Dominic Benavidez

UniversityofNewMexico
Albuquerque,NM87131
(505)2770111

A Situation of Bicycle
Safety, Adoption, and Future in
Albuquerque, NM
New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, Albuquerque Development
Commission
November 06, 2015

Overview
New Mexico has been ranked the second deadliest state for cyclists. In 2013, seven New
Mexico cyclists were killed, 89 were hospitalized, and 1,684 were treated for injuries by
hospital emergency departments (nmhealth). Theres a demand and a benefit for supporting
bicycle infrastructure. 46% of all adults said they would be more likely to ride with physical
separation, 52% of all adults worry about being hit by a car (peopleforbikes). Modern
technology such as Heat Maps taken from smartphone fitness apps have proven that cyclists
gravitate towards protected bike paths. This data can even give ideas for focus areas when
looking at infrastructure improvements. States such as Colorado are putting more than $100
million towards promoting cycling next year. As a growing metropolis, Albuquerque needs to
lead New Mexico in staying on top of changing transportation needs.

Importance
Improvements to cycling infrastructure will create a friendlier environment between drivers
and cyclists. Safer riding implementation will not only take New Mexico out of the top 5
deadliest cities for cycling it will also incentivise the population to make more trips by bike.

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Building better transportation infrastructure to support cycling will prepare Albuquerque in
the ever changing transportation front. Additions such as painting existing bike lanes
bright colors and implementing physical buffers between cyclists and motorist is a great start
to improving bike friendly infrastructure. Biking is a positive force that promotes economic
growth and tourism (interbike). Improvements will put Albuquerque on the map for future
residents looking for a place to live, and will reflect the city and state as an active, healthy,
clean, and safe place to live.

Areas to Focus and Recommendations

Improve Safety:

a. People for Bikes Green Lane Project

is a great place to start for
improving upon current bike lanes
(see photo). The bright green
painted lanes have proven to help
with keeping cyclists in the bike lane
and motorist off of the bike lane.
This method is a very low-cost
process because it uses existing bike lanes. A future step from green lanes
would be to add protected and buffered bike lanes. These lanes separate
cyclists and pedestrians from motor traffic by a physical barrier. These would
be a welcome addition to areas such as Nob Hill where traffic is fast moving,
but are also highly populated by foot and bike traffic.
b. Changing traffic laws such as implementing the cyclist friendly Idaho Stop
will decrease confusion between road users at intersections. The Idaho Stop
allows a cyclist to treat stop signs as yield signs when no other cars are
present at an intersection. Since pedestrians and vehicles have different rules
of the road, it would be a welcome change to implement bicycle specific laws.
The Idaho Stop has seen huge support in the bicycle populated city of San
Francisco. The nature of stop and go does not suit people on bikes and
reduces the efficiency of a bicycle greatly. Cyclists also do not have blind spots

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so in many cases a complete stop is not needed. These traffic laws could
be first tested out on Bicycle Boulevard streets such as Silver and Mountain
and then later spread out through the city where suitable.
Increase Adoption:

a. There are many bicycle advocacy groups right here in Albuquerque. Duke City
Wheelmen, UrbanABQ, Bike Burque, and UNM Bicycle Friendly University to
name a few. Partnering with these groups would be an easy way to spread
word and increase adoption. Each group already promotes safe riding practices
so they would be a welcome hub for those seeking more information about
riding with traffic. These advocacy groups are currently all run on a
volunteer/non-profit basis so the money given to further promote cycling will
go further with them than for profit based organizations.
b. Another recommendation would be to encourage local companies to offer
incentives for their employees to commute to work by bike. Many companies
already offer these programs to employees who drive low emission vehicles.
Bikes are not included in many of these programs even though they are
emission free.

Future of the Situation

Cycling not only offers transportation benefits for the user, it also offers an array of
health benefits. Recent polls have concluded that bike commuters are the happiest
compared to those who commute through public and private motorized transportation
(bikeportland). States such as Colorado are implementing programs such as the
Trails to School program which creates safe, car-free biking trails for students to ride
to school (denverpost). The plan of the program is to increase physical activity in
youth to combat the childhood obesity problem. This program also has great potential
to expand to address the obesity problem with adults.
Many cities that have focused on building upon alternative transportation have not
only seen reductions in traffic congestion, they have also seen economic growth. Safe
riding environments allow residents and tourists to explore more of the city using the

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city's existing bike share program(abqmainstreet). Studies have shown that shop
owners and businesses along dense areas like Nob Hill and Downtown can benefit
economically from cycling infrastructure around their business(drive.google).

Citations
http://nmhealth.org/
http://www.peopleforbikes.org/pages/u.s.-bicycling-participation-benchmarking-repor
t
http://www.interbike.com/media/press-releases/The-Honorable-John-W-Hickenlooper
-to-Deliver-Interbike-Industry-Breakfast-Keynote-1528.htm
http://bikeportland.org/2013/01/30/bike-commuters-are-happiest-and-other-psu-rese
arch-tidbits-82448
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28822526/hickenlooper-promises-100m-ma
ke-colorado-best-state-biking
http://www.abqmainstreet.org/bici/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8tOk7_upXv5djhCajg1Z0I3bmhTVTIxWldwRzA0YjJ
WNW9R/view