A friend and I were discussing October’s historically high fourteen pedestrian deaths in New Mexico, and the general rise in such fatalities here and nationwide. “Cheap gas,” was first proffered, along with the concomitant rise in vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Alcohol intoxication on the part of drivers and/or pedestrians was considered. But a look into… Read More Why Pedestrian Fatalities Are Spiking in a Table and Four Graphs
While October saw “only” 34 traffic fatalities in New Mexico, the already high rate of pedestrian deaths here soared dramatically to fourteen in October, almost doubling the previous monthly high in 2016 of eight, back in February. Here are the gruesome findings in a table from UNM’s Traffic Research Unit’s October monthly report. The annual… Read More NM Pedestrian Fatalities Spike in October
Deciding that sitting around doing little more than refreshing the live blog on fivethirtyeight.com wasn’t really accomplishing much, and having far too much nervous Election Day energy, I figured my time would be better spent earlier today riding my bike to a few polling places down here in the South Valley. Another reason to do so… Read More Short Photo Essay on South Valley Election Morning, 2016
About a month ago, BB and readers held a brainstorm of sorts regarding bicycle infrastructure gaps. To provide context and contrast with our identified gaps, below is a list from the City’s 2015 Bikeways and Trails Facility Plan (BTFP). If you’re not familiar with the BTFP, it’s both an important planning document and something of… Read More A Look at Our Burque Bike Infrastructure Gap Brainstorm via the “BTFP”
Amid all the many construction projects in town, including, yeah, THAT ONE, the long-awaited work to “calm” Ladera Dr. N.W. on the city’s west side has begun. This first phase of the project generally concerns the winding stretch alongside Ladera Golf Course, from Coors to Ouray. The new road configuration matches the dimensions of other… Read More Traffic Calming on Ladera Dr. N.W.
Note: This is the BB piece for Duke City Fix this week, but the votes count just as much here at Better Burque or any of the other 1,000 sites I’m hoping this “ballot question” shows up at in the next few days. “Vote early and often,” as they tritely say. Internet old-timers, like me,… Read More Screw Election 2016! A Case of True Participatory Democracy
