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Alvarado Gardens Neighborhood

Speeding in Alvarado Gardens

Updated: Wednesday December 22, 2021

Speeding occurs in our neighborhood as it does throughout Albuquerque.  At its August meeting the AGNA Board formed a Speeding Committee to look into the issue and see what we can do about it within our neighborhood.  This report summarizes activities completed to date and planned for early 2022. The Committee included three members from the Board and four from outside the Board.

In 2017 a formal study was done of traffic on Candelaria from Rio Grande Blvd to Trellis.  The study found considerable speeding, with 85% of rush hour traffic exceeding 25 MPH, and 15% exceeding 34.  The study states that the speed limit on Candelaria should be 30 MPH, not 25 as currently posted.  All other streets in our neighborhood are posted at 25 MPH.  Anecdotally we know that speeding occurs throughout our neighborhood, with most complaints about Candelaria and Campbell.  Quantitative data exists only for Candelaria.

The Speeding Committee has spoken with the City Traffic Department and our Valley Police Command, and has considered about a dozen potential measures to calm our traffic.  Based on its judgment of effectiveness and feasibility, the Committee has recommended and the Board has authorized proceeding with the following:

  1. Contact La Puerta de Los Niños and ask them to remind their parents that this is a neighborhood, and we ask that they respect our 25 MPH speed limit.
  2. Enlist Board Members.  Ask that when they see commercial vehicles (many of which have a painted sign, “How’s My Driving? Call 505-XXX-XXXX”) speeding, they approach those drivers and politely request that they observe our 25 MPH speed limit.  The drivers should prefer this rather than a phone call to their boss.  But if a driver is belligerent or persists in speeding then our recourse is to call and report specifics.  The companies should care about their public image.
  3. Contact our local Valley Police Command and request additional police patrols in our neighborhood.
  4. Contact our local Valley Police Command and request a Mobile Speed Trailer
  5. The City Council recently voted to deploy mobile speed trailers

The Committee has completed Items 1, 3 & 4 and will complete Items 2 & 5 in January.

Regarding Item 3 –

Police Patrols: The Commander of the Valley Police Precinct has directed his officers to cruise through our neighborhood as they are able to between calls.  Has anyone seen a patrol car in our neighborhood in the last month?  If so then please notify our Speeding Committee at vp@alvaradoneighborhood.com  Indicate approximate date, time and location.  No doubt this will be a temporary directive from the Commander.

Regarding Item 4 –

Mobile Speed Trailer: The Valley Command has set a mobile speed trailer at the intersection of Candelaria & Glenwood.  It displays vehicle speed but does not issue tickets.  It should be in service there for about a week.  We will ask that at the end of this period it be moved to Campbell and oriented to indicate the speed of westbound traffic

Both Candelaria and Campbell are designated as Emergency Access Roads west of Rio Grande Blvd.  The City Traffic Department advises that it will not construct any features (e.g., speed humps) that would slow emergency vehicles on Emergency Access Roads, but nor will they automatically remove existing features of this sort.  Traffic Engineering also stated that it is really up to Albuquerque Fire and Rescue and the Police Department to make the determination if any type of speed control such as speed humps would alter their response times. Traffic Engineering offered to help AGNA with discussions with AFR and APD to address speed control measures. Candelaria presently has no speed humps while Campbell has eight which the Committee hopes to keep.

Despite this the City plans to construct a raised pedestrian walkway where the Duranes Lateral (the ditch) crosses Candelaria.  This will essentially be a speed table, and should slow traffic at this location.  We do not have a timetable for construction but we expect it will be constructed during 2022.

The Committee will meet one or two more times in January and may recommend additional traffic-calming measures.  The Committee recognizes that requests to drivers, speed limit signs and trailers that display vehicle speed are nowhere near as effective as speed humps and officers or speed trailers that issue tickets.  We hope that our recommended measures will make a difference, but recognize how difficult it is to get people to change their behavior.  The Committee welcomes suggestions from residents in the neighborhood, and expects to finish the bulk of its work in January or February.