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After 19-year-old cyclist killed, Albuquerque City Council tightens traffic law
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When a car struck and killed 19-year-old cyclist Kayla VanLandingham at a bike crossing on Carlisle, the driver had done nothing wrong, according to the law.
That law is set to change after Wednesday, when the Albuquerque City Council unanimously voted to update the traffic code, mandating that all vehicles stop at flashing safety lights and yield to pedestrians, cyclists and other “vulnerable road users” in crosswalks.
“If this code existed in its current form, I truly believe Kayla would still be with me today,” Melinda Montoya, VanLandingham’s mother, said at Wednesday’s council meeting.
In VanLandingham’s obituary, family and friends recalled her loving relationship with her mini Australian service dog, Moki, her “sweet giggle” and dedication to challenging herself and others. VanLandingham was also a childhood cancer survivor and often volunteered with Children’s Cancer Fund of New Mexico.
VanLandingham also worked at the city-run Esperanza Bike Safety Center.
“Kayla’s courage and tenderness touched everyone around her,” her obituary read.
While the City Council was spurred into action after VanLandingham’s death, 23 pedestrians and four other cyclists were killed in crashes in Bernalillo County this year, according to data from the University of New Mexico and the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Road safety is a longstanding issue in the state, with New Mexico being ranked worst in the nation for pedestrian fatalities for the past eight years, according to the annual reports from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.
Turning things around will take more than laws, said the legislation’s sponsor, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn.
“While we just passed a really important update to our traffic code — it’s only as good as our education and outreach with the community so that everyone knows about it,” Fiebelkorn said.
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Alongside the traffic code change is a public education campaign directive, which the council unanimously approved Wednesday. Once developed, the city will put up billboards, take out print, radio and television ads about the law change, update its own mandatory training for city employees and deliver educational materials to schools.
The law change is meant to give the Albuquerque Police Department the ability to enforce traffic laws surrounding crosswalks with hopes of reshaping Albuquerque’s driving culture over time.
In many West Coast cities, it’s common and codified in their laws for drivers to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. In Albuquerque, advocates said that drivers often ignore crosswalks entirely.
The amended law also expanded the definition of a crosswalk to include bike crossings — such as where VanLandingham was killed — and unmarked crosswalks, which exist at every intersection regardless of whether it’s delineated with the signature striped white lines.
The law also codifies the “Idaho Stop,” which allows cyclists to pedal through stop signs and pause at red lights and continue if clear. The Idaho Stop was passed statewide during the regular legislative session earlier this year.
An update with new technology was also added to the outdated law, creating a list of “vulnerable road users” that includes pedestrians and cyclists, as well as people on e-bikes, scooters, skateboards and motorized wheelchairs.
It also explains how drivers should treat different kinds of crossing lights, such as high-intensity activated crosswalks, or HAWK lights, that are being installed across the city in the wake of VanLandingham’s death.
When a pedestrian presses the button on a HAWK light, it triggers a flashing yellow light to let drivers know to slow down. It will then turn red so the pedestrian can cross. After several seconds the light will begin flashing red, which means the driver may proceed if the pedestrian has finished crossing.
Where VanLandingham was killed, there was an overhead flashing yellow light meant to alert drivers to yield, although it legally didn’t require them to stop. Those yellow lights have been criticized for confusing to drivers and causing crashes.
Bike safety advocates, including Montoya, have asked for the installation of HAWK lights, which they say are safer, at bike crossings with heavy traffic.
In response, the city announced in August that it plans to install seven HAWK lights across the city, including where VanLandingham was killed. Three such lights will be placed along the Bear Canyon Arroyo Trail where it crosses Wyoming, Eubank and Morris. Two more will be placed along Central, where pedestrian fatalities are highest.
The lights will go on the intersections of Brit and Central, near Eubank and Dorothy and Central, near Juan Tabo.
Next to VanLandingham’s memorial, a white ghost bike decorated with yellow daffodils, orange marigolds and plastic butterflies, a construction crew worked Thursday to put up the new light.
For members of VanLandingham’s family, this change comes too little too late.
“Honestly, I’m angry that it has had to be the death of my granddaughter and the advocacy of my daughter to bring this issue to light,” said Diana Zamora, VanLandingham’s grandmother and Montoya’s mother at Wednesday’s meeting.
Despite the tragedy, Montoya said that making the streets safer for everyone is something her daughter would have wanted.
“Kayla also worked at Esperanza Bicycle Safety Center, where she shared her love of bikes and her belief that riding brought freedom, joy, and the ability to ‘do the hard things,’” her obituary reads.
When VanLandingham was killed in July, she was the third employee from the city-run center to die after being hit by a car in recent years.
Though Montoya plans to take her advocacy to the Roundhouse in the spring, she said this local update is a good first step.
“I say ‘thank you’ and I know Kayla would, too,” Montoya told councilors.
