”
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, NM, 87109.
