Emissions check notices go missing
WHY IS MY EMISSIONS NOTICE MIA? Several readers have asked that as they go to re-register their vehicles and, because they live in Bernalillo County, find out they were also supposed to get their emissions checked.
Chuck Andraka emails that “in early December I got my renewal for registration. Carefully checked, no emissions required. Re-registered online, nothing stopped me. Got new registration in mail. Old registration good to end of January.”
And then it went to you-know-where in a handbasket.
Chuck then got an email “saying my registration is suspended because my emissions is expired. The email clearly indicated that I was sent a letter or email at least 30 days ago indicating I needed emissions. I checked, none. I got the renewal card, and a renewal reminder by email, but no need for emissions.”
Chuck says a visit to a state Motor Vehicle Division office revealed “any notice from MVD is a courtesy, that the owner is responsible to know if they need emissions.”
And Richard L. Allen called to say he sent in his check to renew a vehicle registration in mid-January, it cleared days later, yet his sticker still hadn’t shown up almost a month later. He learned from MVD it was an emissions issue as well.
Ben Cloutier, director of communications for the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department, which oversees MVD, says “emissions testing is required by Bernalillo County, but Bernalillo County does not send out a reminder notice. As a courtesy to customers, MVD sends letters to drivers informing them they have 30 days to renew emissions. Recently, in some cases, the courtesy notifications were not sent appropriately. This issue has been corrected.
“If a customer can provide documentation showing they were affected by this issue, we will refund the ($30) registration reinstatement fee.”
CAN WE DUMP THE NEW BIKE LANES ON RIO GRANDE? Rosie Gomez emails that with the “new bicycle lanes on Rio Grande between Interstate 40 and north of Candelaria, I ... have noticed that because traffic is now down to one lane it is more difficult to exit from side streets, especially at rush hours. I also have a question about turning right over the bicycle lanes; it is difficult to make a sharp right without completely stopping traffic coming from behind.
“I end up going into the bicycle lane, which has interrupted lines at some points. All these lanes are, in my opinion, doing less for traffic. I have seen only two bicycles using these lanes in the two months they have been up. Besides my complaints, my question is, are these permanent?”
The bike lanes are part of the three-lane (one in each direction and a center turn lane) pilot project that is monitoring if having two through lanes instead of four on Rio Grande from Matthew to Griegos slows down traffic and makes it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. As for where the cyclists are, Diane Dolan, policy analyst for Albuquerque City Councilor Isaac Benton, says, “It is selfevident that no one would choose to walk in a substandard, threatening and unsafe pedestrian environment. At the same time, Rio Grande is the only continuous option for pedestrians and bicyclists to move north-south through the area.” In other words, it should pick up as word gets out about the new conditions.
And she says foot and bike traffic has increased in other areas where striping has been adjusted to slow traffic. “We have witnessed increased pedestrian use on Central Avenue after the five lanes there were converted to three,” she says, “and that is without yet having the future sidewalk improvements and trees in place.”