Roadway Safety Changes Take Shape Along Central
The city announced that year-to-date APD has seen a 47% reduction in all fatal and serious injury crashes in the area. Along with this highlight, the Department of Municipal Development announced a set of new roadway enhancements that will improve safety along east Central Avenue for all users. The city has already taken a multifaceted approach to improve the area through engineering, education and enforcement.
APD announces 56% decrease in pedestrian and bicycle serious injury crashes along East Central
ALBUQUERQUE – Mayor Tim Keller, DMD and APD announced a new set of roadway safety enhancements along Central Avenue, aiming to build on recent progress in reducing traffic crashes.
The city announced that year-to-date APD has seen a 47% reduction in all fatal and serious injury crashes in the area. Along with this highlight, the Department of Municipal Development announced a set of new roadway enhancements that will improve safety along east Central Avenue for all users. The city has already taken a multifaceted approach to improve the area through engineering, education and enforcement.
“Roadway safety is one the biggest concerns for our city, especially along East Central,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “We have already seen encouraging progress, and now we are doubling down on improvements that are going to make a real difference.”
New roadway safety features along East Central include the following:
- Two new additional pedestrian signals, HAWK lights, at Britt and Dorothy.
- Installation of nearly 200 solar lights
- Central Avenue restriping east of Juan Tabo - creating right turn only lanes, narrowing the lanes to reduce speed
- Installation of a Pedestrian Activated Warning System (PAWS). The Pedestrian Activated Warning System lights are A.I.-powered and will recognize when a pedestrian starts to cross the roadway, alerting drivers with a yellow flashing light.
- Median Refuge Islands on Central and mid-block signals to warn drivers
- Median fencing to funnel pedestrians to safe crossing locations
- Re-striping Central from 6 lanes to 4 lanes - Adding Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes to keep the outer lane clear.
- Mid-block crossings so pedestrians do not have to walk too far out of direction to find a safe and legal crossing.
- Leading pedestrian intervals at intersections to give pedestrians a head start to cross safely
- Median Refuge Islands: These new median refuge islands on Central will allow people to cross the street in two stages if needed. For example, if a person with a disability or a person pushing a stroller needs to cross Central one section at a time, they will have a safe place to wait until they can cross the remaining travel lanes.
- Repairing ART lights that provide critical lighting
- Speed limit will be reduced to 35 along central
“Our Vision Zero program uses a data-driven approach to identify and fix streets and intersections that are the most dangerous. Our data shows that a significant stretch of East Central needs help,” said Valerie Hermanson, Vision Zero Coordinator for the City of Albuquerque. “With APD’s help we hope to see a significant reduction in serious crashes in that area, and across the city.”
APD Announced the following year-to-date data for crashes along the Central corridor:
All Traffic Fatalities: down 55%
Pedestrian and bike fatalities: down 34%
All serious injury crashes: down 60%
Pedestrian and bike serious injury crashes: down 56%
Overall fatal/serious injury crashes: reduced by 47%
“APD enforcement is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to improving the amount of crashes along Central,” said Chief Harold Medina. “That’s why we work with DMD and Vision Zero so closely, to work together to find long term, viable solutions to improve the safety of our roadways.”
“Central is getting a huge glow-up with the new lights, new stripes, and new pedestrian-friendly crossings. This project should help drivers and pedestrians share this road safely,” said Jennifer Turner, Director of the Department of Municipal Development. “Engineering safe roads is a critical part of keeping the city safe.”
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About Vision Zero: In 2019, the city began implementing ideas from the national Vision Zero program that aims to reduce fatalities on Albuquerque’s streets. This program has resulted in several roadway improvements and a reduction in crashes. This program works with APD officers to track, identify, and find solutions to dangerous roads.