No easy fix for Tramway-Montgomery left-turn woes
NOT ENOUGH LEFTS ONTO TRAMWAY: Vincent Bonino emails “on the southwest corner going east at Tramway/Montgomery, traffic really backs up turning north after Eldorado students get out of school and around 5 p.m. at the end of the workday. The city has a lane that is not being used. To help with the congestion, could the city make a second left-turn-only lane?” It’s a bit more complicated than that. Emilee Cantrell of the New Mexico Department of Transportation explains “the city and state share responsibility at this intersection — NMDOT is responsible for the Tramway portion and the city is responsible for the Montgomery portion. The traffic signal is maintained by the city, and the re-striping would have to be done on Montgomery. The city and NMDOT District 3 have been discussing some changes at the intersection. It was observed last summer when school was out that traffic would back up but would clear with every cycle of the signal. Within the next couple of weeks, the intersection will be observed to analyze it with the additional school traffic.”
That said, “the solution is not limited to re-striping. There would have to be geometry improvements, ADA upgrades, signal mastarm relocation and timing adjustments. Currently, a project is not planned in this area, and implementation of any possible improvements would also depend on funding availability.”
EAST COAST DRIVERS BEAT WEST SIDE
DRIVERS: “Westside Tony” says in an email “I moved here from the East Coast and can honestly say New Mexico has got to have the worst drivers I have ever encountered. Here are a few glaring items that stand out:
1. Stopping at red lights/stop signs is optional.
2. Stopping on top of the solid white line and/or the crosswalk lines is mandatory.
3. When making a left-hand turn onto a two lane road, N.M. drivers turn into the right lane — and turn into the left lane when turning right.
4. There’s a very good chance to see vehicles driving with no lights on when it’s dark outside.
5. Turn signals are like an appendix: there, but seldom used.”
Tony wraps it up with “hopefully when the police force gets back up to a respectable number, the police will be able to issue more tickets to the horrible drivers out on the roads. The increased revenue would be a win/win for the city. It’s a proven fact that when quality of life laws are enforced, major crime naturally goes down, too.”
SPEAKING OF WIDE TURNS: B. Hansen, a recent N.M. transplant, asks in an email about “making turns on the roadway” and cites the state driver manual’s direction to “turn from the lane that is closest to the direction you want to go and turn into the lane closest to the one you came from. This way, you will cross the fewest lanes of traffic.”
B. says “folks here are VERY bad at following this rule. My unscientific research shows that right and left turns are almost exclusively made into the farthest lane. This causes obvious issues, and I’m sure many accidents. Is drivers’ training to blame, or laziness, or lack of enforcement?” Per the previous letter, it could be all three. PULL TO THE RIGHT FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES: Meanwhile, Jerome Shea emails “what is the proper procedure in New Mexico for dealing with an emergency vehicle in transit — lights, siren, etc.? My experience is that my fellow drivers here are borderline lackadaisical about it.”
State Statute 66-7-332, Operation of vehicles on approach of authorized emergency vehicles, says:
“A. Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle displaying flashing emergency lights or when the driver is giving audible signal by siren, exhaust whistle or bell, the driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right of way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway clear of any intersection and shall stop and remain in that position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed except when otherwise directed by a police officer.” LEFT ON RED A ONE-WAY DEAL: Finally, velo47matt says the April 3 column on left turns onto one-way streets on a red light was incomplete. He adds “N.M. statute 66-7-105(C) (2) allows a left turn onto a one-way street at a red light only if the car is also on a one-way street.
“Vehicular traffic on a one-way street facing the signal shall stop ... and if a left turn onto a one-way street in the proper direction is intended, may turn left after stopping until the intersection may be entered safely . ... ”