ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Louisiana Boulevard is one of the busiest roads in Albuquerque. Now, the city wants to make it safer for everyone on the roadway.
The City of Albuquerque is taking a closer look at Louisiana between Central Avenue and Gibson Boulevard – an area known for street racing, high speeds, and a lot of pedestrian traffic. “We’ve definitely heard that drivers speeding throughout the area and along the corridor is the community concern and challenge,” says Valerie Hermanson, Albuquerque Vision Zero Coordinator.
The city is targeting Louisiana with its “Vision Zero” effort, aimed at reducing traffic deaths. Specifically, officials are looking into two major ideas: slowing down drivers and adding buffered bike lanes.
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Planners want to narrow the width of driving lanes south of Central, so cars have to slow down. The city argues that if drivers have less room, they will be more careful. Secondly, they want to add buffered bike lanes between Gibson and Central.
Some nearby businesses say they are encouraged by the new ideas. Coda Bakery owner Uyen Nguyen says she is used to seeing plenty of nearby crashes that impact businesses on Louisiana. “We don’t have business; it’s super slow until they clear it up. So there has to be a better way of maybe opening access for us.”
The city is wrapping up the design for the street changes, but it will be several more months before any work might get done. Albuquerque is using federal funding to pay for these road changes, along with a project that will reduce the length of some nearby crosswalks.
