Road Warrior: Who cleans up the Bosque and Tramway trails?

Tale of two treacherous trails: Two bike paths diverged in a yellow wood; bikers on both want to know when the trails are going to be maintained.

“The river-side bike path is a great resource for recreation, and is also a commuter ‘road’ of sorts,’” wrote one Bosque traveler. “Recent rains have littered the path with debris and with sand and mud, making it difficult to navigate. Who is responsible for clearing and restoring this path?”

Both the city and county help maintain the Bosque Trail, said a spokesperson for Albuquerque’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“Following heavy rainstorms, Open Space will evaluate trails in the Bosque and perform maintenance such as sweeping the trail and shoveling out debris to clear the trail,” according to a statement emailed to the Journal. “Depending on the area, OSD will determine if more critical erosion control is needed to keep sediment off.”

The department urged trail enthusiasts to call 311 with concerns about the trail.

On the other side of town, Rick Meyer, a frequent rider of the Tramway Recreation Trail asks a similar question.

“(The trail) has deteriorated quite a bit … I’m over 70 years old and when I ride, I see others riding who are about my age,” Meyer said. “We are being quite shaken up by deep crevices and wide cracks.”

Meyer continued that some bikers have taken to riding on the road, rather than the path, which he identified as a safety concern.

Kim Gallegos, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation district that houses the trail, said the maintenance crew tasked to keep the trail in good shape was on it.

“Last I heard … they were looking at getting a contractor in there to do what is called a crack seal,” Gallegos said in an email. “...They are aware of the cracking taking place and should be fixing this area soon.”

She said she would follow up to find out when the work was scheduled for.

Exorcising speed demons: Smile or slow down, there’s a new speed camera in the city ready to snap your photo.

The new camera watches the northbound lane at Coors and Montaño. Now, there are 18 cameras throughout the city, with another soon to come at Coors south of Ellison and Paseo.

And think twice about ignoring that speeding ticket, starting Sept. 1, the city is now able to boot cars with unpaid speeding tickets parked in one of the 1,600 city-owned spots.

As of last Monday, the city had issued 908 citations for the month of September.

In the annual report for the automated speed enforcement program, officials reported that 95,000 citations had been issued, and about 60% of those had been paid, netting an impressive return of over $5 million. Proceeds from the program first go to cover operating expenses, then half is sent to the state.

Four hours of community service can be a substitute for paying the $100 fee.

Happy trails for a visitor from up north: Albuquerque drivers come with a reputation.

A 2018 study ranked New Mexico drivers as the fifth worst in the country; one from April said Albuquerque was the second-most dangerous city to drive in; another from July found Albuquerque had the third-highest proportion of bad drivers.

But one former Duke City resident says things are changing for the better.

Paul Schmolke moved from Albuquerque to Santa Fe after 30 years living in “The Big City.” He still visits weekly; but last week was a pleasant surprise, he writes, as he drove down Montgomery from Tramway to Carlisle.

“In the past, this would’ve been an adventure in trying to keep from getting run over by speeders and/or deafened by very loud exhaust noise. I’m happy to say that during my entire drive, I encountered neither.

…I guess I’ll attribute the changes to increased enforcement efforts by APD. There was plenty of traffic but it was orderly and comparatively quiet.

…I’ve had over 50 years to watch the evolution. It’s remarkable.”