By: ABQRAW staff
Posted: 5/23/2023 @ 3:30PM
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Albuquerque Police Department is finally going to be enforcing the city’s newest median safety ordinance that applies to narrow medians at busy intersections around the city. The new enforcement ordinance was announced at a press conference today at the corner of 4th and Montaño. While the press conference was going on we witnessed a man holding a sign asking for money in the median heading southbound on 4th street. He apparently did not care about the new city ordinance. An old ordinance on the books was ruled unconstitutional and couldn’t be enforced anymore.
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Full press conference video above:
According to APD, pedestrian fatalities doubled since last year, resulting in 14 deaths since the beginning of the year.
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these new signs will start popping up at designated intersections
Officers started giving warnings about the new ordinance on May 15, and began enforcing it with citations this week. Twelve citations were issued on Monday.
The ordinance states that it is unlawful for any person to stand in any travel lane of a street, highway, or controlled access roadway or any travel lane of the exit or entrance ramps. There are 15 priority locations that APD is monitoring as enforcement begins.
“We know there are individuals across the city who frequent our medians for a multitude of reasons, but this presents safety concerns for them and drivers,” said Chief Harold Medina. “We decided to begin enforcement of this ordinance slowly, with warnings to educate the public that this is a citable offense, but also to spread word of the dangers.”
“We don’t want to see one more person struck by a vehicle in Albuquerque, and ramping up enforcement efforts is the right thing to do to keep pedestrians and drivers safe,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “We will continue to invest in solutions that make folks safer as they travel throughout our city.”
Once the warning period is over for each particular intersection, officers will begin issuing actual citations.
Below is a list of the 15 locations where signs have been placed alerting pedestrians not to stand on medians:
- Montano and 4th Street
- Indian School and Carlisle
- Carlisle and Lomas
- Louisiana and Menaul
- Avenida Cesar Chavez and Broadway
- Copper and Eubank
- Montgomery and Louisiana
- Menaul and San Mateo
- Menaul and San Pedro
- University and Gibson
- Yale and Gibson
- Montano and Coors
- Ellison and Coors
- Coors and Irving
- Alameda and Corrales