Yes, our rest stops need refreshing
With more money than usual coming in, the key for New Mexico legislators and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is to spend wisely and not over commit to recurring spending that someday will have to be scaled back.
Because when times are leaner, the cuts generally follow — although we remain comforted to see state leaders agree to bank 25 percent of revenues for future shortfalls.
Still, when money is flush, New Mexico should seize the opportunity to make investments and pick up deferred maintenance. That’s why the proposal to spend
$30 million on neglected state rest stops is welcome — with some 40-plus places for travelers to take a break across the state, there is plenty of refurbishing to do.
For many travelers, a rest stop is the memory they will take away from New Mexico. These folks are traveling along Interstate 40 or Interstate 25, using New Mexico not as a vacation getaway but as a place to drive through.
Truckers hauling goods need a place to sleep or take a bathroom break. Families with kids want a clean, safe place to pull over without worrying about creeps or germs. Women driving alone, particularly, might not always want to stop at busy truck stops but will take a break at a well-lighted rest stop.
Those first impressions are crucial and could draw people back to New Mexico.
In the $989 million budge proposal for the 2021 fiscal year, Transportation Department Secretary Michael Sandoval wants $30 million to be set aside for upgrading New Mexico’s rest stops.
The money will be spent on removing graffiti, fixing vandalism, cleaning and even hiring security guards at four sites where Department of Tourism workers also are placed, including near the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos. That’s important in helping New Mexico keep its promise to do more to prevent suicide at the bridge, too often a place where people have jumped to their deaths.
We appreciate, too, the research the department conducted — visiting all rest areas, grading the sites on a scale of zero to 10. Not one received a 10 — the best rating — while two closed rest areas received zeros and two others were marked around 5. Most were between 7 and 9. That’s not bad, but not the best.
DOT maintenance engineer Rick Padilla said his goal is to bring all rest areas up to 9 and 10.
That’s a worthwhile ambition, one the Legislature can help make reality by funding most, if not all, of the $30 million request.
New Mexico can be pleased that its rest stops aren’t just a place to use the facilities and move along. Many contain unique nuggets about the state — at La Bajada outside Santa Fe, there are plaques documenting the contributions of women in the state.
Down by Las Cruces, the overlook stop boasts a giant roadrunner sculpture. Such features make a stop more memorable, giving travelers conversation nuggets for the road ahead.
Most of all, though, rest stops need to be clean, safe and maintained.
The Department of Transportation has made a compelling case for the work that needs to be done — rest stops should be an advertisement for New Mexico, a promise of coming attractions should a traveler return to spend more time in our beautiful state.