Contact: Amelia Rouse, 505-277-1099
instpp@unm.edu
April 16, 2008
UNM Institute for Public Policy Announces Citizen Recommendations for Transportation Planning for Las Vegas Region
On November 13, 2007, the University of New Mexico Institute for Public Policy facilitated a citizen conference in Las Vegas to discuss long-range planning recommendations for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. A citizen conference is an exercise in deliberative democracy, focusing on learning, deliberation and recommendations by members of the local community about issues important to them.
Eight “citizen advisors” were recruited at random from the Las Vegas area to question state and local transportation experts about a variety of transportation-related issues and then reached their conclusions.
Those recommendations included:
- Improving public transit from Mora to Albuquerque with stops in Las Vegas and Santa Fe, possibly including a rail linkup from Las Vegas with the Santa Fe-Belen Railrunner; but with close attention paid to railroad crossing safety issues.
- Considering enhancement of park-n-ride services from Mora to Las Vegas and other areas.
- Providing an improved connector road between State Road 518 and I-25 north of Las Vegas to address safety concerns and travel time; this could involve straightening and improving the road surface of Golondrinas Rd. or developing a new connector road.
- Improving Highway 434 between Sierra Bonita and Black Lake. This includes addressing the narrowness of the road by providing shoulders, pull-outs, and/or passing zones; addressing environmental hazards like the density of trees along the roadway that obstruct visibility; and improving bridges.
- Finding a way to maintain emergency access along crowded roadways during special events in Mora.
- Improving the public input process between local officials, transportation planners, and the public through forums, conducted at least annually, to discuss issues relevant at the community-level.
- Providing truck lanes on all interstates to improve safety: ideally this would mean segregating trucks from cars, but, at a minimum, confining trucks to a special right-hand truck lane.
- Building or improving sidewalks in District 4 communities to allow safe pedestrian access to businesses and services (i.e. hospitals, state services, etc.); including addressing ADA compliance issues, especially in the Las Vegas area.
- Improving emergency phone service along roadways, since some people do not have cell phones; and considering in particular remote areas along I-25, I-40, Hwy 84, SR 518, and Hwy 434 where no cell phone service may be available.
- Increasing public awareness of safety concerns, including proper use of seat belts use and child safety seats, defensive driving techniques to reduce the potential for accidents, wrong-way driving, and DWI prevention.
- Finally, revisiting the funding formula for transportation programs to enable the NMDOT to better meet regional transportation needs.
For more information about the UNM Institute for Public Policy or this meeting and the recommendations given, please contact Amelia Rouse at 505-277-1099.
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