Can’t personally 100% confirm the “To Event” signs shown below have gone up along the Bosque Path at Central only after the killing of 7-year-old Pronoy Bhattacharya, as he and his father tried to cross Central Ave. at Tingley Blvd. (top right in photo) to get to/from the River of Lights on December 12th.
But I have very strong suspicions.
Readers, please let me know about the chronology, but timing isn’t why I’m posting about these signs this morning.
Let’s think a moment about what these City signs mean.
As I understand it, these signs are directing the many, many River of Lights attendees who park further south at Tingley Beach to keep walking north along the Bosque Path (there’s no sidewalk along Tingley Blvd.) instead of using the fully marked crosswalk on Central to get to the BioPark event.
In other words, the City is essentially saying “we give up.”
“We can’t control drivers, we can’t control speeders, we can’t control Off-Highway Vehicles, we can’t control anybody in a ton/multi-ton motorized box. They run this town’s roadways, if not the entire town, and there’s essentially nothing we can do to stop them.”
“So we’re not even gonna try.”
“But we can control you, Walking Person. Whereas we have zero power over drivers, we, like those drivers, have power over you. So go under that bridge instead of using the fully marked crosswalk ostensibly designed for you. And if you choose to ignore the many “To Event” signs (you can make out others in the photo above), that’s on you for being stupid enough to think we care about you beyond the placement of these signs City Legal told us we have to throw all over the place.”
“You can tell we don’t care, because we don’t even provide crosswalk guards before/after the event for those who don’t follow the signs. Instead, we have barricades to prevent you from using the intersection. You know, the one with a fully marked crosswalk.”
“And all because Drivers have all the power over us and we, the City of Albuquerque, know the only possible power you Walkers have over us is a possible lawsuit. After you’re dead.”
“So go under that bridge, Walkers. Because we give up. And because we said so.”
That is what the signs mean.
Better Burque 
Yes, I can confirm these barricades appeared a few days after the brutal killing of 7-year-old Pronoy Bhattacharya by a driver. I walk near that intersection often. And I immediately came to the same conclusion you did. The City has effectively admitted they do not and cannot control drivers.
LikeLike
Thank you, Janet for that confirmation. A scary and sad admission by the City of Albuquerque, indeed.
LikeLike
Took my family to River of Lights opening night and we ended up parking at Tingley. When walking along the trail, I was pretty surprised the city didn’t already light up beneath the bridge and along the trail. Seemed like an obvious choice given the insanity of drivers on Central and the higher volume of slower moving(folks with strollers, children, elderly) pedestrians that the River of Light would have attracted. But instead, we took the cross walk to avoid walking under the pitch black bridge crossing.
Naturally, I would prefer knowing I could safely cross in a crosswalk, but especially in the case of there being a viable alternative route that didn’t dramatically increase walking distance, why not encourage it. Or move one person from directing parking in the tingley lots to working the cross walk.
LikeLike