NEWS
UNM to install gates on Central to limit outside overnight traffic
The $1.43 million gates will be finished in September
Published
The University of New Mexico will install four automated gates at access points along Central Avenue that will automatically close nightly to reduce outside traffic on campus.
The gates will replace temporary construction barriers at Princeton Drive, Stanford Drive, Yale Boulevard and Terrace Street, and will close each night on a timer from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The temporary gates have already brought “measurable safety benefits” since they were put in place in August by reducing unauthorized traffic on campus, allowing UNM police officers to focus on other things, said UNM Chief of Police Joseph Silva.
“Automated security gates will build on that success by providing consistent, technology-driven access control that enhances safety while maintaining necessary access for emergency services,” Silva said in a statement.
The gates will be managed electronically and will open automatically via sensor if an emergency vehicle needs to get through, said Kurt Schlough, director of facilities design and construction at UNM.
“Pedestrians and bicycles and people on other utility mobility devices can still get onto campus around the gates, but they’re really meant to just restrict vehicles off of Central Avenue,” Schlough said.
Students and other personnel who need to get on campus after hours can use other access points on Girard, University and Lomas boulevards, he added.
The gates will cost an estimated $1.43 million from the university’s plant fund reserves. Construction will begin in May and last until September, according to university officials.
The UNM Board of Regents approved the construction during the March 17 meeting.
UNM has spent more than $20.4 million on security measures across the north and central areas of campus since 2021, university officials said in a news release.
“This is a thoughtful, forward-looking investment in the long-term security of the UNM community,” Silva said.
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
