historian

  • 2724-2754 Cerrillos Rd Santa Fe, NM 87507, USA - Triangle District

    Drivers who are too impatient to wait for the light to change during peak morning drive time (7:45 a.m.--8:10 a.m.) are cutting through the customer parking at Pep Boys on Cerrillos Road. They enter on Cerrillos and exit on Camino Carlos Rey, and cut off traffic turning left and right onto Camino Carlos Rey. These drivers go to the parking lots at the library or to the high schools nearby. They do not appear to be residents.

    Lots of near misses, especially in the rain and snow!

  • 2-24 Avenida Vista Grande Santa Fe, NM 87508, USA - Eldorado at Santa Fe

    This is small area is unsafe every day and night, but especially on Fridays and during the winter. Since the posting last year by a neighbor yielded no change in conditions, I will give a detailed description of what goes on:

    As you are aware, every Friday evening there is a farmers market in Eldorado at the corner of Avenida Vista Grande and Caliente Road. Due to the poor planning of the entrance from 285 to Ave Vista Grande to the parking lot, many drivers make unsafe U-turns in the left turn lane and in the double-double yellow line barrier, causing many “near misses.” The risk is heightened by the fact that there is inadequate lighting throughout the neighborhood, by choice of the homeowners’ association. Unfortunately, this is exacerbated by the lack of light this time of year. Many of the ongoing problems are probably due to lack of driving skills and a lack of knowledge of where the entrances are located. Every Friday evening, regardless of the light, we witness:

    • fender benders in the left turn lane from residents who are expecting those in front to progress to the head of the turn and execute a left turn;
    • fender benders in the right turn lane from residents who are exiting Eldorado and are not expecting a car to suddenly appear in front of them from an illegal U-turn;
    • accidents arising from cars going into the ditch from drivers and/or cars not equipped to navigate such a sharp turn in the face of oncoming traffic – and at the speed they must do it to succeed;
    • accidents from cars attempting to make a 3-point turnaround either in the double-doubles or in the intersection of Avenida Vista Grande and Caliente Road;
    • dangers presented to pedestrians who are not afforded sidewalks in the Eldorado neighborhood and yet they have the right of way.

    As a public servant I know how easy it is for folks to complain without suggestions for resolving a situation.

    Perhaps the county could overstep Association restrictions on (a) lighting, (b) ingress and egress, and/or (c) sidewalks and crosswalks since this is a commercial area? Additionally, people of all ages cross to carpool and catch the bus in the Agoura shopping center.

    Let's do something to keep people alive before we have a repeat of what has already happened on Avenida Vista Grande previously.

    This falls on deaf ears at the Homeowners' Association.