Killing mobility and business at the same time!

Awhile back (before the project even got off the ground), I wrote about the Lead and Coal reconstruction project. This project which is costing $26 million is designed to decrease auto speeds on the roads in favor of bike paths.

Something I didn’t anticipate happening with this project is that it would kill area businesses, but according to the Albuquerque Journal, at least two businesses in the area have closed their doors and others are teetering on the edge resulting on this petition.

Worse, Councilor Rey Garduño is pushing for Zuni (which feeds into Lead and Coal) to be put on a similar, bike friendly “road diet.” Garduño is not known for his business-friendly policy stances, so it is no surprise that he doesn’t seem to be considering the ramifications such a major construction project might have on area businesses. Of course, the rest of us should be wondering if further shutting down one of the City’s best-moving East-West road corridors is a good idea and whether limited taxpayer money should be wasted on such projects.