Ghost Bike Dedication for Luis Quiroz on Saturday, June 29th

 
Snagged from the Seniors on Bikes web site.

As you know, Luis Quiroz was killed in April while riding on Camino de Los Abuelos in Galisteo. As part of the Santa Fe cycling community, I wanted to let the Seniors on Bikes club know of the installation of a ghost bike for Luis on June 29th at 9:00. The location of the installation is the intersection of Camino de Los Abuelos and La Jara Ranch road. Please join us to show support for Luis from the our biking community. Thanks

-Michele Ortega

Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Seeks New Members from City Council District 1

 Hi, folks. Two of us are retiring from the BPAC this June. I'm term limited and the other District One representative has conflicting commitments. So we need new people.

Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Seeks New Members from City Council District 1

Application Deadline: June 14, 2024 @ 5 PM

SANTA FE, NM, May 22, 2024 – Re-established in January 2021, the Bicycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), formerly known as the Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee (BTAC), is seeking two (2) new members from District 1. For the past two decades, since BTAC was formed in 2003, the ten-member Committee strives to make bicycling and walking safe, equitable, viable, and comfortable modes of transportation, commuting, and recreation. This includes the responsibility to deliberate on City projects, plans, and policies that impact both on-road and off-road bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and to advise the Governing Body on such matters.

Specific duties and responsibilities of the committee include:

(a) Assist in the prioritization of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects to be completed using city, state, and federal funds, through the development of the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization (SFMPO) Bicycle Master Plan and the SFMPO Pedestrian Master plan;

(b) Review preliminary designs for new Public Works projects involving public roadways and trails funded out of city, state, or federal sources to ensure designs comply with the City's commitment to make bicycling and walking safe, equitable, viable, and comfortable modes of transportation.

(c) Advise on policies, programs, and ordinances as they relate to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure safety, design, construction, and operation and maintenance;

(d) Develop, review, and advise on media and educational campaigns providing information and promoting bicycle- and pedestrian- related activities and education;

(e) Work with other agencies for the enhancement of city and county trail systems;

(f) Review and recommend updates to Bicycle Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan, Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Parks Master Plan related to trails, and the City’s Land Use Development Code as they pertain to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and associated regulations;

(g) Seek funding from city, state, and federal sources to implement the City-led projects identified in the SFMPO’s 2019 Bicycle Master Plan and 2020 Metropolitan Transportation Plan and consider reoccurring funding sources from the City to be applied to the implementation of policies, programs, and other projects that are supported by the plans;

(h) Pursue the League of American Bicyclists Diamond-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation for the City of Santa Fe, as well as any other local, state, or national awards or designations that the City deems worthy of pursuit;

(i) Advise on polices, projects, ordinances, and funding as they relate to bicycling and walking as safe, equitable, viable, and comfortable modes of transportation; and

(j) Educate the public on the work of the Committee.

BPAC is currently chaired by City Councilor Michael Garcia, and meets on the second Thursday of each month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers, 200 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Meetings are open to the public.

Members are recommended by Chair Garcia and appointed by Mayor Webber. We’re looking for members who can represent the varied interests of recreationists, youth and neighborhood group users, commuters, bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users; and those who can contribute to the development of an effective multi-modal transportation system in our City. There are currently two vacancies from District 1, and the terms are for a two-year commitment. Members are not compensated.

Interested District 1 residents may apply by submitting via e-mail: 1) letter of interest; and 2) resume to Romella Glorioso-Moss, BPAC Staff Liaison, rsglorioso-moss@santafenm.gov

DEADLINE for application is on June 14, 2024 at 5 PM.

Romella Glorioso-Moss, PhD, AICP, CPM
Capital Projects Manager & BPAC Staff Liaison
Public Works – Complete Streets
737 Agua Fria St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Tentative Temporary Closure of Rail Trail near St. Michaels for Geotechnical Work Towards the Tunnel Project

 
This is a heads-up for the Santa Fe Rail Trail closure at St. Michael’s Drive, 2nd Street and Siringo Rd TENTATIVELY scheduled from 10/30 through 11/10, 2023. This may change a bit as the city, consultant, and state are still working out some details.

The city consultants working on the St. Michael’s Drive-Rail Trail Underpass Project will be conducting geological auger boring for subsurface sampling, which is needed for designing the tunnel project.

Although there will not be any construction or demolition for this work, the Rail Trail @ St. Mike’s, 2nd Street and Siringo Rd needs to be closed during drilling operations for safety reason (see map for location). A truck mounted drill rig, CME 55 (see photo), will be driven over the designated boring locations and drill down at desired depths, blocking parts of the trail.

 The detour is pretty much what it was a couple months ago, using W. San Mateo, Calle Lorca, and Siringo to loop around the construction.  

 

League of American Bicyclists Solicits Your Input on Santa Fe's Bicycle Friendly Community Renewal

 Posted per Amelia Neptune of the LAB.

 

Thank you again for applying to have Santa Fe recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community!

Now that the Fall 2023 application deadline has passed, the BFC review process is officially underway. We look forward to working with you in the coming months as we review your community's application materials.

To help us gain a better understanding of local bicyclists' experiences in your community, we would greatly appreciate your help distributing the following public survey link so that bicyclists in your community can provide their input as well.

Public Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFC_Fall23

Please distribute this link as broadly as possible to residents and local area bicyclists.  See our tips and resources for promoting your survey.  We will also be sharing the survey with our network of local bike advocates, including those identified on your application, as well as to League members in your area.

The survey will remain open through Friday, October 20th.

This survey is open to anyone familiar with bicycling in your community, including those involved in submitting your BFC application. (Everyone receiving this email is encouraged to complete the survey and to share it broadly!) While strongly encouraged, distributing this survey link is not required.  

This survey is meant to provide context for our review team's decision-making process, as well as valuable feedback for you directly from bicyclists in your community. Anonymous aggregate survey results will be included in your feedback materials later this year.  More information about the public survey can be found here.

 

So what do we do about the Rail Trail closure?

 

Trail closure just south of St. Michael's Drive, looking south

The Rail Trail in Santa Fe is what could quite correctly be called the most important "bicycle arterial" in the city of Santa Fe. It provides connectivity to the Chamiso Trail as well as its own connections to the south end of Santa Fe, including housing and commercial activities on Zia and beyond, and the cinder trail all the way from Rabbit Road to Lamy. I think closing it without a plan socialized to the public is incredibly thoughtless or possibly, shows an incredible stovepiping of government.

 The issue is, a developer is doing serious digging just south of St Michael's Drive that likely has to do with the Cerro del Norte subdivision, and the Rail Trail is shut down for what looks like a month as the excavation and construction goes right through it. Seems odd, don't you think, that no one bothered to set out a well marked detour for bicyclists and pedestrians or consider the importance of the trail to users as part of a traffic control plan? After all, there are huge, practically glow in the dark signs directing motorists around the West Alameda Washout detour. Or are bicyclists and pedestrians irrelevant?

True to form, since government dropped the ball, people have pounded out a dirt trail in the space between the construction zone and the Rail Runner tracks. It isn't pretty, but I rode down there as I saw one walker headed toward the closure (photo above) and he was followed by about four others, one on a bike and the others on foot.

The newly pounded down dirt path around the construction zone, running along the rail tracks, photo looking north.

Well, here is one suggestion, courtesy of Tim Rogers. For southbound cyclists, ride the Rail Trail southbound to the Second Street crossing. Turn left onto W San Mateo (the street name changes at the Railrunner tracks). Make the first right, barely a tenth of a mile if that, onto Calle Llorca. Take Llorca past St. Michaels Drive to Siringo, turn right, jog about a tenth of a mile back to the Rail Trail/Chamisa Trail crossing and keep going. For northbound cyclists, do the reverse. 

 Just don't ride too close to parked cars on Llorca. I tried the route today. Works fine. Holler if you discover problems, such as the buried loop detectors on Llorca not seeing a bicyclist.  I think that road should be posted with signage showing that suddenly, a lot of cyclists will be there.

 Now, if the city would get with the program and have its various departments communicate with each other, we might not have such surprises.

Green line is the Rail Trail. I've penned in the detour in red. Chamisa trail split is just south of Siringo.

Fatal Hit & Run Go Fund Me

 

Perhaps you heard about the cyclist, Nathan Gray, killed by a hit and run driver on Old Pecos Trail on August 1st. Editorial here.

Apparently his family is suffering financial hardships on top of everything else. Someone has set up a Go Fund Me page for them.

https://gofund.me/cd656e69