Nob Hill traffic lights costly, unnecessary

Nearly two years ago, the Albuquerque City Council voted to spend almost $450,000 to install two new traffic lights along Central Avenue in the Nob Hill district. The problem was the city didn't need them.

From a traffic engineering standpoint, they are not warranted to put traffic signals at those two locations, said Mike Riordan, Albuquerque's director of municipal development.

But the stoplights on Central Avenue at Morningside Drive and at Wellesley Drive currently are operational. And that is mainly due to the efforts of Albuquerque City Councillor Rey Garduno, who claims the traffic lights were necessary because the intersections are dangerous.

The community was very concerned about the safety issues along that whole corridor, but primarily at Wellesley and Morningside, Garduno said. "Two things came up very clearly. One is slow down traffic. And the other one was make sure that pedestrians are safe crossing Central."

Morningside is a quiet, residential street with two antique stores located at its intersection with Central. Further west, a popular bar is located at Wellesley and Central. Garduno said every resident and business owner in the vicinity of those two intersections wanted the two new traffic lights.

"The community asked that those lights be put in," he said. "The only way to protect those pedestrians and to allow them a safe refuge is to make sure that some intersections are signalized."

However, Garduno admitted he didn't poll neighbors about the subject. And the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association told News 13 it did not propose the project. Albuquerque police haven't received requests for traffic lights at the intersections either, while the department also doesn't have any data to show the intersections are problematic, said Commander Eric Garcia, who heads APD's traffic division.

Using standardized federal criteria, city of Albuquerque traffic engineers surveyed accident reports, hourly vehicle counts, traffic flow, speed limits and pedestrian foot traffic associated with the two intersections. The six-page analysis determined the traffic lights were not necessary, Riordan said.

Full Studies [PDFs]

• Kentucky Transportation Center Study - A study relating to support for the ill effects of non-engineering based signal placement.
• Central & Morningside Traffic Study
• Central & Wellsely Traffic Study

Garduno, who apparently never saw the report, claimed that all the traffic engineers did was count cars at the intersections. So, he disregarded the report and drew up legislation ordering the Municipal Development Department to install the two traffic lights.

On Sept. 9, 2009, the city council discussed the legislation for 15 minutes, then voted unanimously to install the lights. Then-Mayor Martin Chavez later signed the legislation.

"Doesn't sound like a wise investment to me," said Dr. Jerry Hall, a traffic engineer and professor at UNM's School of Engineering. "Unless they are an engineer, I think it's their responsibility to seriously consider the advice that’s given to them by the technically-trained people."

Hall also said that placing signals where they aren’t justified is asking for trouble.

"If you go down the list of high accident locations, not only in Albuquerque but in the state, they’re all signalized intersections," he said. "So it's certainly not guaranteed to improve safety."

Rob Perry, Albuquerque's chief administrative officer, said there's no fat the city's budget to install unjustified traffic lights.

"I think there has to be a priority as far as traffic control devices go and where they provide the biggest bang for the buck," Perry said. "That in neighborhoods and locations where it really can impact, in a positive way, traffic safety, traffic flow, economic development and traffic engineering based on data that’s unbiased and sound engineering."

In addition, Hall said there are good reasons why technical issues are not left up to politicians.

"I wouldn't want them doing the design of our waterway systems," he said. "I wouldn't want them to do the design of our highways or the design of our bridges. (Do you) want to drive over a bridge designed by a politician?"

Nonetheless, even though pedestrians today can cross Central at Wellesley and Morningside with the assistance of the new traffic lights, judging by the large number of jay-walkers News 13 observed recently at those intersections, some folks still prefer to live dangerously.