ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A problem plaguing people in a northeast Albuquerque neighborhood for years may finally have a fix coming. After years of requesting a traffic calming study, the city says it’s ready to offer up some solutions and help cut down on speeding around Sandia High School.
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People who’ve lived in the neighborhood near Sandia High School for decades say the traffic and speeding here are nothing new. But they say in the last few years, it’s gotten worse. “We have lived here since 1978 and all during this time, the traffic from the high school has been horrible,” said one Albuquerque resident. “They are racing up Wyoming and once they come off Comanche light to Candelaria it’s a race,” added James Beckner, another neighbor.
Neighbors say the city’s major roadways near Sandia High School aren’t the only areas of concern, smaller residential roads like Dellwood and Pennsylvania have become magnets for speeders as well.
Neighbors say other than a few stop signs there isn’t much to slow drivers down. “The 25-mile-an-hour speed limit doesn’t mean a thing. Whenever they come around the corner they never stop.”
After years of neighbors asking for a traffic study in the area, Albuquerque City Councilor for District 7, Tammy Fiebelkorn, says she is open to hearing those concerns. “We want to make sure of course the young people are safe. All the people that are in that vicinity are out walking their dogs, playing with their kids in the front yards, we want to make sure that all of the roads are safe for all of those people,” said Fiebelkorn.
Fiebelkorn, who is pushing for the traffic study, says she has her sights on the neighborhood as a whole, placing her focus from Louisiana up to Comanche, and then Wyoming down to Phoenix Street. “We wanted to go ahead and do this large area because I feel like there are a lot of these similar situations happening in a lot of these streets and so we are just going to package it in one large traffic study,” Fiebelkorn said.
Neighbors say they hope to see speed bumps and speed cameras installed in the area. The city is hosting a virtual public meeting on the traffic calming study. For more information and to attend Thursday night’s virtual meeting, follow this link.
