Costly East Central “reform” won’t solve pedestrian death problem

There are several issues with this KOB 4 story which seems to imply that things are getting better on Central Ave. in Albuquerque. But let’s start with the treatment of the group Together for Brothers as if they are some kind of experts on how to improve East Central. This group actually led the way in creating the “free” city bus system which in turn led to a decline in safety and the need to hire more security on buses (covered recently by none other than KOB). 

Why does KOB give extensive airtime to this group even though their single policy achievement is a failure? Good question. More importantly, while they accurately note that Albuquerque is the second-deadliest city in the country for pedestrians and that East Central is a big part of that problem, the situation is not going to change with a “road diet” (which will make driving on East Central more difficult and shift traffic elsewhere) or more and better crosswalks. The problem is too many drug addled and homeless who throw caution to the wind when walking on and around Central.

Of course, the Keller Administration and New Mexico’s politicians have a long track record of throwing money at problems when the issue has nothing to do with money or the latest big government project. You can bet this will wind up as another costly mistake on Central.