Sent two letters before work this morning. Will reprint here.
Editor, Santa Fe New Mexican
Patrick Walker, in his
24 April letter, correctly points out that the
Cerrillos Road/St. Francis Drive intersection is not only in serious
need of pavement maintenance, but its very design is dangerous. Indeed,
its not the only arterial in Santa Fe whose design is inappropriate for
mixed use city transportation.
Where Mr. Walker missed the target is in blaming city government for
this situation. Cerrillos, St. Francis, and the Railrunner that crosses
it are State Dept. of Transportation facilities. The correct targets of
criticism are the Governor, her Transportation Secretary, the District 5
engineering and design staff, and the City Different state legislative
delegation.
Santa Fe may be striving for sustainability, but if it is to reduce its
carbon footprint due to over-reliance on motor vehicles, it is important
to design transportation infrastructure that encourages something else.
The city government may be on board, but it is absolutely critical to
change the mentality of the NMDOT, which puts motor vehicular level of
service on a pedestal far above all other considerations. Or, simply
transfer all roads within city limits to city jurisdiction.
Dear Ms. Westphal, Albuquerque Journal "Road Warrior"
I found it rather interesting
that you would note that bicyclists have
the right to take a lane on Albuquerque's busy, fast arterials without
noting that the very design of these roads makes such an activity a high
risk endeavor. As Chuck Marohn has often pointed out, when you design
urban roads like highways
(i.e., "stroads"), people behave as though
they are on a highway. Albuquerque's high arterial speeds, coupled with
their multilane design, ensures that a bicyclist will be hard to spot in
traffic and if hit, will be hit at high speed. Hence Albuquerque's
profligate use of Ghost Bikes and the city and state's reputation for
being an unsafe place for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Aside from that, I suspect a planner would note that for a bicycle to be
anything other than a toy, ie., if it is to be used as real
transportation, distances in an urban area have to be conducive to
bicycling. Albuquerque's sheer girth, including the planned Santolina
development, means that someone depending on a bicycle will have a hard
time getting to all destinations. Indeed, when we briefly thought of
relocating to the SE Heights, my first thought was whether I could get
to food, medical care, and the UNM campus efficiently and safely, i.e.,
without having to bicycle on Central or other fast, wide arterials.
Finally, does anyone know how many miles of regular travel lanes exist
in the city? 170 miles of paths and 540 miles of bike lanes may sound
like a large number, but could be lost in a city that currently spans
190 square miles.
