State wants $30M to revamp rest stops
Department of Transportation, other backers see them as gateway to tourism dollars
Rest stops along New Mexico’s interstates and highways are much more than places to stretch your legs or use the facilities, says Albuquerque resident Lynne Uhring.
At the La Bajada rest stop about 20 miles south of Santa Fe along I-25, Uhring recently surveyed a series of historical plaques honoring women who contributed to New Mexico’s history. She said the quality of rest stops says a lot about the state.
“We’re telling ourselves that tourism is a really important part of New Mexico’s economy,” she said.
Michael Sandoval, the state’s secretary of transportation, agrees. His $989 million budget proposal for the 2021 fiscal year — a document that includes requests for everything from road improvement funds to
filing vacant staff positions to striping roads — includes $30 million to upgrade and improve the state’s 40-plus rest stops.
Sandoval said rest stops are “an opportunity for New Mexico to show a little bit about who we are and what we have to offer. If people driving through the state have a good experience at a rest stop, they may see something beyond it that is appealing to them, maybe some information about sightseeing or our history.
“If they see a dirty restroom that is not functional or an unsafe environment, that’s not the best reflection of our state.”
Most travelers agree. According to a 2017 Zeno Group survey, 98 percent of parents who travel with their children want clean restrooms. And 57 percent get stressed about whether to stop along the way, wondering if the rest stops were safe and clean.
Sandoval said the $30 million budget request would help the facilities run smoothly, remain clean and employ security guards at four sites where state Tourism Department employees work, including Taos.
Taos is noteworthy, Sandoval said, because it’s near the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, where many people have taken their lives.
“In addition to keeping visitors and personnel there safe, security guards could act as a preventive measure to discourage people at that location” from taking their lives, he said.
The department also wants extra funding to fight graffiti and vandalism, said Rick Padilla, maintenance engineer for the state Department of Transportation.
“It’s been tough to keep up with that,” he said.
Sandoval said his department has no way of tracking how many people use New Mexico’s rest stops and acknowledges he doesn’t believe the Legislature will give his department all $30 million he is asking for. Still, he said he hopes there is enough “to start making a dent.”
As part of the budget request, Padilla and his crew conducted onsite visits of New Mexico’s rest areas late last year and published a report on their physical appearance and condition. On a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the best, most of the sites received ratings between 7 and 9.
Two that are closed received zeros and two others hovered around the 5 mark. None received a 10. Sandoval said he wants all of them to earn a 9 or 10.
The Manuelito rest stop near Gallup is closed because of wastewater repairs. Sandoval said he hopes it will reopen in a matter of months.
The report, which includes photos, paints an insider’s portrait of our state’s rest areas, noting graffiti problems and a lack of water in some sinks.
Two of the rest stops in the southern part of the state have horse and cattle corrals — not because cowboys are moseying up on horseback, Sandoval said, but because they drive their horses and steers by truck and want to let them out for exercise and relief.
Some sites include physical landmarks to show off the state’s culture and colors. For example, the Las Cruces overlook rest stop has a giant roadrunner sculpture to mark its presence.
Joanna Dowling, a historian of rest stops, said in an email that New Mexico has some “of the best intact examples or regional design in the country.”
She said rest stops in the Southwest are “particularly replete with regional imagery.” As such, she said, rest areas are becoming a “way of communicating a sense of place” tied to a state’s identity.
But she agrees that for travelers, a rest stop’s cleanliness and safety are paramount.
Trucker Juan Muñoz echoed that thought. He and his driving partner were hauling dairy cows through New Mexico last week when they stopped at La Bajada. They like the clean, accessible and safe stops in New Mexico.
Eric Camacho of Albuquerque also said he likes the stop at La Bajada because it’s clean and the plumbing works. The historical signs about New Mexico’s notable women, he added, were a plus.
Another man from Albuquerque, who declined to give his name, said La Bajada rest stop is the only one he uses when he commutes from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.
“In America, we give short shrift to public utilities like this,” he said. “We think undesirables hang out there. But we need them, and you come across a lot of other people traveling when you stop because they need them, too.”
In America, we give short shrift to public utilities like this. We think undesirables hang out there. But we need them, and you come across a lot of other people traveling when you stop because they need them, too.” Commuter between Albuquerque and Santa Fe