Open Letter in Support of O-25-98 Traffic Code Updates

The Albuquerque City Council is considering ordinance O-25-98, which includes several improvements to our traffic code aimed to clarify motorist responsibilities and keep all road users safe. We strongly support this ordinance; if you do as well, add your name to this open letter by filling out this form. Please also read the handout Kayla's mother put together in support of this ordinance:

Vulnerable_Road_User_Ordinance_Handout.pdf

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Dear Albuquerque City Council,

Safe cycling infrastructure is the first line of defense from deadly vehicles, but Albuquerque’s infrastructure has not yet solved the problem of drivers killing vulnerable road users. 

When a motorist kills a cyclist with their vehicle, we expect legal consequences. But when a driver killed cyclist Kayla Vanlandingham this summer, our traffic code failed to provide a chargeable offense. This failure of our current traffic code to hold drivers accountable for killing cyclists is one reason we strongly urge your support for O-25-98. This ordinance enhances traffic safety in three main ways:

1. It incorporates into our traffic code existing traffic features, like HAWK (high-intensity activated crosswalk) and RRFB (rectangular rapid flashing beacon) signals that have already been installed across the city, and sets and clarifies expectations for all road users around them. It also incorporates into Albuquerque traffic code the Idaho Stop law that we were delighted to see pass the State Legislature earlier this year.

2. It expands the protections of the traffic code to the vulnerable road users who need them most. Where the current traffic code primarily governs motorist-pedestrian interactions, this ordinance expands the definition of pedestrian to include those in wheelchairs, and it extends many of those protections to those riding bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and other human-scale means of transportation, most notably protecting them while using crosswalks in a safe manner. Crosswalks themselves are expanded to encompass the variety of crossings that exist in Albuquerque that may be indicated by signs or lights, in addition to paint on the ground.

3. It strengthens our city’s Vision Zero program and increases the safety of our existing infrastructure. Many of our intersections become immediately safer by stronger daylighting—restricting parking within 50 feet of a crosswalk. It also enshrines the current practice of directing automatic speed enforcement revenues to Vision Zero projects, increasing the credibility of the ASE program and the efficacy of Vision Zero. We hope the transparency afforded by the Vision Zero dashboard will ensure that public dollars are being spent effectively to improve public safety.

   
   

The Bikeways Plan you adopted last year included a number of policy recommendations and updates to the traffic code. This ordinance is in line with the Bikeways Plan. It updates and enhances the traffic code and strengthens Albuquerque’s Vision Zero commitment to zero roadway fatalities. We hope to count on your support for this ordinance in the City Council.

To add your name to this letter, please fill out this form.